Uber drivers caught in police sting admit not having proper licenses
Print Edition
TWO Uber drivers in Hong Kong were fined yesterday after pleading guilty to driving without a proper license, the latest slap on the wrist for the global ride-sharing giant.
Aaron Lam and Walter Kwan were each fined HK$7,000 (US$899) and had their licenses suspended for a year by the Kowloon City Magistracy. The pair were among seven Uber drivers arrested in Hong Kong in an undercover police sting in August.
The sting came after furious cabbies in Hong Kong smashed up their own taxis with hammers and drove slowly toward government headquarters over the summer, calling on the authorities to act over unlicensed drivers.
All seven drivers arrested in Hong Kong were charged with “driving a motor vehicle for the carriage of passenger for hire or reward” without a proper license, and driving without third party insurance.
The cases against the five other drivers were adjourned until February 24 at the request of their lawyer, to allow time to study prosecution documents. They did not enter pleas and had their HK$1,000 bail extended.
Lam’s lawyer asked for a lenient sentence for his client, saying he was his family’s sole breadwinner and had no criminal record.
Kwan, 65, who was not represented by a lawyer, said Uber had told him it provided adequate insurance coverage.
But because he had never seen any documents to prove this, he had decided to accept responsibility and entered a guilty plea to both charges.
In sentencing, the magistrate said the defendants had joined “a very organized company,” and he passed the sentence after considering all factors.
Uber spokesman Harold Li said yesterday: “We respect the individual decisions our driver-partners make with regard to their cases.
“We understand that the majority of the drivers intend to contest the charges in the months to come, and Uber will continue to provide needed support,” Li said, adding that all Uber rides are covered by insurance, but drivers need their own third party coverage.
In August, Taiwan said it had fined Uber a total of US$1 million for improper registration over the preceding year.
The firm’s safety standards were called into question after Uber drivers were accused of abduction and sexual attacks on female passengers in India and the United States.
San Francisco-based Uber has expanded to hundreds of cities in at least 68 countries and regions, offering new options for both riders and drivers. It is valued at more than US$50 billion. But traditional taxi drivers remain fiercely opposed, triggering a backlash including violent protests in Brazil where one driver was briefly kidnapped.
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