Gojek driver racially taunts passenger, mocking the Tamil language
A Gojek passenger was subjected to racist abuse from his driver when they had a misunderstanding over the pick-up point.
The passenger, Instagram user Decibels_ilu, posted a video recording of his exchange with the driver on Tuesday (Jan 11) after booking a ride starting at a block in Jurong West Ave 1. A copy of the video screen was later shared on Instagram page Wake Up, Singapore.
Unable to locate the driver, Decibels_ilu called him to ask him where he was, only to be taunted by unintelligible sounds meant to mock the Tamil language.
"We put Block 316 [in the app], but you're not at Block 316... don't know where you go, and you wanna talk this kind of gibberish," Decibels_ilu can be heard saying on the call.
Decibels_ilu also posted three Instagram stories detailing his unfortunate experience.
He said the driver apparently indicated his arrival at the pick-up point when he was not there. When the passenger's companion, who booked the ride, asked the driver why he did so, she received a rude reply.
Decibels_ilu then took the phone from her to question the driver, but ended up on the receiving end of the offending remarks. Decibels_ilu admitted that he, too, said some unpleasant things to the driver.
In a subsequent post, the man wrote that Gojek had reached out to him to resolve the matter. He also conveyed his apologies to the driver for his harsh words during the phone call.
"Someone has got to be the bigger person and do something about it," he wrote.
Later on, Decibels_ilu shared that the driver apologised for his actions and that he received three demerit points.
Many netizens, however, felt that the punishment was light and called for the driver to be removed from the ride-hailing platform.
In response to AsiaOne's queries, Gojek said on Wednesday that it had spoken with both parties and investigated the incident.
"The driver has been censured and has apologised sincerely, which the customer has accepted."
"We regret that this has caused hurt and are committed to ensuring safe rides for all. As such, we will continue to strengthen educational efforts to prevent such behaviour on our platform," the company added.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
