Taxi driver nabbed by undercover cops for overcharging by HK$330

Undercover cops posing as passengers arrested a 33-year-old taxi driver for overcharging yesterday.

The officers were picked up by the driver, surnamed Cheng, at around 5:30pm yesterday from the Peak Tram terminus at Garden Road.

After Cheng took the officers to their destination at the Peak, he charged them HK$400 (US$51) for a journey that normally costs about HK$70 (US$9)

The officers then revealed their identities to the driver and arrested him for overcharging, not displaying a taxi meter, and not displaying is taxi driver’s license, HK01 reports.

He is being detained for further inquiries.

The arrest comes after it was announced that the government had submitted documents to the city’s legislature outlining proposals to introduce a penalty system for cabbies who overcharge, tamper with meters, refuse fares, or take roundabout routes to their destinations.