A Hong Kong taxi driver has been fined HK$1,000 (US$128) for rude behaviour, having allegedly thrown a passenger’s change out of the window after she had asked him to slow down.
Magistrate Winnie Lau Yee-wan at West Kowloon Court convicted taxi driver Lam Ching-fung of behaving rudely towards a female passenger who had booked his cab from Hong Kong International Airport to a residential complex in Hung Hom on December 7, 2024.
Lam denied a summary charge of behaving “other than in a civil and orderly manner”, contrary to the general conduct requirements for public transport drivers under the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) Regulations.
In passenger Ng Yuk-lan’s testimony, she said she used a speedometer app to find that the driver was travelling at about 120 km/h (75mph), when the maximum speed limit on the road was 100 km/h.
Ng told the court she then asked Lam to slow down, but he snapped at her: “Don’t call a taxi next time. I am out here making a living. You can choose not to take it.”
When they arrived at their destination, Ng said she paid HK$300 in cash and asked for a receipt. She testified that when Lam handed back her change, he threw a HK$20 banknote out of the window.
