PRESS RELEASE: NO CHRISTMAS CHEER FROM VIOLENT MACAU TAXI DRIVERS The Macau Taxi Passenger Association once again deplores another horrendous incident as reported by one of our members today on the MTPA’s Facebook Group, Macau Taxi Driver Shame. Our member reports the incident occurred between 5:20am and 8:00am on 28 December 2014. Our member reports the driver of the Macau taxi with plate MN-30-22 assaulted a young woman by pushing her out of the car and on to the ground because she was recording a conversation in which the driver demanded an illegal fare of MOP$1,000 for a journey from the Hard Rock hotel at City of Dreams to the Macau peninsular. The legal fare for this trip is around MOP$50. Our member reports the driver in question: 1. Hid his taxi driver license (which is legally required to be displayed in the taxi) 2. Drove into another member of her party leading to a leg injury requiring hospitalisation with an ambulance attending the scene 3. Departed the scene before police arrived Our member also reports that police who attended the scene said there would be no consequences. The President of the MTPA, Andrew W Scott, said, “We seem to hear of an incident like this every week. Macau taxi drivers regularly engage in violence, usuary and extortion because there is almost no enforcement and no serious consequences. The inaction of Macau’s police, the taxi industry regulatory body DSAT and of other authorities has emboldened Macau taxi drivers, especially night shift drivers, to the point they feel they can say and do almost anything. Macau is a tourism city and the number one factor in determining visitation to a tourism destination is perceived safety, so this chaotic and dangerous situation with Macau taxi drivers is hurting everyone in Macau. I am very concerned that soon we’re going to see a very serious injury or even a death resulting from Macau taxi-related violence. I implore the Macau Government to do something about this crisis before that happens.” ABOUT THE MACAU TAXI DRIVER ASSOCIATION (MTPA) The MTPA (853taxi.org) was born from the The Macau Taxi Driver Shame Facebook Group an internet phenomenon formed on 30 June 2014 and which now comprises more than 4,500 members. The group contains vigorous discussion, images and videos of widespread illegal, unethical and even violent behaviour by Macau taxi drivers, as well as a Blacklist of offending taxis and a much smaller Whitelist of recommended Macau taxi drivers. The MTPA was established with the aim of encouraging reform of the Macau taxi industry, which is widely acknowledged as the worst taxi industry in Asia.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 03:19:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015