Unemployed 29-year-old
woman fined $1,200 for taxi fare evasion
A 29-year-old was fined $1,200 after being found guilty of two
counts of fare evasion, reported The Straits Times.
Unemployed Tanya Azzure Lee had skipped paying taxi drivers
their fare for at least 34 times, reported the newspaper.
The traffic court was told how she hopped into a taxi at Whampoa
on April 15 last year, travelled to her destination in Woodlands
Avenue 7, and then told the driver that she could not pay the fare
of $17.80.
She then told the driver that she would go up to her relative's
home and get the money to settle the fare. The taxi driver rejected
the idea and told her that he would drive her to a police station
instead.
She handed over her identity card and took down the driver's
mobile phone number, promising to settle the fare the following
day.
However, she failed to do so and the driver made a police report
on April 18.
On Sep 7, she made another trip from Whampoa to Woodlands at
12.30 am, and attempted the same ruse on the taxi driver. This time
round she handed over her mobile number, identity card number and
name. The taxi driver also took a photograph of the woman.
Once again she failed to settle a taxi fare of $25.20.
She was fined $600 on each of the two counts but had been
allowed to settle the other 32 fares.
Taxi drivers told The Straits Times that they prefer not to
report fare evaders as they take up an hour or two of their
valuable time. One even likened it to being no more than a job
hazard.
