Illustration: Peter C. Espina/GT

 

"If a passenger gives the driver 100 yuan ($16.50) in cash and asks for change, the driver says he has no change and then gives the 100 yuan back. But actually, he has swapped it for a counterfeit one."

An officer from the Beijing Transport Law Enforcement Corps said this after a sudden raid on illegal taxis at the Beijing West Railway Station caught a driver who drove a cloned taxi and stocked 100-yuan counterfeit notes in it. With the number of passengers coming into Beijing increasing, the corps has started 24-hour supervision over illegal taxis at Beijing Railway Station, Beijing West Railway Station and Beijing Capital International Airport. They have seized 1,159 illegal taxis, among which 59 are cloned taxis that look identical to legitimately licensed ones. (Source: The Beijing Youth Daily)