Police have reported a recent series of cases where taxi drivers refuse to pay change or even drive away with passengers' luggage - with one tourist losing luxury items worth HK$70,000.
Police received 10 such complaints since May. The latest arrest was of a 48-year-old driver who short-changed a plainclothes officer posing as a tourist last night.
The driver charged HK$100 from Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, to Kowloon MTR station - a route that usually costs about HK$50 with the baggage fee.
"When they arrived at the destination, the officer gave the taxi driver a HK$500 banknote," said Chief Inspector Wong Chi-wai, of the Yau Tsim District crime investigation unit.
After the luggage was unloaded, "the driver claimed he only received HK$100, refused to pay the change and drove away".
The taxi was stopped by police at 8pm. The driver will be charged with theft.