Taxi drivers charged over several cases of malpractice

The Public Security Police Force (PSP) is investigating the case of two videos circulating in social media networks in which a local taxi driver is captured overcharging and engaging in several other instances of misconduct.

In the two cases, which occurred between May 15 and May 27, the same taxi driver was filmed asking for a fixed fare of MOP100 and MOP200 respectively to take the passengers to their requested destinations. In the second case, the taxi driver was also filmed threatening the passengers.

When called by the PSP to testify about the case, the driver, aged 27, admitted to being the individual in the footage.

According to the PSP’s information, the man stands accused of seven violations of taxi regulations in addition to overcharging offences, such as “not providing help to the passengers in placing luggage in the trunk, failing to be courteous.” Thus, he has been referred to the Transport Bureau so that they can proceed with the administrative penalties.

The PSP spokesperson mentioned that each of the seven violations of the taxi regulation can incur a fine of MOP1,000.

Furthermore, the spokesperson also revealed that the same driver has been accused of 20 counts taxi malpractice since last year.

In the second case of video footage, the driver was recorded threatening a couple from Hong Kong. The police is seeking information that can lead to the identity of the couple as, unlike the malpractice of the first driver, threatening is a punishable crime but depends on the submission of a complaint by the involved.

In a separate case, on June 3, a different taxi driver was accused of blackmailing three passengers from the mainland who entered the taxi at Avenida de Kwong Tung in Taipa and headed to Avenida 24 de Junho in Macau.

Besides overcharging the passengers, asking MOP200 for the ride, he claimed that one of the passengers damaged the taxi door when he tried to depart, and the driver was seeking MOP3,000 in compensation.

To the police, the driver said that the passengers caused the damage and that one of them attempted to film the incident on his mobile phone.

The passengers said he tried to stop them from leaving, using a number of profanities and even injuring one of them on the shoulder.

The police inspected the car and could not find any damage. They asked the driver to identify the precise location of the damage, but he failed to provide a response.

The police are treating the case as blackmail since the driver was claiming compensation for non-existent damage.

According to the latest figures, from January to April this year, the police have recorded a total of 2,417 cases of taxi malpractice, from which 1,520 were related to overcharging and 544 to refusing to provide transportation. RM