JOHOR BARU - Malaysian police caught a man in Johor after he sexually attacked a woman who got into his car, thinking it was the Grab ride she booked.

The incident took place late on Monday night when the victim, 23, booked a trip using the ride-hailing app, the New Straits Times (NST) reported on Thursday (Jan 10).

"The victim booked a ride from Jalan Yahya Awal to go to Larkin. After receiving a notification from the Grab driver, she straight away got into the car at the pick-up location without checking the registration number," said Johor Baru south police chief, Assistant Commissioner Shahurinain Jais.

Her Grab car was a Perodua Bezza, and the suspect drove a Proton Gen2.

The suspect, who is Pakistani, took advantage of her blunder and drove off.

"The suspect was circling in the same area so the victim told him off before the suspect stopped his car at the crime scene," AC Shahurinain was quoted as saying by NST, adding that the driver then moved to the back seat and slapped the victim for trying to escape.

After putting up a strong struggle and kicking her assailant, the woman got out of the car but fell into a bush where she was pinned down by the man, China Press reported.

"The suspect then pulled down the victim's pants... but the victim believed there was no penetration as she did not feel any pain," AC Shahurinain said.

After the man left, the woman hailed another Grab car that took her to the Larkin Police Station where she lodged a report of the attack.

The woman could not provide the attacker's licence plate number but the police were able to identify it through closed-circuit television footage.

The 31-year-old suspect, who tested negative for drugs, was arrested the next day and admitted his involvement in the case.