Taxi driver fined $1,200 for refusing passengers with excessive luggage

A 57-year-old taxi driver has been fined HK$1,200 after being found guilty of refusing to take a passenger and her domestic helper in Sai Kung, claiming they had too many belongings.

The incident took place on October 13 last year when the pair tried to hail an urban taxi on Fuk Man Road after shopping in Sai Kung to return home to Clear Water Bay. 

The driver, Wu Kin-cheung, repeatedly asked why they did not take a New Territories “green taxi” instead, and complained that their plastic boxes and clothes rack were too bulky.

When the helper attempted to place the items in the trunk, Wu slammed it shut and reportedly said, “Even if you get in, I won’t drive you.”

The passenger later noted the taxi’s license plate number and made a complaint. Wu was subsequently charged with refusing hire without reasonable excuse.

At Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts, Magistrate Claudia Ng Cheuk-hwa found the passenger’s testimony credible and rejected Wu’s claim that the items would block his view, ruling that he simply did not want to carry passengers with bulky items.

Taking into account his clean record and the fact that it was an isolated incident, Wu was fined HK$1,200.