It was supposed to be an uneventful, 10-minute taxi ride from Changi Airport to Pasir Ris.

But for Mr Wayne Wong it turned out to be a 'dangerous' one.

He has alleged that a cabby rudely told him to get out of his taxi, leaving him stranded on the Pan Island Expressway (PIE).

He had to wait 20 minutes before he could get another cab, he claimed.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is investigating after the taxi company handed the case over to it.

NIGHT JOURNEY

Mr Wong, 42, said that he had got into a Silvercab taxi at the airport's taxi stand at 10.20pm on 4 Jan.

The tour guide, who also does business in the architectural glass industry, was at the airport for work and had planned to go to a friend's house after that.

He claimed the cabby was not pleased when he told him he wanted to go to Pasir Ris.

According to him, the cabby started driving at about 120kmh.

He ignored requests for him to slow down, Mr Wong claimed.

'The cabby said he had been waiting at the airport for an hour and that he needed to rush back to pick up more passengers,' he said.

Angry at his apparent lack of concern for safety, Mr Wong told him: 'That is not my problem. Safety is more important to me.'

But the driver kept on speeding, he claimed.

Then, Mr Wong said, a few minutes into the journey, the driver suddenly pulled over at the road shoulder of the PIE, about 200m after leaving the East Coast Parkway.

'He said to me aggressively, Before I lose my temper, you better get out of my car'. '

Mr Wong said he refused to do so and told the cabby to drive to a police station instead.

SHOUTED AT ME'

The cabby then got out and walked around to where he was sitting at the back, opened the door and shouted at him to get out, Mr Wong alleged.

Fearing they would come to blows if he argued further, Mr Wong got out.

He said: 'When I told him (the driver) I'd lodge a complaint against him, he replied defiantly, Go ahead and complain, I am not afraid'.'

The cabby then drove off, claimed Mr Wong.

He managed to get another taxi 20 minutes later from that spot.

Five days after the incident, he made a police report against the taxi driver.

He sent the report to the LTA and the Traffic Police as well.

A Silvercab spokesman told The New Paper that the company has handed the investigation over to the LTA.

LTA confirmed this, but said it was unable to release any further information while the case was under investigation.

Spokesman Naleeza Ebrahim said: 'Offloading passengers before arriving at their intended destinations for no reasonable cause is an offence under the regulations, and we will take action against taxi drivers who are found guilty.'

Mr Wong added: 'He scared me and endangered my life by making me alight along the highway.'

While this is the first time Mr Wong has been kicked out of a taxi mid-journey, he said he is no stranger to such poor behaviour by some taxi drivers at the airport.

'They show me a black face when I tell them I want to go to Pasir Ris.'

He added: 'What if I (had been) a tourist? He (the driver) would have spoilt the image of Singapore.'

Mr Elsen Chan, 43, Mr Wong's business associate, who was at the interview, suggested that the airport should introduce separate queues for different destinations to solve the problem of short trips making cabbies unhappy.

He said: 'Having a fixed rate means that these taxi drivers get upset when they are asked to go to nearby areas, as they will lose out.'

To report errant taxi drivers, call the LTA hotline at 1800-CALL LTA (1800-2255 582).

This article first appeared in The New Paper on 15 January 2007