BEIJING - ILLEGAL road tolls in China have been used to con at least US$3.1 billion (S$4.32 billion) from unsuspecting motorists, state media reported on Thursday.

More than 150 illegal tollgates across the country had collected 14.9 billion yuan by the end of 2005, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing a survey of toll roads by the National Audit Office.

A further 8.2 billion yuan had been wrongfully taken from motorists by charging them too much for tolls, the report added.

China has used tolls since 1984 to pay for a massive expansion of its highways, but the problem lay with local governments that established tolls on unauthorised roads, according to the report.

The National Audit Office said there were many other problems with the toll system.

'The NAO criticised the loose management of toll roads, including the cutting or exempting of officials and government departments from fees, transferring operating rights to private enterprises without approval and using toll revenues for purposes other than the repayment of loans,' Xinhua said. -- AFP