Complaint about cabbie patacas switcheroo

A tourist has posted on social media Xiaohongshu that a Hong Kong cab driver replaced a HK$100 banknote with a 10 patacas bill when he handed over her change.

The woman said she reported to police, who are following up the case.

The woman said she and a friend took a taxi from AsiaWorld-Expo near the airport to Citygate in Tung Chung.

"It was a 3.5-kilometer ride, which took 10 minutes, but my friend and I only had HK$80 in change and a HK$1,000 banknote. After the driver confirmed he had enough change, we paid the HK$135 fare with the HK$1,000 banknote," she said.

She added they were worried that they were taking up the driver's time and so made a hasty exit before counting their change.

But after the cab left they found that one of the red banknotes was for 10 patacas - and not HK$100.

"I would like to remind everyone visiting Hong Kong to take note of the driver's information from the identity plate usually placed on top of the dashboard, bring sufficient change, keep the receipt, and count the change before leaving," she said.

The post went viral. One online user said: "This is so despicable. Not only did he give less change, but he also used Macau banknotes."

Another said: "I can only say there are cabbies scamming people everywhere in the world." And still another commented: "Now I know where that 20 patacas in my pocket came from."

Police, meanwhile, slapped 14 traffic summonses on seven cabbies in a nine-day undercover anti-malpractice operation that ended on Saturday. They boarded taxis near tourist hot spots in Central and Wan Chai.

The summonses were for offenses that included refusal of a fare, failure to show a taxi meter, and failure to display a driver's identity plate in a holder.

The officers also arrested three private vehicle drivers for allegedly taking passengers to Zhuhai for up to HK$2,600.

michael.shum@singtaonewscorp.com