He also took off his shirt and trousers to protest against the law enforcers
An unlicensed cabbie that has been ‘extorting’ hospital-goers in Ho Chi Minh City has revealed his true colors after pointing a paper knife at traffic inspectors in an act of protest.
The driver is Tran Dinh Phuc, 40, from the south-central province of Binh Dinh.
He was identified as Teo in a previous Tuoi Tre exposé that reported on him having been overcharging passengers in front of the Oncology Hospital in Binh Thanh District using his ‘charged by the hour’ taxi service.
On Monday morning, Phuc carried a passenger from the infirmary to Truong Son Street in Tan Binh District in his unlicensed cab, which carries a Vantaitaxi logo and has the license plate number 51A-383.35.
Upon reaching his destination, the driver said the fare was VND700,000 ($30.79) for the roughly five kilometer journey.
As two traffic inspectors approached the vehicle, Phuc lowered the cost to VND500,000 ($21.9).
The officers then charged Phuc for parking his car in a no parking area, demanding the driver present some documents and quickly discovered that the cabbie was not working for any transport company.
While dealing with the case, Phuc took off his shirt, pulled out a paper knife and pointed it at one of the inspectors, repeatedly swearing at him and telling him to return his papers.
He then took off his trousers and chased the officer around the sidewalk, forcing him to hand back the documents.
Phuc only stopped and put on his clothes when officers from the Tan Binh District police department arrived.
At the police station, Phuc was fined for operating without a permit for passenger transport, and had his car registration and driving license confiscated.
Officers also kept the paper knife and a baton to support the investigation.