Sentenced to 10 Months Imprisonment (Long Term) and 6 Months (Short Term)
Also Charged with Driving a Passenger Car Without a License
A middle school student who deceived taxi drivers by falsely claiming to have transferred the wrong fare and then received the difference in cash was sentenced to prison in the first trial.
On the 28th, the Suwon District Court Criminal Division 6 (Judge Jang Jaeyong) announced that it sentenced middle school student A, who was indicted on charges of violating the Road Traffic Act (driving without a license) and fraud, to 10 months in prison with a maximum term and 6 months with a minimum term.
The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. A taxi is waiting for passengers at the Seoul Station taxi stand. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
A is accused of boarding a taxi on the morning of June 23 last year and, three times, deceiving taxi drivers by pretending to have mistakenly transferred more money than the actual fare and then receiving the difference in cash, extorting a total of 830,000 won. He actually transferred only 1 won but wrote things like 'Deposit 110,000' in the depositor's name and showed this to the drivers, asking for a refund of the difference. In addition, A is also accused of driving a passenger car without a license for about 150 km from Anseong City to Namyangju City, Gyeonggi Province, around 6 a.m. on August 17 of the same year.
Judge Jang pointed out, "The defendant was previously sentenced to a suspended prison term for similar crimes but repeated the offenses during the suspension period," and added, "Considering that full compensation for the damages has not yet been made, a strict punishment is necessary." Regarding the sentencing reasons, he explained, "However, the defendant has shown remorse and reflection, and the defendant’s mother has reached agreements with some victims, promising that the defendant will not reoffend, and the relatively clear family bonds were taken into account."
Meanwhile, since cases similar to A’s method of crime against taxi drivers occur frequently, taxi drivers are advised to be cautious. In March last year, the Dongdaemun Police Station in Seoul arrested and sent 20-year-old B on habitual fraud charges for deceiving taxi fares by transferring false amounts 30 times. B is accused of habitually taking taxis from February 2022 for about a year in Seoul and Gyeonggi’s Uijeongbu, Guri, and Namyangju cities by transferring only small amounts such as 1 won or 10 won as taxi fares. The total taxi fares he did not pay using this method were investigated to be 550,000 won.
B took advantage of taxi drivers not carefully checking the amount transferred by passengers, sending ridiculously small amounts while getting off the taxi and fleeing. Also, he entered the taxi fare amount in the 'sender' field instead of the 'transfer amount' field on the mobile banking transfer screen and showed it to the taxi drivers. The police advised that not only taxis but also other self-employed business owners must always verify the deposit amount when receiving fares or sales payments via transfers.
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