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A 29-year-old was fined $1,200 after being found guilty of two counts of fare evasion, reported The Straits Times.
Unemployed Tanya Azzure Lee had skipped paying taxi drivers their fare for at least 34 times, reported the newspaper.
The traffic court was told how she hopped into a taxi at Whampoa on April 15 last year, travelled to her destination in Woodlands Avenue 7, and then told the driver that she could not pay the fare of $17.80.
She then told the driver that she would go up to her relative's home and get the money to settle the fare. The taxi driver rejected the idea and told her that he would drive her to a police station instead.
She handed over her identity card and took down the driver's mobile phone number, promising to settle the fare the following day.
However, she failed to do so and the driver made a police report on April 18.
On Sep 7, she made another trip from Whampoa to Woodlands at 12.30 am, and attempted the same ruse on the taxi driver. This time round she handed over her mobile number, identity card number and name. The taxi driver also took a photograph of the woman.
Once again she failed to settle a taxi fare of $25.20.
She was fined $600 on each of the two counts but had been allowed to settle the other 32 fares.
Taxi drivers told The Straits Times that they prefer not to report fare evaders as they take up an hour or two of their valuable time. One even likened it to being no more than a job hazard.
abrahamr@sph.com.sg
 
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