Ride-sharing driver removed from service pending robbery investigations

PETALING JAYA: Another Uber driver has been removed from the driver-partner’s access to the app pending police investigations into a robbery incident involving the ride-hailing service.
However, a Uber spokesman said the driver had always received good ratings and had a good record to date and the company is reaching out to him to get his side of the story.
"At this point it is premature to say one incident caused the other. However we are investigating the incident," she told theSun, adding the company took this incident seriously and had reached out to the victims to check on their well-being.
In the incident, two students, both 24, had booked a trip using the ride-sharing app from Jalan Ampang to Cheras Perdana about 3.30am on Sunday.
As they entered the car, the victims claimed the driver grabbed one of their mobile phones and changed the destination to Taman Murni Batu 9, not their original destination.
The students claimed that when they reached the location, they were left by the roadside.
Two assailants on a motorcycle then pulled up.
The victims claimed that they were duped into thinking that they were about to get a lift.
They were instead taken in turns to a secluded spot where they were hit with helmets and mugged.
It was learnt that one of the victims received six stitches on his lips while another received stitches near his eyes.
The incident was related by a Facebook user, Christine Juliana Danker, said to be the mother of one of the victims.
It was reported Kajang district police chief ACP Othman Nanyan said an investigation paper has been opened under Section 394 of the Penal Code for causing hurt in committing robbery.
On May 21, Wong Mei Yan, 26, was robbed at knife point on her way home by her Uber driver and his accomplice.
She subsequently suffered a miscarriage following the traumatic incident.
Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar had said it is important for laws pertaining to e-hailing services to be passed in the next Parliament sitting.
He said if service providers are regulated, SPAD can supervise them better and even check their drivers' records.