Part-time cabby jailed for stealing taxi to avoid paying rental
A part-time cabby facing financial woes hatched a plan to steal a taxi so that he could earn fares from passengers without having to pay the rental for the vehicle.
Ng Chee Yeong changed the licence plates on an SMRT taxi that he stole and removed the mobile data terminal system’s connection cable.
The 40-year-old errant taxi driver was nabbed by policemen 14 days later.
At the State Courts on Thursday (17 January), Ng was sentenced to five months’ jail and a fine of $1,000.
Ng, who will start serving sentence on 11 February, will also be banned from driving for 18 months after his release from prison. If he is unable to pay the fine, he will have to serve another five days’ jail.
Found taxi rental too costly
Ng was familiar with SMRT’s Taxi Share Scheme as he had used it for about two years. But he was in financial difficulty and found it costly to rent taxis to drive, the court heard.
The scheme operates via an online portal and mobile app. It allows freelance drivers to rent cabs. A driver who books a taxi can unlock the SMRT taxi remotely, and then use a physical car key after unlocking the door in order to use the cab.
After using the cab, the driver will park it at a car park. The cab will lock itself upon sensing that the physical remote car key is kept inside the taxi.
In August last year, Ng went to a multi-storey car park where he knew taxis would be parked. When no one was around, he stripped the front and rear licence plates of a cab. He wanted to use the licence plates on a taxi which he would later steal.
About a week later, he found a cab that was unlocked at another multi-storey car park. He seized the opportunity to steal a taxi.
Ng drove the cab away and later changed its licence plates. He threw the licence plates of the stolen vehicle away in a recycling bin near his home. The plates cost SMRT Taxis $128.40.
An SMRT Taxis operations executive made a police report on 16 August after other freelance drivers who made bookings for rental taxis could not find the cab for use.
Policemen traced the stolen vehicle through CCTV footages and extensive investigations, despite the different licence plates.
Ng was arrested while trying to unlock the stolen taxi on 21 August last year.
The taxi has been returned to SMRT Taxis.
For theft of a motor vehicle, Ng could have been jailed for up to seven years, along with a fine. For mischief, he could have been jailed for up to one year and also fined.
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