Grab Singapore Driver Who Claimed He Was Scratching An Itch Convicted For Masturbating
The incident occurred in Singapore last year.
By Katrina Khairul Azman — 23 Jul 2019, 05:33 PM
A 24-year-old GrabHitch driver in Singapore was recently convicted for masturbating in front of a female passenger last year
Zhang Jia Hao pleaded guilty to one count of insulting a woman's modesty during an incident on 24 January 2018 along Circular Road, according to a Lianhe Wanbao report on 19 July.
Zhang was driving a 22-year-old female student when she noticed that he was steering with only his left hand
After peeking at the driver's seat, she realised that he was masturbating, with his pants open at the crotch area.
She began a conversation with him to see how he would react, but he responded while using his hand to cover his crotch, Mothership reported.
The 22-year-old eventually asked Zhang if that was the first time he was masturbating in the presence of a passenger.
Caught off guard, he allegedly admitted that he was pleasuring himself and apologised.
She asked him to drop her off immediately.
The student then called her 32-year-old boyfriend and gave him the driver's personal information.
The woman's boyfriend contacted Zhang over WhatsApp and gave him an ultimatum - admit what he had done to his fiancée and family or they would report him to the police
In an attempt to "protect himself", the driver lodged a police report and denied that he was masturbating in front of her.
He said that he was merely scratching an itch from a rash outbreak below his hip.
Zhang gave the same explanation to his family.
The case has been adjourned to 26 July, and his lawyer is fighting to get him a probationary sentencing, Mothership reported.
Grab Singapore has since apologised for the incident and assured driver-partners and passengers that there is "zero tolerance for such behaviour"
"We have banned the driver from our platform and would like to remind both driver-partners and passengers to treat each other with respect," @GrabSG tweeted.
