Attempted robbery jams tunnel
Traffic in the Cross-Harbour Tunnel was seriously disrupted yesterday when a passenger tried unsuccessfully to rob a taxi driver.
The 29-year-old suspect, named Yip, allegedly threatened the driver, 60, named Chan, with a 30cm knife while the taxi was inside the tunnel shortly before noon.
The cabbie had picked up the passenger in Tai Kok Tsui and been told to go to Wan Chai.
The man produced a beef knife after the taxi had travelled about 20 metres into the tunnel and attempted to rob the driver.
The driver stopped the cab and struggled with the man, who got out of the vehicle and ran out of the tunnel towards Hung Hom after the driver refused to part with his cash. Police arrested the suspect at the tunnel toll booths.
The driver and the suspect both said they had suffered injuries in the incident. The driver was admitted to Ruttonjee Hospital and the suspect to Queen Mary Hospital for treatment.
The taxi was removed from the tunnel and parked at the exit on the Hong Kong Island side to clear traffic congestion in the Hong Kong-bound lanes.
Taxi and Public Light Bus Concern Group chairman Lai Ming-hung said taxi drivers were now more worried about being robbed as the economy was bad.
'More people have become unemployed during the economic downturn and they might target taxi drivers more for some easy money,' he said. 'Taxi drivers have to stay alert all the time, especially those who do night shifts.'
Mr Lai suggested installing global positioning systems to strengthen communication among cabbies.
Twenty-two robbery cases were reported in taxis from January to November last year. There were 38 cases in 2007 and 36 in 2006.
The suspect was detained overnight.
