LTA withdraws warning letter to cabby who failed to check taxi for wallet left behind by passenger

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has decided to withdraw a warning letter served to a cabby who did not check his taxi for items accidentally left behind after a passenger alighted.

Member of Parliament Yeo Wan Ling shared this in a Facebook post on Friday (Nov 11).

The taxi driver's predicament had come to light after he posted about the incident on Facebook, which was picked up by Facebook page Beh Chia Lor - Singapore Road on Tuesday.

Describing the incident to Shin Min Daily News, the driver, Ong Boon, said a passenger — one in a group of three passengers he'd picked up — had lodged a complaint, alleging that he had lost his wallet in the cab.

Ong tried but failed to find the wallet after receiving a call from the company. But this was after he had dropped off another passenger who had boarded the cab immediately after the three passengers alighted.

His appeal for LTA to rescind the warning letter made through MP Tin Pei Ling was also turned down.

In their rejection letter, LTA cited that Ong had "failed to search vehicle for any property accidentally left behind by the hirer", which is an offence under the Road Traffic Rules for public service vehicles.

In her Facebook post on Friday, Yeo, who's director of U SME and Women & Family Unit at the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), added that LTA has "agreed to review the continued relevance of this rule together with stakeholders".

Yeo, who is also an advisor to the National Taxi Association and National Private Hire Vehicles Association, shared that she had contacted LTA "for an explanation and clarifications on behalf of our P2P (point-to-point) [drivers] community".

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They replied that the rule is a long-standing one that "serves as a good practice on the part of the driver", said Yeo.

She continued, however, that LTA had decided to withdraw the warning letter, and that the "intent was to remind the driver on such good practices and the LTA has never prosecuted any driver for such breaches".

"While it is a good practice to have, it should not be an obligation that attracts penalties," Yeo wrote.

"The Associations and NTUC Singapore believes that the safety of our drivers must be a top priority and their work conditions often do not allow drivers to 'search for items accidentally left behind by hirers' safely and effectively," she added.

Ong told Shin Min Daily News that it was his first time receiving a warning letter.

The 59-year-old, who has been driving a taxi for more than a decade, was worried about the blemish on his record and how receiving another warning letter could put him out of a job.

candicecai@asiaone.com