SUNGAI PETANI, Nov 28 — A 13-year-old boy tried to hold up an e-hailing driver at knifepoint in Taman Keladi, near here, at about 6pm yesterday.
Kuala Muda district police chief ACP Zaidy Che Hassan said the e-hailing driver, aged 65, did not sustain any injuries but instead bit the suspect’s hand and managed to disarm the suspect after which the teenager got out of the car and fled.
“The e-hailing driver picked up a passenger via the Grab application at 5.43pm yesterday, to send the passenger from Taman Keladi to Bandar Sri Astana. During the journey, the suspect asked to borrow RM50 from the victim so that he could pay his house rent.
“The victim then asked the suspect to disembark if he (the boy) did not have money (to pay for the fare). However, the suspect refused to do so and asked to be sent to Bandar Sri Astana to get the money to pay for the Grab service,” he said in a statement today.
Zaidy said when the suspect arrived in Bandar Sri Astana, the victim received a payment of RM18 and was asked to send the suspect back to Taman Keladi.
“The suspect then instructed the driver to use several lanes (on the journey), resulting in the driver dropping off the suspect and demanding an additional payment of RM9.
“The suspect handed the victim RM20, but when the victim was trying to return the balance, the suspect pulled out a knife and pointed it at the victim’s chest and tried to grab the money from the victim’s pocket. The victim managed to bite the suspect’s hand and grab the knife from him,” he said.
Zaidy added that an investigation found that the teenager is the eldest of four siblings, and allegedly acted in this way because he was angry with the e-hailing driver for insulting him and wanted to reclaim the fare.
“The suspect, who is not from a broken family, had his actions in the Grab car recorded on a dashcam. The suspect was arrested at 8pm yesterday, about two hours after a police report was lodged.
“Police seized a 25-centimetre (cm)-long black-tipped knife and the case is being investigated under Section 393 of the Penal Code for robbery,” he added.
— Bernama
