Unscrupulous cabbie jailed 2 months for repeat offence of overchargingTaxi driver, who went to prison six months ago, caught overcharging 'tourists' almost HK$100
A cabbie who overcharged two "tourists" by almost HK$100 on a trip to The Peak was yesterday sentenced to two months' jail.
The "tourists" turned out to be undercover police officers, and Wong Wah-wai's actions earned him his second jail term in six months for overcharging.
It comes at a time when taxi drivers' practices are in the spotlight after one was charged for rounding up fares by 50 cents. He was freed after prosecutors offered no evidence.
In Eastern Court yesterday, Wong, 60, pleaded guilty to soliciting passengers, charging a fare exceeding the prescribed scale, and eight other charges relating to his cab.
Magistrate Li Kwok-wai declined to give Wong, who has been a cabbie for 30 years, a suspended sentence, saying he was a repeat offender. He also fined Wong HK$7,000.
The court heard that on March 9, police officers carrying out an operation against taxi malpractices outside the Garden Road Peak Tram Terminus saw Wong standing beside his cab at the head of the taxi line.
His meter was covered by an "out of service" sign, but when two officers disguised as tourists walked by, Wong said: "Taxi for The Peak - 150 dollars charge."
During the journey, he neither removed the "out of service" sign nor started the meter.
The officers revealed their identities after they arrived at The Peak Galleria and Wong tried to charge them HK$150.
According to a police calculation, the usual fare for the trip would have amounted to no more than HK$51.50, meaning Wong overcharged them by HK$98.50.
A government motor vehicle examiner later found eight defects in his taxi, including a broken offside front mudflap and broken front registration plate.
Wong was earlier this year jailed for one month and fined HK$1,000 for overcharging a passenger. He charged an undercover police officer HK$200 for a HK$36.50 trip from Tsim Sha Tsui to Mong Kok, again without turning on the meter.
In another case last Thursday, the prosecution offered no evidence against cabbie Tam Hoi-chi who was accused of overcharging a passenger by 50 cents.
Tam drove the woman from North Point to Diamond Hill on October 26 last year.
When they arrived at her destination, the meter showed the fare as HK$136.50. The passenger gave him HK$200, and he returned her HK$63 in change, keeping the 50 cents.
The passenger did not ask for the 50 cents at the time, but later complained to the police.
Last year, 29 out of 645 complaints about taxi overcharging lodged with the police were taken to court. In 2011, the number was 21 out of 475 cases.
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