Taiwanese Actress Claims Grab Rider In Vietnam Extorted Money From Her, Left Her Stranded En Route To Airport When She Refused To Pay More

Taiwanese actress Venus Huang, 40, was on a recent trip to Ho Chi Minh City when she fell victim to an alleged scam.

In a lengthy Facebook post, Venus recalled booking a Grab car to the airport, only for a motorcycle to arrive. Despite her attempts to clarify the mix-up, the rider insisted he was her driver.

After seeing her booking details on her phone, he immediately reached over and cancelled her original booking himself. The app's system then recorded the cancellation as a passenger-initiated issue.

The rider then grabbed her carry-on luggage, placed it on the bike's footrest, gestured animatedly and spoke in Vietnamese, which she believed was meant to convince her that traffic was heavy and a motorcycle would get her to the airport faster.

Venus also posted a photo of the rider and the motorcycle with her luggage already loaded, captioning the photo: “This is the uncle who extorted me.”

By now, the fare for a new booking had surged to 1.5 times more than her original booking. With her maps showing her a quicker estimated travel time by bike, Venus reluctantly agreed to proceed with the motorcycle ride. The rider initially asked that she pay the inflated price, but relented when she insisted on paying the original car fare of 91,000 VND (S$4.40). 

However, the driver deliberately rode at a slow pace of around 20km/h. When Venus asked the driver to hurry up, he pulled over and gestured for her to pay him more. He only began moving again after she agreed to pay an extra 20,000 VND (S$0.97). At that point, they were only one-third into the journey. 

According to Venus, the rider honked loudly all the way, yet maintained a nonchalant attitude. 

"He occasionally rode close to other bikes to provoke them, and even poked my thigh with his finger, asking if that made him "Number 1". I was furious and told him to keep his hands on the handlebar and focus on driving. Only then did he continue forward at his slow pace," she added.

What was supposed to be a 25-minute ride stretched to nearly 50 minutes. Just as Venus thought they were nearing the airport, the rider stopped beside an elevated roadway, claiming they had arrived.

She recalled: "Confused, I used a translation app to tell him I needed to go to Terminal 2, but he gestured for me to walk there. I checked the map and estimated it would take 15 minutes — not including time to find my way — but I really didn’t have the energy to argue with him. I handed him 120,000 VND (S$5.80), including the extra he demanded. He held onto my luggage and shouted that I owed him 150,000 VND (S$7.30). 'Oh, now you CAN speak English?!' I thought."

Ignoring him, Venus grabbed her bag and asked nearby drivers how much it would cost to reach the terminal. They allegedly tried to take advantage of the situation, quoting an inflated fee of 100,000 VND (S$4.80) — roughly the price for a full trip from the city to the airport.

Venus, who refused to fall victim to extortion again, hoisted her 18kg baggage onto her back and followed the directions of kind passers-by, and walked to the airport.

By now, she was close to missing her flight, and eventually sprinted through the airport and even had to cut into a queue to complete her check-in just before the counter closed. She then rushed through immigration and ran all the way to board the plane. 

Venus later filed a complaint with Grab. With the original driver’s account linked to the order, she believed Grab should be able to investigate potential account-sharing or collusion. However, she had little hope, noting that "trying to correct such misconduct through complaints is extremely difficult". 

After what she described as a “nightmare experience,” Venus urged travellers to allow extra time when navigating unfamiliar places and to leave early to avoid unexpected situations beyond their control.

She also warned others to stay vigilant, explaining that some drivers may specifically target airport-bound passengers, who are often in a rush, less likely to complain after leaving the country, and more willing to pay with leftover local currency to avoid extra problems.

The ordeal aside, Venus stressed that the incident was likely an isolated case, adding that she still has a positive impression of Vietnam’s food, accommodations, and the many friendly locals she met, and that she would happily visit again in the future.

In a statement to 8days.sg, a rep from Grab Singapore said: “We deeply sympathise with Venus Huang for the distressing experience she recently endured in Ho Chi Minh City. We investigated the matter upon receiving her report and found that while she made a booking via our platform and was assigned one of our driver-partners, the person who approached and pressured her to cancel that booking was a different individual and unlikely to be a legitimate Grab driver-partner.”

They further emphasised that the safety of passengers remains their highest priority, noting that the company will work closely with local authorities to safeguard passenger security.