S’pore Grab driver waives cleaning fee after student paid for drunk friend who threw up in vehicle

Kind-hearted Singapore Grab driver waives off cleaning fee after drunk passenger vomits in car

A Grab driver in Singapore has won praise online after choosing compassion over compensation when a student’s drunk friend vomited in his car.

Instead of charging a cleaning fee, he returned the money the student had transferred to him, saying the young man should not have to bear the burden of his friend’s actions.

Grab driver sends student’s drunk friend home

In a recent TikTok video, @pragmajuu shared his experience, recounting how a polytechnic student had booked a ride home for his intoxicated friend.

When he arrived, the driver, 51-year-old Julian Ang, saw the drunk passenger “leaned over a pole, puking his guts out”.

Despite the situation, Mr Ang agreed to take him home after the sober friend pleaded with him. He also considered that the journey was a short one.

However, during the ride, the intoxicated passenger ended up puking “a little bit” in the car.

As a result, the Grab driver had to end his shift for the night to clean his car.

Although he washed the car thoroughly, he said there was still “a slight sour smell” the next morning.

Grab driver waives cleaning fee

In the video, Mr Ang shared that ride-hailing platform Grab usually imposes a cleaning fee of up to S$150 for such incidents.

He also informed the student who had booked the ride for his drunk friend about this.

The student was reportedly very apologetic and later transferred S$17 to Mr Ang, offering what he could afford.

He added that the student had been in contact with his drunk friend’s mother, but claimed she did not offer any compensation.

Reflecting on the situation, Mr Ang said he felt the student was unfairly carrying responsibility for something that was not his fault.

“Polytechnic student, S$17…I don’t know how much he gets for allowance,” he said. “You shouldn’t be the one apologising. You shouldn’t be the one paying for it.”

He eventually decided to return the money to the student. He also asked the student to pass his contact details to the drunk friend’s mother.

However, he revealed that he had not heard from her at all.

“I’m moving on,” he said at the end of the clip.

‘Not fret about the little things’

The incident reportedly occurred on 22 Feb at about 11.30pm.

Mr Ang, who is also a freelance personal trainer and sports massage therapist, told MS News that he didn’t have much of a chance to think about whether to accept the ride.

“The sober friend came right up to the window to knock and ask. I took that opportunity to sort of think about it,” he shared.

When MS News clarified about the cleaning fee stated by Grab, Mr Ang explained that the S$150 cleaning fee for such situations is stated in the Grab driver’s app.

However, he added that he does not focus heavily on incentives or “cherry-pick” jobs.

“I set the thing on auto accept and just go wherever the app takes me,” he said.

As a result, he currently maintains a 100% acceptance rate with zero cancellations.

“That’s just the way I want to live my life and not fret about the little things. So, sending this drunk kid home was just me going with a ‘see what happens’ mentality, I guess.”

Also read: S’pore nurse gives birth in Grab car, driver praised for being calm & professional

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Featured image adapted from @pragmajuu on TikTok & Africa Images on Canva for illustration purposes only.