Is this private hire driver heartless, a germaphobe or just plain misunderstood?
A Grab driver has been criticised online for allegedly refusing to pick up an injured passenger, with the latter accusing the driver of being a snob and asking him to call for an ambulance instead.
In an Instagram post shared by Sgfollowsall yesterday (Aug 7), Enzo Sean wrote that he had suffered a minor abrasion and wanted to take a private hire vehicle to Sengkang General Hospital.
But the Grab driver had a change of heart after seeing his injuries, Sean claimed.
"In his snobbish rudeness, [the driver] told me not to get inside his car and asked me to call an ambulance instead since my injuries are minor," Sean added.
"He saw my abrasions & in his snobbish rudeness told me not to get into his car because he doesn't take injured riders to hospital and asked me to call an ambulance instead."
The driver also claimed that he was not allowed to pick up injured passengers, according to Sean, who was seen in the 30-second video hitting the car's bonnet while the car was moving off.
He said: "I hope future passengers with small injuries or abrasions do take note of this driver when he accepts your trip to hospital. He might be germaphobic or maybe just full of crap."
With the video garnering over 35,000 views, several netizens felt that the Grab driver had every right to reject an injured passenger.
"To be fair, I wouldn't want someone's blood in my personal car," a netizen said.
Other netizens accused Sean of blowing up a seemingly trivial dispute.
There were also netizens who agreed that the driver was heartless for refusing to take an injured passenger.
While there are guidelines on Grab's website for drivers relating to the cancellation of bookings due to Covid-19 related reasons or even passengers with too many luggages, there seems to be no advice with regards to ferrying passengers with injuries.
But the ride-hailing company encourages drivers to file a report if their safety is put at risk.
AsiaOne has contacted Sean and Grab for comment.
In past incidents of passengers complaining about private-hire drivers, a chatty driver was permanently banned from Grab after asking a passenger 'inappropriate' personal questions.
Taking to TikTok on July 27, the driver's child urged everyone to "speak up" and tell their drivers if the chat is getting too uncomfortable - after his father did not recall any unhappiness from his passenger.
And in March this year, a man with two pet dogs accused a Gojek driver of being unreasonable for refusing to pick him up.
The dog owner also claimed that he had left a message with this driver indicating he was bringing pets onboard.
With a Facebook video of the heated dispute garnering over 200,000 views, netizens were divided over which party was in the wrong.
chingshijie@asiaone.com
