Ride hailing app Grab is currently investigating allegations that one of its drivers in its motorcycle taxi fleet, GrabBike, made inappropriate sexual advances on his passenger via the app’s chat function.
Screenshots of the chat went viral over the last couple of days, showing the driver, identified by the initial S, offering to pay a passenger Rp 500K ($37) if she would spend “malam jumat” (a double entendre literally meaning Friday night, but is also a local euphemism for having sex) with him at his house until 2am. The unidentified passenger did not answer any of the lewd remarks from S, who went as far as telling her that he had already bought condoms.
Grab Indonesia said they’re aware of the chat and have summoned S for investigation.
“We are investigating and the account of the partner driver (S) has been suspended,” Grab Indonesia Country Marketing Director Mediko Azwar told Detik today.
Grab said they are also trying to communicate with the alleged sexual harassment victim. The company did not say whether or not they would report S to the police for sexual harassment at this point in their investigation.
In 2014, a survey by Thomson Reuters ranked Jakarta as having one of the world’s most dangerous public transportation systems, with many respondents from the city saying that they have been verbally harassed when using public transport before.
