Private-hire driver in Johor Bahru fetches family in just his underwear, later puts on T-shirt

A group of women found themselves in an uncomfortable situation when their private-hire driver showed up wearing only his underwear during a trip to Johor Bahru, Malaysia. 

In a post on the sgfollowsall Instagram account on Thursday (Jan 29), one of them said that she, her mother, and her aunts had booked a ride through the Maxim app at around 11.47 am on Wednesday. The family had apparently travelled from Singapore and this was their first time on the app.

"When the car arrived and I got on, we realised that the male driver was not properly dressed — he was only wearing underwear," she said. 

"All of us were women, we felt extremely uncomfortable and scared. My mother asked the driver to put on his shirt, which he only did halfway, but he still wasn't wearing any pants." 

The woman also urged others to exercise caution when travelling alone or using ride-hailing services. 

Maxim is a Russian company that provides taxi, delivery and cargo services in 20 countries, including Malaysia. 

Maxim Malaysia has reportedly banned the offending driver from the app. 

"Any behaviour that compromises passenger safety, comfort, or dignity is strictly not tolerated. The safety and well-being of our passengers is always our priority," a spokesperson reportedly said.

The Instagram post has garnered mixed reactions from netizens, with some brushing off the incident, while others said action should be taken against the man. 

"As long as he drives safely, I am happy. Whatever floats his boat," wrote one user.

Others shared similar experiences, even with the same driver. One netizen commented: "We encountered this same driver last year! Gave feedback to Maxim. Obviously no effect!" 

"Bad rating, (inappropriate) behavior, no manners. You must have morals (and) should know ethics," added another user. 

The post has since garnered over 4,900 likes and more than 140 comments. 

AsiaOne has contacted Maxim for comment. 

[[nid:726523]]

xingying.koh@asiaone.com