Don’t you hate it when your plans to commit crime get foiled in almost comical ways?
A 48-year-old cabbie was arrested at 11pm last night when he allegedly tried to charge his passenger HKD300 for a HKD22 ride from D’Aguilar Street in Lan Kwai Fong to one of the hotels above Pacific Place in Admiralty.
He may have thought his passenger was a clueless Japanese tourist – but he was actually an undercover police officer.
Yeah, we can’t say we have much sympathy for this taxi driver either.
The taxi driver reportedly failed to use the meter for the entirety of the journey, then asked for HKD150 for what should have been a HKD22 cab ride, reports Oriental Daily.
The cop then played dumb and pretended to be unfamiliar with local currency, presenting a wad of cash to the cabbie to count out for him. Move over Leo – someone get this guy an Oscar!
The unscrupulous cab driver then allegedly counted out three HKD100 bills and, unsurprisingly, kept the change.
In what we hope was a dramatic movie-worthy moment, the passenger then revealed his true identity as a law enforcement agent.
The driver was arrested on suspicion of overcharging and failing to use the taximeter.
By law, a taxi driver who overcharges, rejects or touts passengers can be punished by six months’ imprisonment and a HKD10,000 fine.
Think the police will now crack down on cab drivers rounding up to the next dollar?
Check out Coconuts TV’ video on Hong Kong’s taxi problem:
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