Police alert
on man who cheated 20 cabbies
AN ALERT has gone out to Singapore's 24,000 cabbies, warning
them about a conman who has cheated at least 20 of their peers.
The man, believed to be between 20 and 30 years
old, has been fleecing taxi drivers since December last
year, according to the police.
Said to be Chinese and fluent in Hokkien, he
usually tries to borrow $50 from cabbies on the
pretext of repaying a friend.
The culprit leaves his belongings in the cab as a
security deposit. The surety has included bags,
ATM cards, boxes and even his mobile
phone in some cases.
Only when the man does not return do cabbies realise that they
have been cheated of their money and fare.
The con man usually operates between
9.30am and 2.15pm, said a police statement which went out
to the taxi companies more than a week ago.
Described as being between 1.58m and 1.7m tall,
he boards taxis in Geylang,
Boon Keng Road, Bukit Merah, Redhill Road or
Kim Tian Road.
He then alights in Jurong East, Bukit
Batok, Telok Blangah or Geylang.
He has been seen wearing a singlet or T-shirt and shorts.
In a statement, the police reminded taxi drivers to be cautious
of passengers wanting to borrow money.
If they come across such passengers, cabbies are advised to jot
down their identity card details or take a photo with their mobile
phone.
Cabbies should also note the suspect's direction of travel and
his physical appearance, details that will help the police in their
investigations.