Last month, a woman who operated an illegal taxi service alongside her husband went viral after two tourists from China claimed they were “kidnapped” and assaulted by the duo.
She was later arrested after the matter caught the attention of the authorities and brought to court today to face a charge of offering transportation services for a fee using a private vehicle.
Pleaded guilty
According to the charge sheet, K. Kalaivanie was accused of committing the offense at the concourse area of the International Arrival Hall, Terminal 2 of KLIA2 at 12.50am on Sept 22.
She was eventually arrested during a special “ulat” (illegal touting) operation conducted by the Road Transport Department (JPJ) around the KLIA2 Arrival Hall while approaching a Filipino passenger.
Kalaivanie was charged under Section 205(1) of the Land Public Transport Act (APAD) 2010, which carries a maximum fine of RM50,000, up to five years in jail, or both, reported Harian Metro.
She pleaded guilty to the charge.
Was a repeat offender
During proceedings, JPJ Prosecuting Officer Bohkhari Mat Yusoff requested for a heavier fine to be imposed, noting that Kalaivanie was “unremorseful” as she had previously been charged with the same offence on Sept 26, 2023 and fined RM4,000.
He also said Kalavanie did not register her motor vehicle licence (LKM) under the public service vehicle category and avoided Puspakom inspections, as well as failed to provide passengers insurance coverage.
Kalaivanie appealed for a lower amount, saying she is a single mother supporting two children and her ailing mother who undergoes dialysis treatment.
The court then imposed a RM5,000 fine in default of five months in jail, which she paid.
What happened
The incident stemmed from an agreement between Kalavanie and the tourists, where she and her husband initially offered to transport them to their hotel for RM60.
Upon arrival however, the tune was suddenly changed to a whopping RM836. When the tourists protested, they were allegedly locked inside the car until they agreed to pay.
One of them was also allegedly slapped three times by Kalavanie.
Read about it here:
