A Lantau cab driver has been fined HK$1000 for attempting to overcharge passengers.

The 60-year-old driver, surnamed Ho, was arrested after soliciting undercover police officers at the Tung Chung MTR taxi rank on June 12.

The incident took place just as signal 8 had been raised for Typhoon Merbok, a time when fares are usually raised as most cabs disappear off the road.

A Lantau District police officer close to the case said the undercover operation had been planned for some time and had not been timed for the typhoon. He said operations against taxi overcharging would continue.

But the magistrate in the West Kowloon Court last month took the typhoon conditions into account and imposed a penalty at the low end of the range.

Section 40 of the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) Regulations specifies fines of up to $10,000 and six months jail for cab drivers who seek an “inducement” from passengers.