35 year-old Mr Winson Tong, who was accused by 29 year-old Ms Adeline Lok of verbally abusing her and forcing her to disembark his vehicle last Wednesday due to a dispute over an SG50 promotion code offered by his company, has been sacked. He now plans to commence legal action Ms Lok whom he accused of painting a one-sided story of him online.
"After speaking to Winson and Adeline, we were able to confirm that the driver had flouted the strict regulations and standards of service we impose on all our drivers," said GrabTaxi in a statement today. "While this is unfortunate and a last resort, we have banned him from our GrabCar network.
"We take passenger safety and quality of service very seriously. Though this is an isolated incident, we take every precaution to ensure these remain so and we learn from each incident,"
GrabCar is an alternative service offered by GrabTaxi using private cars, instead of cabs.
Mr Tong has informed the media that he intends seek legal advice from a lawyer to pursue the matter in court: "She has shamed me unfairly online and marred my reputation over a trivial issue."
Ms Lok, who is self-employed, on July 29 told her side of the story on Facebook last Wednesday. Her post was shared 4,200 times. Among other things, she accused Mr Tong of insulting and threatening her, and had lodged a complaint with GrabTaxi about his behaviour. The police was also called in, although they did not get involved in the dispute.
Both parties involved have claimed innocence, with Mr Tong saying that he never threatened his passenger. He also maintains that it was not his fault that he was unable to verify the promotion code, blaming it on technical issues suffered by GrabTaxi.
When informed of Mr Tong's intention to seek legal redress, Ms Lok said in an SMS message to reporters: "I will see him in court if need be."
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