A Singaporean woman was allegedly held against her will inside a car as she was unable to fulfill an e-hailing driver’s demand for cash payment.
Although she offered to make payment via an online platform, the driver rejected her offer and “imprisoned” her, leading to police being called.
Shoddy service
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, Wang said she booked the ride to take her from Fajar Shopping Centre in Bukit Panjang to her workplace in Chinatown, where she chose cash payment on the booking page.
However, the driver was 15 minutes late in picking her up, which caused her to be almost late for work.
Wang claimed that the driver didn’t reply when she tried contacting him and drove at a snail’s pace to the destination. As a result, the journey took an hour instead of 30 minutes.
She also alleged that the driver only had one hand on the steering wheel and even dropped her off at the wrong location.
Demanded cash payment
At the end of the ride, Wang tried to pay the S$24 (RM75) fare using PayNow as she didn’t have enough cash on hand.
In turn, the driver claimed that he couldn’t remember the phone number used to receive PayNow payments and asked for cash payment.
I told him I wasn’t refusing to pay, I just didn’t have any cash on me. But he said that he wanted to leave me with a record of fare evasion, and lock me in the car.
“We both called the police and they later found out that he actually had a functioning PayNow account.
“I don’t understand why he refused to accept money this way in the first place,” she said, adding that the “lockup” lasted for an hour.
Due to the incident, Wang’s part-time waitress shift got cancelled by the time she reached her workplace.
She said she usually uses PayNow to pay e-hailing drivers despite opting for cash payment, adding this was the first time she had encountered problems.
Driver suspended
In response to Mothership’s inquiries, the e-hailing platform said it has suspended the driver in accordance with its driver code of conduct and that it views matters relating to safety and conduct seriously.
It added that Wang had contacted their customer experience team after her trip and they’re waiting for her response for a “more complete assessment”.
“In parallel, we are establishing a full account of the incident, including engagement with the driver. Appropriate action will be taken following our review.”
Commenting on the payment dispute, the platform said that while payments under “cash” are commonly settled via cash or PayNow, any arrangement must be mutually agreed upon between driver and rider beforehand.
Drivers are also prohibited from imposing a specific payment method or pressure passengers to comply.
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