A taxi driver was suspended from an online ride-hailing platform after a woman accused him of verbal sexual harassment. The driver named Zhao was suspended for a total of 21 days after he allegedly complimented his passenger and said, “smells good”.
After the passenger registered a complaint on June 8, the driver was blocked from the cab aggregator platform, Zhejiang TV reported. The driver asked the woman thrice if she was wearing any perfume.
“The smell from your body is so good,” the driver said after the woman said that she had not applied any scent. According to the woman passenger, the pleasant fragrance was from the liquid detergent, following which the driver had inquired about the specific brand of the detergent.
As per the report, the woman revealed the brand name of the washing substance and left the vehicle before reaching her destination. Hours later, the woman filed a complaint with the car-hailing platform. The company initiated proceedings in the case and reviewed voice recordings before announcing the penalty.
However, Zhao claimed that he was pleasant in his demeanour when he inquired about the perfume’s smell. Alleging his tone to be “polite” he said, “I just do not understand. I did not say anything wrong!”
“If she had not replied to me, I would not have continued asking her,” Zhejiang TV quoted the driver as saying.
While addressing the media, the woman said that she felt uncomfortable when the driver questioned her about the perfume multiple times while glancing at her through the rear-view mirror. Seeing it as a potential threat to her safety, she asserted that she maintained politeness during the conversation to avoid provoking him.
Defending her actions, the woman said, “My courteous replies were interpreted as being amenable to him. I believe any passenger, regardless of gender, would feel uncomfortable if a driver made such remarks.”