Being an e-hailing driver can be a perilous job at times, where drivers face physical and verbal abuse from customers who act in an entitled manner.
A Grab driver was left injured after he was repeatedly punched in the face for reminding a passenger who took his sweet time to get into the car for three times.
M’sian Grab driver gets punched for telling passenger to get into the car
The Grab driver originally shared his unfortunate experience on the Facebook group grab&Mycar 司机乘客中文交流区 yesterday (Mar 3). Later he spoke to China Press in more detail about how the incident unfolded.
Speaking to the Chinese daily, the driver who declined to be named said that he was notified of the booking and arrived at the pick-up point at 6.20am.
Upon reaching, the driver said he saw a total of three passengers waiting, which consisted of two women and a man. While the women went into the car first, the man kept the passenger door open and continued talking to his friends for 10 minutes.
The driver also noted that the man’s clothes “reeked of alcohol”.
Within the 10 minutes he spent talking to his friends, I reminded him twice to get into the car but he simply threw me a glance and ignored me.
“When I reminded him for the third time, he suddenly rushed over to my side of the car and started punching me in the face,” he recounted.
The Grab driver said he didn’t retaliate as his main concern was protecting himself, especially his face. He also added that this was his first time getting assaulted throughout his five years as an e-hailing driver.
He said he later lodged a police report at 7.20am on the same day before seeking treatment at the hospital.
Thankfully, he only suffered a bloodied face and superficial wounds from the assault.
The driver added that he hoped his experience will cause other drivers to be more careful and not resort to violence to settle disagreements.
Last year, Malaysians were shocked by a clip of a young boy trying to stab an elderly Grab driver in Sungai Petani:
