When someone’s livelihood is on the line, it’s better to ensure you get all sides of the story before jumping to conclusions. After all, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
A lady accused a Grab driver of masturbating in front of her. However, netizens were suspicious as the driver’s ratings were high. She later admitted she had jumped to conclusions as the real story was very different from what she had seen.
On 6th May, a lady surnamed Ng posted on Facebook that she had met a ‘perverted’ Grab driver. Ng said that during the car ride, she saw that at one point, the driver had taken off his pants. She accused him of masturbating and reported that it had scared her. She panicked initially and wanted to jump from the car, but after calming down, she phoned her boyfriend and stayed on the call with him. When she arrived home, she said she reported the matter to the company.
Ng also posted the driver’s details as a warning to others. “I didn’t cause you to lose this job, you are just not suited to be a Grab driver,” the lady said. “Although you didn’t hurt me today, I don’t want the next customer to be like me, meeting a perverted driver like you.” Netizens urged her to bring the matter to the police instead if she had evidence, however many were suspicious of her story. They stated it was odd she had no pictures or video evidence. Some found it strange that the driver failed to notice the ongoing conversation between her and her boyfriend. Others noted the driver has been with Grab for over 5 years and has a 4.8 star rating. As her story didn’t add up, they suspected her of slandering the driver.
On 8th May, Ng posted an apology and stated there had been a misunderstanding. She explained the driver was not wearing pants because he had a urine bag. Ng said this was not communicated by Grab which led to the misunderstanding. As she was the only one at the time, she said it was “impossible to (get) evidence” as she was afraid of being attacked. Ng also stated that “normal girls would panic” in such a situation. She publicly apologised to the driver and said she regretted her mistake. She also deleted her original post.
The Grab driver contacted her after she posted a public apology and forgave her. “I just wanted to clear my name and reputation,” he told her. “Thank you.” He also reported that he had been reinstated as a Grab driver. Apparently, he had been suspended after Ng lodged the report.
Thankfully this matter was cleared up quickly for the Grab driver. We hope he’s doing fine now!
Sources: China Press (1)(2), Lowyat.net
