MORE cabbies are falling victim to crime. Last year, 49 of them were robbed, double the 24 cases in 2006.

In the first three months of this year alone, 14 cabbies have already fallen prey.

In the latest case, which happened in the wee hours of Sunday morning, three teenagers, armed with a hammer, robbed three taxi drivers of $460 and a mobile phone over three hours.

They threatened the cabbies with a 27-cm long hammer. One cabbie escaped unhurt, another suffered a 3-cm gash on his left brow and the third had to be hospitalised.

The police revealed that in most such cases, the culprit would strike at night or in the early hours of the morning.

He often acts alone, pretends to be a passenger and takes either the front passenger seat or the one behind the driver.

He would give the driver a location, then switch destinations along the way, usually to a more secluded spot.

There, he would either grab the victim's neck from behind or stick a knife at him. After he gets his loot, he would flee on foot.

Taxi drivers doing the night shift find themselves in a fix because they are not allowed to pick and choose their passengers and can be fined if they do not stop.

Read the full story in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times.