From victims to culprits: A new hindsight on Uber drivers in Malaysia

Uber drivers in Malaysia had a hard time some two years ago, being the target of attacks from local taxi drivers.

But now the tide has changed, and Uber drivers are on the accusation bench and this is giving a bad name to the multinational company.

It started in May with a pregnant woman’s ride home turning into a nightmare after she was mugged by her Uber driver and another passenger during the night ride.

The 26-year-old booked her ride home to Puchong Jaya from Mid Valley through Uber, and claimed that there was another man sitting in the front passenger seat when she got into the vehicle at around 9.30pm Monday.

She said when they arrived at One Puchong business centre, the passenger pointed a knife at her and forced her to hand over her valuables.

Problem is by convention a passenger should not enter a ride-hailing car if there are more than one person in it, unless it is a ride sharing one.

UBER ZIP FLY

The most recent incident is that of a Uber driver opening his zip to show his ugly head to the passenger.

The Uber driver landed in hospital after he was beaten up by a group of more than 10 angry men for allegedly molesting a passenger.

A group, led by the alleged molest victim, attacked the driver behind a restaurant at Lintang Paya Terubong 1 yesterday in Penang.

The driver had picked up a female Vietnamese passenger at about 4pm yesterday and was heading towards Argyle Road from Lintang Paya Terubong.

The suspect is believed to have unzipped his pants, bared his private parts and placed the victim’s hands on his private parts.

So much for a cheap ride!

And there was this incident when a Uber driver forcibly amended their destination after they boarded his car on Sunday.

He then left them by the road halfway through their journey, where they said they were then approached by two men on a motorcycle who assaulted and robbed them.

Police have detained the Uber driver who allegedly drove two teens before leaving them at a location where they were subsequently robbed.

Speaking to Independent, an observer who is close to the taxi world in Malaysia said it is the same trend that saw taxi drivers doing such things, now popping up with ride-hailing services.