Hong Kong police arrest driver in illegal car-hailing crackdown
Police arrested a 35-year-old man for operating an illegal car-hailing service and driving without third-party insurance. Officers posed as passengers and booked a HK$1,950 trip from Tsuen Wan to Guangzhou via a social media platform.
Hong Kong police have arrested a 35-year-old local man on suspicion of using a vehicle for illegal hire or passenger-carrying for reward, and driving without third-party insurance.
The arrest follows a proactive online patrol by officers, who discovered someone soliciting passengers on a social media platform for cross-border trips from Hong Kong to mainland China and Macau via land border checkpoints.
An undercover officer posed as a passenger and booked a trip from Tsuen Wan to Guangzhou through the suspect's social media account. The driver quoted a fare of HK$1,950. After the officer boarded the seven-seater private car and the vehicle set off, the officer identified himself and arrested the driver on the spot.
The suspect has been released on bail pending further investigation and is required to report back to police early next month. The private car involved has been impounded for further examination.