A mainland Chinese man has been jailed for two months over offering ride-hailing services via navigation app Amap and breaching his conditions of stay as a travel permit holder.
Defendant Ye Hai, 41, was sentenced by Magistrate Philip Chan at Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday after pleading guilty, local media reported.
The mainland Chinese resident, who holds a Hong Kong and Macao Travel Permit, was convicted of breaching conditions of stay, driving a motor vehicle for the carriage of passengers for hire or reward, and using a vehicle without third-party insurance.
According to local media, police conducted a crackdown operation last month on drivers offering illegal ride-hailing services. A police officer posing as a customer booked a ride on Amap – a map app by Alibaba that also has ride-hailing features – at around 11am that day.
Around 10 minutes later, Ye arrived at the pick-up point in Yau Ma Tei and took the officer to Cheung Sha Wan. The ride cost HK$64.
Other police officers intercepted Ye’s car after the undercover officer got off. They discovered that Ye came to Hong Kong on July 4 with a travel permit, which forbade him from working during his stay. He was then arrested.
Ye’s lawyer told the court on Wednesday that he used his friend’s car to pick up passengers on Amap. The lawyer said his client was not familiar with Hong Kong laws.
Apart from his two-month jail sentence, the magistrate also ordered Ye’s driving licence to be suspended for a year.
Ride-hailing apps currently operate in a grey area in the city, which requires vehicles offering services to have a hire car permit. Private vehicle owners who sign up with online platforms to provide services without a permit could be punished by up to six months in jail and a HK$10,000 fine for the first offence.
While there have been arrests of drivers, there has been no major law enforcement operation targeting ride-hailing app drivers. Meanwhile, such services – especially Uber – have seen rising popularity amid long-standing dissatisfaction with taxi service standards.
Last month, the government submitted a legislative proposal on regulating ride-hailing services. The authorities suggested capping the number of ride-hailing cars allowed in the city, though the regulatory framework proposal gives no details of the specific limit.
