Relief Grab driver allegedly steals PHV he rented, racks up fines and spends $275 using debit cards left in car
A relief Grab driver was arrested after he allegedly stole a private-hire vehicle (PHV) he had rented and used somebody else's debit cards left in the car.
The PHV and debit cards belong to Stomper Anonymous.
He told Stomp: "My car, a silver Honda Civic, was stolen by an individual who was introduced to me through Grab's Relief Matching Programme.
"This was not an entirely private arrangement, as the match was facilitated by Grab's platform, which is positioned as a safe and verified way for owners to rent out their vehicles to relief drivers."
At the beginning of the year, the Stomper was matched with a relief driver named Muhammad.
"He wanted to supplement his current income with Grab as he was having some financial difficulties," said the Stomper in a police report he made.
"We agreed on 6pm to 6am every day for $60, as advertised in the Grab relief programme."
The Stomper said that for the first few days, Muhammad returned the car late and was sometimes tardy in paying the rental amount.
"I was accommodating as he had reasons of financial issues and somehow seemed okay," said the Stomper.
By Jan 10, Muhammad owed the Stomper $180 in rental. That day was also the last time the Stomper saw his Honda.
Muhammad was supposed to return the car on Jan 11 at 9am, but he messaged the Stomper at 7.30am to ask if he could extend the rental and return the car on Jan 12 at 6am.
"I was irritated, but I took pity on him again and said okay. He owed me $300 at this point," said the Stomper.
"The last I heard from him was on Jan 11 at 9.47am."
The Stomper said Muhammad failed to return the car the next day and became uncontactable. A police report was made on Jan 13.
On Jan 20, the Stomper made another police report after discovering the DBS debit cards left in his car were used for transactions amounting to $275.
But that wasn't all.
"I have since been informed by Grab that my stolen vehicle was involved in a pump-and-run incident at a Caltex petrol station, where fuel was taken without payment," said the Stomper.
"In addition, government enforcement agencies have already issued fines against me as the registered owner, even though the car was reported stolen at the time of the offences."
He was fined $100 by HDB and a total of $187 by Land Transport Authority, but the Stomper said HDB has approved his appeal to waive the fine.
In response to a Stomp query, a Grab spokesperson said the company is aware of the incident and have been in communication with the Stomper regarding the matter.
"We will cooperate fully with the authorities should they require assistance with their investigations," said the spokesperson.
"The Relief Matching Programme was designed as a community marketplace to provide flexibility for our driver-partners. While the programme facilitates private arrangements between partners, we take any breach of our platform policies extremely seriously.
"We have since permanently banned the other individual involved from our platform for violations of our code of conduct. We remain committed to maintaining the security of our community and supporting our partners where we can."
When contacted by Stomp, the police confirmed that the reports were lodged, adding that a 27-year-old man was arrested for cheating.
Investigations are ongoing.
The Stomper said: "No one else should unknowingly walk into the same situation I did. I hope my story serves as a lesson to not trust foolishly."
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