Cops arrest teen who pulled knife on elderly e-hailing driver

Screenshots of a video showing a teenager pointing a knife at an elderly e-hailing driver.

PETALING JAYA: Police have arrested a 13-year-old boy for holding an elderly e-hailing driver at knifepoint in Sungai Petani, Kedah, yesterday.

Kuala Muda police chief Zaidy Che Hassan said the incident occurred at around 5.43pm when the 65-year-old driver picked up the teenager in Taman Keladi for a drop-off in Bandar Sri Astana, Sinar Harian reported.

Zaidy said the teenager had asked to borrow RM50 to pay for his housing rent, but the driver told him that if he did not have money, he would be forced to drop him off.

“However, the teenager refused and asked the driver to take him to Bandar Sri Astana to get money to pay for the Grab ride,” he was quoted as saying.

Upon reaching Bandar Sri Astana, Zaidy said the teenager then changed his destination back to Taman Keladi, leading to a longer route and an additional fare request of RM9.

“He then handed over RM20, but when the driver wanted to return the change, the teenager held a knife to the left side of the victim’s chest and attempted to snatch money from his pocket,” he said.

Zaidy said the suspect’s actions were believed to have stemmed from anger over the victim’s scolding.

“The police received a report at around 8pm, and the teenager was arrested two hours later. A 25cm-long black-handled knife carried by the teenager was also seized.

“The case is being investigated under Section 393 of the Penal Code for attempted robbery,” he said.

Earlier today, a one-and-a-half minute video clip showing the teenager pointing a knife at the e-hailing driver went viral on social media.