The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) is beefing up its enforcement operations in conjunction with the upcoming SEA Games

SPAD cracks down on taxi touts, illegal cabbies at KLIA ahead of SEA Games

NOORSILA ABD MAJID
New Straits TimesAugust 9, 2017






SEPANG: The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) is beefing up its enforcement operations in conjunction with the upcoming SEA Games - with six people detained at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and KLIA2 during a two-day crackdown that ended tonight.




Six people - three taxi touts, two illegal taxi drivers and one taxi driver picking up passengers outside the permitted zone - were nabbed in the operation, codenamed Ops Parasit.




The operation was headed by its enforcement division chief, Datuk Paduka Che Hasni Che Ahmad.




"We arrested three taxi touts during our operations yesterday and three more tonight. All of them were aged between 25 and 50," Che Hasni told reporters at the SPAD office in KLIA tonight.




The taxi touts had targeted mainly foreigners, with some of them charging USD100 for a one-way trip to KL.




"KLIA is a hotspot for the taxi touts. Despite our tough enforcement activities, they remain undeterred," he said.




The taxi touts will be charged in the Sepang Court tomorrow morning.




They will be charged under Section 205 of the Land Public Transport Act 2010, for soliciting and touting – where if found guilty, they could be fined up to RM50,000 or five years imprisonment, or both.




Che Hasni cautioned that his team would continue with their enforcement crackdown on illegal taxi services in KLIA until the end of the SEA Games and will not show any mercy towards any irresponsible individuals.




END




Keywords: SPAD, Land Public Transport Commission, SEA Games, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, KLIA, KLIA2, taxi touts