Philippines investigates Grab over alleged sexual assault of Vietnamese passenger

The Philippine Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board asked the company to explain the incident and gave it five days to comply. Philippine News Agency quoted the agency's chairman, Teofilo Guadiz III, on Wednesday. If negligence is found, the company could be suspended for at least 30 days and face fines.

The robbery and sexual assault allegedly occurred on September 5 when a Vietnamese woman booked a ride in Parañaque City.

During the journey, the driver allegedly let another passenger get into the car, so ABS-CBN News.

That passenger then reportedly took the woman's phone and cash worth 35,000 Philippine pesos (US$623) and raped her inside the vehicle. The driver was arrested by police on September 7.

Grab's Philippine unit said on Thursday that the driver involved in the case had been permanently banned from the platform. Bloomberg reported.

The victim has been offered assistance and full cooperation with the Philippine police will be provided in the investigation.