Serial taxi fare cheat fined $12,000

A WOMAN who cheated 10 taxi drivers out of their fares over a five-month period was slapped with a $12,000 fine yesterday.

Liu Meiqi, 33, would offer to pay the fare with a Nets card but the transactions would be unsuccessful.

When she was told to pay with cash, she would tell the cabby that she had no money.

Liu would then give her mobile number and ask the cabby for his bank account number, so she could transfer the fare to him.

At times, she would tell the cabby that she would pay with her Visa credit card.

When told that taxis no longer accept Visa, Liu would offer to pay via bank transfer to the driver's account.

The taxi driver would call her when no fund transfer was made, but she would switch off her phone or not answer the call.

She pleaded guilty to 10 counts of failing to pay taxi fares between October 2013 and March last year.

The total amount she avoided paying was $133.

In March 2013, she was fined a total of $2,400 for similarly failing to pay four taxi drivers.

If she does not pay the $12,000 fine, she must serve 50 days in prison.

As a repeat offender, she could have been fined up to $2,000 per charge under the Public Transport Council Act.

Liu's occupation is not known.

ComfortDelGro spokesman Tammy Tan said: "The company takes a serious view of nonpayment cases encountered by cabbies, and plays an active role in helping them recover fares."

This article was first published on March 07, 2015.
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