Bloodied scratches on arm: Grab driver says he was attacked by female passenger over trip delay

In his six years as a private-hire driver, Sirajuddin Sathar has had his fair share of irate passengers. 

However, a passenger he picked up on Wednesday (March 8) not only gave him a dressing down, but also left him with two bloodied scratches on his arm. 

The 59-year-old picked up this passenger at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 at about 9.30am on Wednesday (March 8), reported Shin Min Daily News. 

The passenger, a woman who appeared to be in her 40s, was headed for Toa Payoh Central.

"I followed the GPS, which guided me to Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6, Marymount Road, and then to Toa Payoh Central from Toa Payoh Avenue 2," recounted the private-hire driver.

"Apart from some road works along Marymount Road, there were no other obstructions." 

Just as he was about to arrive at her destination, Sirajuddin said that the passenger began berating him in Mandarin.

"I tried to communicate with her in English, but she hit my back and my arm. It gave me a shock and I had to stop the car," he said. 

He turned around to look at his passenger who then stopped attacking him, but started muttering to herself. 

Feeling bewildered, Sirajuddin nonetheless continued driving towards the destination. 

Upon arrival at Toa Payoh Central, Sirajuddin opened the car door for the woman to alight, but was once again lambasted in Mandarin.

She also hit him again, he recounted. 

"I tried to de-escalate the situation by leaving as quickly as I could. Although I can't understand Mandarin, I suspect she was upset because she thought I took a detour which caused her to be late. 

"But I just followed the GPS, I didn't make a detour," he maintained, adding that this is the first time that he's encountered something like this. 

Speaking about his injuries, Sirajuddin said he only noticed the two scratches on his arm later on. 

"She must've scratched me with her nails while hitting me. The scratches are about four centimetres long, and they're still quite obvious after a day," he shared. 

Sirajuddin said that he has since filed a police report and has also filed a complaint with Grab. 

Responding to Shin Min's queries, the police confirmed that a report was made regarding the incident. 

AsiaOne has contacted Grab for more information. 

Grab driver gets cursed by at female passenger 

Last month, a Grab driver known as Fu took to Facebook to detail his encounter with a female passenger who "started to shoot her mouth off" the moment she entered his vehicle. 

He had picked the woman up at the main entrance of Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) and was supposed to drop her off at Queen's View in Queenstown.

After he reached the pick up point, Fu recounted that he was unable to locate the passenger, despite her sending him a message that she was already there. 

Just as he was about to make a U-turn, he heard a loud knock on the left passenger-side window of his car. 

The passenger, whom Fu described as in her 40s, opened the door and "started to shoot her mouth off". 

"[She was] treating me like a kid who made a lot of mistakes. It was the most degrading moment of my life."

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claudiatan@asiaone.com

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