According to the South China Morning Post, two undercover policemen wearing Halloween costumes in Hong Kong arrested a taxi driver for overcharging them in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The driver allegedly charged them HK$100 (US$13) for a HK$30 taxi trip starting near the city’s nightlife district Lan Kwai Fong. He was arrested for overcharging and failing to activate the meter, after accepting marked money as fare from the officers upon arrival at the destination in Sheung Wan.
The 58-year-old man was one of two taxi drivers arrested in separate undercover police operations targeting unscrupulous taxi drivers in Central in the space of an hour on Thursday. The two officers boarded the taxi at the rank on Lower Albert Road, Central at about 1.30am.
“The officers were charged HK$100 for the trip. The fare was about three times the usual amount for such a journey that would normally cost between HK$30 and HK$40,” a police source said.In a separate case, another driver, 48, was also caught red-handed after he charged two other undercover officers HK$300 for a HK$30 journey from Central to Wan Chai. The two agents were posing as mainland tourists.
Their ride started from Lower Albert Road, Central soon after 12.30am. When they reached Harbourview Hotel on Harbour Road, Wan Chai, the pair were charged HK$300. The force said police would continue to carry out enforcement action to fight against unscrupulous taxi drivers across the city. “While encountering such illegal activities, members of the public should note the time, location, taxi registration number and name of the taxi driver and then lodge complaints to police,” a police spokesman said.
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