PUBLISHED ONMay 26, 2024 4:54 AMByLim KeweiA recently widowed woman is hoping that ride-hailing platform Grab would waive part of the outstanding fees incurred by her late husband, who died suddenly and had less than $20 in his bank account.
Before his death on May 9, Su Zian (transliteration), 59, worked as a private-hire driver for almost 10 years and would typically drive from 3pm to 1am, reported Shin Min Daily News.
In an interview with the Chinese newspaper, his widow, who is deaf, said that she had found Su, blood trickling out of his mouth, unconscious in the toilet at around 6am that day. He had been inside the toilet for at least an hour before he was found.
He reportedly died of pneumonia and heart disease.
Mrs Su said that insurance agents and lawyers visited her home later that day to assist with funeral arrangements and helped notify private ride-hailing platform Grab of Su's death.
"Afterwards, I saw a message on his phone informing him to pay the car rental and return the vehicle. But as I can't hear or speak clearly, I couldn't handle it immediately," she added.
On May 21, almost two weeks after Su's death, she received a letter from Grab demanding payment of $1,892.99. The sum reportedly includes charges for car rental, car repair fees, towing fees and early termination fees.
She is hoping for a partial waiver of the amount, as her husband had only $16.16 left in his bank account.
In response to AsiaOne's queries, a Grab spokesperson said that they are sorry to hear about Soh’s passing.
"We will be waiving the outstanding charges, and are in touch with his next-of-kin on this matter," said the spokesperson.
Shin Min reported that the company will typically provide a rental waiver upon processing the death certificate and other relevant documents.
