Covid-19: Social media users applaud injured food delivery rider who carries on with job despite accident

PETALING JAYA, April 20 — Food delivery riders have become pivotal in ensuring that the masses stay at home during the movement control order (MCO) period.

Without them, there’d be plenty more people roaming around, which is why many riders often go the extra mile to make sure that their customers get their food as quickly as possible.

Just like the rider delivering Mohd Ikmal Hanif Bokhori’s dinner at the end of the last week.

Ikmal, 23, expressed his sadness and gratitude to the food delivery rider in a post onto his Twitter page, as the rider followed through with his duties despite meeting with an accident on the way to Ikmal’s location in Shah Alam.

“I ordered food and my rider met with an accident while he was delivering it,” said Ikmal in the post.

“His face was pale, he had wounds all over. But all he said was sorry for being late, sorry for making you wait long and sorry that the plastic was dirty.”

However, before meeting the rider, without knowing what had happened, Ikmal told mStar that he was getting a little impatient that his food was taking much longer to arrive than expected.

“At first I thought it was taking a long time because there may have been a lot of orders with everyone staying at home,” said Ikmal.

“But it took more than an hour for my food to arrive. When I went down to my apartment lobby they told me my food was at the reception counter.

“I saw the rider standing outside so I went to talk to him and asked him what happened. His pants were torn, he had big wounds on his knees.”

Ikmal added that the rider said he fell off his motorbike on the wet roads after trying to avoid hitting a car which came out of a junction without using an indicator.

The rider was then helped by a passerby as the car in question drove away after seeing him fall.

Ikmal also said that he felt bad and at fault for the rider’s misfortune considering that his life was in danger just for two pieces of fried chicken.

“Luckily he managed to swerve and not hit the car. I felt bad for him. When I met him he was still in shock, his whole body was shaking,” said Ikmal.

“I offered to take him to the clinic but he declined and said he just wanted to go home and see his wife. But I felt even worse because he kept apologising to me for being late.

“But I’m the one who’s sorry. Sorry for making him go through that. I feel really sad but I’m also so impressed at his persistence. Even though he met with an accident and was shaking, he still kept the food box safe and intact.”

The rider’s employers, GrabFood, have already been in contact with him and are assisting him with his insurance claims.

Ikmal wasn’t the only in awe of the rider’s perseverance as many social media users have reacted to his post, garnering more than 12,000 shares and 13,000 likes on Twitter.

Many users praised the rider for his work ethic and also wished for other riders to be safe on the roads during this time.

“To all food delivery riders. Stay safe on the roads, please. And to those ordering, please be patient, greet them with a smile and say thank you,” wrote one user.

While other users advised riders to “wait until conditions get better” if it is raining, citing that their own safety should be the main priority.

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