An Uber driver who survived a horrendous stabbing attack in Melbourne was reportedly met with laughter as he desperately knocked on the doors of a petrol station for help in the aftermath of the attack.
Hassan Ahmad was stabbed in the back several times and had his car stolen by two passengers during an Uber trip in the early hours of Saturday morning.
After managing to run from the perpetrators, a group of onlookers made fun of his desperate pleas for help as he begged for a petrol station worker to call police and give him water.
“He was yelling for help; he told them he couldn’t breathe but nobody was trying to help him,” his close friend Mohsin Shakoor said.
“He is one of the nicest people that I’ve ever met over here and I am just in shock.
“Australia is meant to be a secure place and it shouldn’t be happening. We don’t live in a third-world country, we can’t expect such things to be happening here.”
The brutal attack is believed to have been perpetrated by two men who dumped Mr Ahmed’s car less than 200m from the scene of the crime at Johnston St in Fitzroy.
It’s believed Mr Ahmad, an Uber driver of four years, picked them up from King St in the city, before driving them to their destination in Fitzroy.
Mr Shakoor said the men had been friendly to their driver, who let them play loud music and smoke a vape in his car.
But once they got to their destination, the mood suddenly changed, with the men attempting to steal his car and then launching into a vicious assault, kicking, punching and stabbing him in the back.
After running to a nearby petrol station, Mr Ahmad, who eventually received help from another Uber driver before emergency services arrived, was left with severe injuries including a punctured lung.
While he is now in a stable condition recovering in hospital, those close to him say he is in constant pain and may be unable to work for six months.
His friend has launched a Go Fund Me page to help with his medical expenses, trauma counselling and living costs, and to fly his family over to look after him.
The fundraiser has already raised more than $10,000 for Mr Ahmad, who moved to Australia to go to university four years ago.
Mr Shakoor described his friend as a thoughtful, intelligent and kind man who was supporting his family back home in Pakistan through the money he earned as an Uber driver.
“Mentally he is traumatised and he still can’t process the whole thing, but we’re here to support him,” Mr Shakoor said.
“I’m furious and angry at (the perpetrators) and if I come across them I’ll straight out punch them in the face.”
The vicious crime has drawn attention to the vulnerability of Uber drivers and highlighted flaws in rideshare laws that state drivers can’t set up surveillance in their own vehicles.
While police are still investigating the matter, the identities of the offenders are still unknown, and with Mr Ahmad’s phone – which is linked to his Uber account – believed to be stolen, it has been difficult to track down the men responxjmtzywsible.
Mr Shakoor said he wanted justice for his friend, and that he believed policies around the installation of cameras needed to be changed for the safety of drivers and passengers.
He said while drivers often experienced harassment, physical attacks were rare and had shocked the community of drivers.
“I know a lot of people who are Uber drivers and we are all devastated,” Mr Shakoor said.
“We want to make an example that if anyone does this, they should be held accountable. Nobody should be getting away with it.”
A spokesperson from Uber confirmed the company was working with police and that governing body, Commercial Passenger Vehicles Victoria, formed the company’s approach to surveillance policies.
CPVV has been approached for comment.
Anyone with information has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
To donate to the fundraiser visit the Go Fund Me page.
