Grab Driver Took Drugs & Did Weird Things Like Driving in Circles & Making Advances on Ladies; Jailed for 3 Months 2 Weeks

Earlier this year on 3 Feb 2020, three women aged 22, 20 and 17 years old suffered through harrowing Grab rides.

An indignant mother took to Facebook to warn others about a weird Grab driver who picked up her daughter and drove her to a “dead end”.

It turns out that on that day, three, not one, female passengers had scary experiences with the Grab driver based on the police reports lodged against him.

The driver was reportedly arrested on 4 Feb 2020 and nothing was heard about the case again.

Until now.

Jailed for 3 Months 2 Weeks

Nigel Lim Guan Yu, the Grab driver in question, was sentenced to three months and two weeks’ jail on 24 Aug 2020.

In addition, he was also fined $8,000.

Found guilty for four charges of using criminal force and threatening behaviour, as well as possession of a controlled drug, a fifth charge was taken into consideration during sentencing.

The prosecution had asked for three months and two weeks’ jail and a fine, saying that Grab has become one of the common modes of public transport, and people have a sense of security when taking it.

Because of that, the sentence for Lim must be able to act as a deterrent to other people who might be tempted to do the same thing, as well as assure the public.

Meanwhile, Lim who was not represented by a lawyer, said he is remorseful about his actions.

Here are more details on what he did, and why he did them:

The First Victim

On 3 Feb 2020, Lim first picked a 22-year-old social work associate from Bedok North.

Nearing her destination, she told Lim to turn right but he turned left instead and drove into a multistorey carpark at Blk 149 Pasir Ris St 13.

He ignored the woman, who kept telling him to stop and continued driving until his vehicle hit a pillar.

She managed to escape while he alighted to check on the damage.

Lim had allegedly shouted for her to stop and pay in cash and that he could “show her a good time”.

The Second Victim

Lim picked up his second victim, a 20-year-old beauty consultant, at Pasir Ris.

She had input Paya Lebar Square as the destination but soon notice Lim driving around in circles.

Lim reportedly told her that he needed to collect an item and told her to sit in the front seat, which she agreed to.

Finding something wrong, she asked him to cancel the trip when he stopped at another carpark and tried to leave.

Lim grabbed onto her arm, trying to stop her from leaving but she managed to struggle free and fled from the vehicle.

The victim said that she was so traumatised by the incident that for two weeks after, she couldn’t take a Grab ride.

She also needed a friend to keep her company on the way to work and back home for a month after.

The Third Victim

The third victim is the 17-year-old girl whose mother went onto Facebook to warn about the safety of private-hire vehicles.

Lim picked her up at Pasir Ris and was supposed to send her to Yio Chu Kang Swimming Complex.

While he was driving along Ang Mo Kio St 65, Lim suddenly swerved into a dead end and stopped the vehicle.

He appeared to be in a daze, the court heard.

When Lim stopped his car again near the bus depot at Ang Mo Kio St 63, the girl took the chance to escape the vehicle.

She had even left $17 to pay for the ride.

Took Controlled Drugs

When Lim was arrested the next day, officers from the Singapore Police Force also searched his home.

They managed to find a tablet containing nimetazepam, which is a Class C controlled drug known as Erimin-5.

Lim admitted that he bought five of such tablets and took one tablet a week since the end of Dec 2019 to sleep.

The dealer he bought the drugs from was known only as Ah Siao in Geylang.