Couple Reuben Chow and Cindy Lim became parents to a baby girl in the back seat of Grab driver Mohammad Fazli Bin Omar’s Toyota Altis on Nov 21 at 2.42am.
Fazli did not expect the ride to Mount Alvernia Hospital to end with three passengers on board.
“I booked a GrabCar as my wife wasn’t having any regular contractions at that point, and based on our experience with our first two children, the entire labour process typically takes a couple of hours,” said Reuben.
“However, just before we left the house, my wife’s contractions intensified and escalated very quickly. We took some time and effort to even get into the car and, barely a minute or two into the ride, my wife said that the baby was arriving!
“We had to improvise on the spot and it was such a relief to hear the baby’s first cry.
“Our home is only a 5 to 7-minute drive to the hospital so you can imagine how quickly everything unfolded.”
Understandably, Fazli was shocked but he managed to compose himself to get the family to the hospital safe and sound.
“I was definitely shocked when I noticed that Mdm Cindy Lim was in labour — I have never been in such a situation while being on the job! I did my best to stay calm and focused on driving them safely to the hospital. Thankfully, it was a short drive and the night traffic was smooth,” said Fazli.
When they arrived at the hospital, Cindy and the newborn were brought into the emergency room after Fazli alerted staff to the situation.
Reuben even offered to help Fazli clean up his car before they parted ways.
“We are grateful that Mohammad Fazli waited patiently for us at the pick-up point and did not reject us after he realised what was going on. He was generally also very calm and nice about the whole situation,” Reuben added.
To celebrate the birth of Elora-Fae Chow, Singapore’s second GrabCar baby, Grab organised a reunion for the passengers and driver-partner at its office in Midview City on 13 December.
Andrew Chan, Head of GrabCar Singapore, presented Reuben and Cindy with a Grab voucher worth $8,000, and a special Grab onesie for baby Elora-Fae. Grab also awarded Mr Mohammad Fazli with fuel vouchers worth $800 for his 5-star service, and a hand-drawn thank you card from Reuben and Cindy’s 5-year-old daughter, Sarah-Ann.
“We couldn’t have been more proud of our driver-partner, Fazli, who remained calm and brought both the parents and baby safely to the hospital. Our heartiest congratulations to Reuben and Cindy and the latest addition to their family, we’re really glad to be part of this joyous occasion!” said Andrew Chan.
This is the second baby to be born in a GrabCar. On Aug 12, a woman gave birth to a baby boy while travelling on the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE).
