Go-Jek driver accused of 'kidnapping', passenger ridiculed on social media

PETALING JAYA: A Go-Jek driver was accused by his passenger of cheating and "kidnapping" her while travelling through morning rush hour in Singapore.

The driver, Kamaruzzaman Abdul Latiff, posted a seven-minute recording of the incident on Go-Jek Singapore Community Facebook group on Thursday (Jan 31), noting that he had thought about the incident a few days ago, and decided to share the video.  

It is unclear when the incident happened, but according to the post, he was driving the passenger from Bishan to Coleman Street at around 7.10am.

In the video, which was taken using a video camera from inside the car, the passenger accuses the driver of "cheating" her by taking routes that pass through the country's electronic toll system (ERP). 

However, when the driver asked her to provide an alternative route without the ERP, she failed to do so.

The driver then said the best solution was to head towards the nearest police station in Toa Payoh to settle the matter.

"You should take bus, it is cheaper - not even five dollars you can reach there (sic)," the driver told the passenger.

The video also showed the female passenger trying to record the driver with a smartphone, and later got someone on the phone to talk to the driver. 

The driver then informed the person on the phone that they are going to the police station.

The last two minutes of the video showed the duo talking to a person, believed to be a police officer, outside the car, and the individual had instructed them to go to the nearest neighbourhood police centre.

The passenger then tried to exit the car, but could not, as the door was locked.

She panicked and shouted, "Unlock the door! He is taking hostage on me! (sic)"

The driver then explained that he had not locked her in the car, that the door locks itself automatically. 

The driver also insisted that he did not kidnap the passenger, but she insisted otherwise.

"If I wanted to take you hostage, I would not have taken you to the police," he said at the end of the video.

It is unclear what happened after the video, but the driver, in the post on the community page, wrote that he had lodged a police report and informed Go-Jek of the incident.

The video has so far received over 18,000 likes and shared more than 40,000 times. 

People have ridiculed the girl over her behaviour towards the driver, which spawned memes and jokes on social media.

The driver was praised for keeping calm despite being berated by the passenger.

The Star has tried to contact the driver to obtain more details and updates from the incident.

A check by The Star found that the passenger has been doxed, and she had apparently deleted her Facebook account after the incident.

A Gojek spokesman told The Straits Times that it has investigated the incident using the evidence provided and has spoken to Kamaruzzaman and the passenger.

"Gojek takes all complaints from riders and driver-partners very seriously... A fair outcome has been reached with the driver partner and we are of the view that the matter is now concluded," the spokesman was quoted as saying.

It said the spokesman declined to reveal details of the "fair outcome".