Grab cross-border delivery of chicken rice on TikTok revealed as hoax

A Green-clad Grab delivery worker hopping on a plane to Singapore to transport a customer’s chicken rice order in Thailand turned out to be a hoax. A TikTok video depicting the scenario went viral, with a spokesperson for Grab Singapore confirming to The Straits Times that the video was created independently by a public individual, and the featured delivery partner is not a registered Grab employee.

Posted by TikTok user @thita.vy, the 27-second video raised eyebrows initially over why a food order was being taken to an airport. The video showed a man in a Grab uniform, with a bag of goods slung over his shoulder, boarding an AirAsia plane.

The woman behind the account said that the man claimed he was hired to fly to Singapore to buy chicken rice and deliver it back to Bangkok.

The video sparked widespread online debate, with some netizens saying they were not surprised that wealthy people might use such a service to satisfy their cravings, while others questioned whether it was staged.

The only cross-border delivery service that Grab Singapore offers allows users to send vouchers, gifts, or food to individuals residing in over 100 other cities in Southeast Asia. However, ordering food from one city or country and having it delivered back to the origin country isn’t possible.

Previously in September, another TikTok video surfaced showing a Grab-clad employee claiming to be on a plane from Medan on Sumatra Island to Yogyakarta in Java, a distance of more than 2,400 kilometres, to buy a famous snack for a customer.

Publicity stunt

Grab Indonesia clarified that delivery partners could not carry out orders between these islands. Local media identified the man in the clip as Erwin Siahaan, a politician from Indonesia’s Prosperous Justice Party who used to be a delivery driver. Many netizens speculated that Siahaan might be trying to generate publicity ahead of the general elections in 2024.

In response to The Straits Times’ queries, a spokesperson for Grab said…

“We understand that the fictional video was created by a member of the public independently.”

Grab added that the only cross-border delivery service it has is its 100+ Cities Delivery programme, which allows users to send vouchers, gifts or food to loved ones who live in other Southeast Asian cities. But they cannot order food from other cities to be delivered back home, reported KhaoSod.

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