67YO Driver Reportedly Chased a Passenger for a S$20 Fare for 3 Days

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a lady in want of a private-hire car must pay her cab fare with due diligence. 

Unfortunately, that was not the case for a PHV driver who had to chase his passenger for three days for the cab fare. 

Jane Austen certainly would not have approved. 

67YO Driver Reportedly Chased a Passenger for a S$20 Fare for 3 Days

On 14 March at around 4.27pm, PHV driver Mr Chen, 67, had picked up a passenger and sent her from Woodlands Avenue 3 to Jalan Bukit Merah. 

The ride took approximately half an hour and the fee was $20. 

Mr Chen noted that the passenger had indicated her preference to pay for the ride in cash on the app despite not having cash on hand. 

When they arrived at the destination, the passenger requested to use the mobile payment method PayNow to transfer the money. 

Mr Chen pointed out that customers typically use mobile payment methods when they are short on cash, and he will confirm their payment transfer on the spot, so he agreed to the passenger’s request. 

However, she spent ten minutes in the car attempting to transfer the money, but remained unsuccessful. 

Mr Chen mentioned that he did not pressure her during the process. However, she insisted that she was unable to transfer the fare and that she would try again at home. 

Mr Chen then exchanged phone numbers with the passenger and allowed her to leave afterwards. 

However, after a few hours, he found that the passenger still had not transferred the money to his account, so he attempted to reach her through calls and text messages. 

Unfortunately, the passenger neither picked up the phone nor replied to his messages, leading Mr Chen to suspect that she had no intention to pay for her ride. 

The next day, he filed a police report and reported the matter to the private-hire car company. 

It was only on 17 March, three days later, that the company notified him that they had found the passenger and transferred the money into his account. 

According to Mr Chen, this was his first time with such an encounter, and he remains unsure whether or not the passenger had intended to pay for her ride. 

Passengers who fail or refuse to pay their ride-hail fares will face a fine of up to $1,000. Repeat offenders face a fine of up to $2,000 or imprisonment of up to 6 months, or both. 

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