13-year-old teenager nabbed for holding e-hailing driver at knifepoint

SUNGAI PETANI - An elderly e-hailing driver was held at knife point by a teenage boy in an incident at Taman Keladi, here, yesterday.

The 65-year-old driver, however, survived after he bit the 13-year-old's hand which caused the suspect to flee.

Kuala Muda district police chief Assistant Commissioner Zaidy Che Hassan said the 5.43pm incident was believed to have started after the driver received an order to pick up passengers at Taman Keladi to be sent to Bandar Sri Astana.

The driver said while travelling to Bandar Sri Astana, the passenger asked to borrow RM50 to pay the house rent.

"The driver said if he didn't have money, he will drop the passenger off where they were at but the passenger refused and asked the driver to take him home in Bandar Sri Astana to take money to pay for the Grab service.

"However, when he arrived in Bandar Sri Astana, he asked to take him back to Taman Keladi, causing the elderly to first ask for a payment of RM18 and continue his journey before the teenager procrastinated and asked to go through several small lanes," he said.

Due to the extra route, the teenager was then asked to add a payment of RM9 once they reached the destination.

"The passenger had given him RM20 but when the driver wanted to return the remaining money, he pointed a knife at the left chest of the elderly man and wanted to grab the money from his pocket.

"The elderly man's quick action in grabbing the knife and bite the teenager's hand to defend himself caused the suspect to flee," he said.

Zaidy said in the incident, the elderly driver did not suffer any injuries.

It was understood that the teenager involved is the eldest of four siblings and not from a broken family.

"The reason why the suspect acted like that was because he was angry with the complainant because he was insulted and tried to take back the fare payment money.

"There is a recording through the 'dashcam' installed in the e-hailing vehicle," he said.

A one minute and 32 seconds video had gone viral on social media which showed the teenage boy pointing a knife at an e-hailing driver.

Zaidy said the police report was lodged around 8pm and the teenager was arrested two hours later.

He said a black-tipped knife about 25 centimetres long that the teenager was carrying had been confiscated.

The case was being investigated under Section 393 of the Penal Code for attempted robbery.