Who is Peter Quek?
Peter Quek is identified as a taxi driver with SMRT Taxis in his 30s or 40s. He has on numerous occasions made fraudulent bookings with ride-hailing service GrabCar mobile app since November 2016. He would make bookings at odd hours of the night or give fake destination/pickup locations. Some of the destinations he has requested included Pulau Ubin and even Choa Chu Kang Cemetery with comments like “2 old ladies and a kid moving house”.
Grabcar drivers have been badly affected by the actions of Peter Quek. Not only having wasted precious time and petrol to get to the pick-up destination, the drivers were also forced to cancel the booking, which in turn affected their incentives. All Grab drivers are required to maintain a minimal level of cancellations in order to get their incentives.
The tipping point of the situation was when a lady Grabcar driver got harassed by Peter Quek and lodged a police report. Peter Quek had made sexist remarks of her, calling her ‘chio bu’ on Whatsapp and even went as far as posting photos of her young son in chat groups and on Facebook, despite her telling him not to do so. His bullying actions against a young mother quickly drew many angry responses from fellow Grab/Uber and Taxi drivers.
Grab has announced that they would permanently banPeter Quek from the ride-hailing platform after investigating the complaints. SMRT Taxi has also launched investigation into the matter.
These acts of sabotage against private-hire drivers are not new. There has been worldwide displeasure from traditional taxi companies, limousine companies and unions. These companies have attempted to get rid of modern day ride-hailing apps such as Uber, Grab and Lyft as their emergence have created huge competition for the taxi companies and the earnings of drivers. Earlier this year in Kuala Lumpur, an Uber driver was assaulted by gangs of taxi drivers who made the Uber booking.
Would this be the end of the Peter Quek saga?
His actions were aimed specifically at Grab/Uber drivers and his intention was clearly to disrupt the livelihood of Grab/Uber drivers. He may have been banned but surely, someone who has put in so much effort to sabotage others might not be stopped so easily.
To all Grab/Uber drivers, you may not receive anymore of Peter’s booking but that does not mean he is gone. He may reappear under a new alias with a new phone number and methods.
Should we stop driving?
Hell no! Let’s be honest. Peter Quek is not the only one who has been trying to “sabo” Uber/Grab drivers. There are probably a dozen more who are just like him but are yet to be reported by Grab/Uber drivers. Do not let these people deter you from driving!
Here’s what can be done in the event this happens to you
Always call and confirm if you see a weird booking. E.g. going to cemetery at 4am. If there is no response, it is more likely that you have just been ‘PQueked’!
If they do board the car and start creating trouble, keep calm and advise them to stop. If they persist, drop them off at a safe and accessible place so that they cannot complain that you left them stranded by dropping them off in the middle of nowhere. Contact Grab / Uber immediately via hotline or email.
Grab a hold of yourself and Uber on !
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