Casting their nets in Sentosa, Clarke Quay, Boat Quay and at Orchard Towers, LTA officers hauled in 39 cabbies between Oct 30 and last Saturday.

Of these, 26 were caught overcharging, seven touting and six refusing to pick up passengers.

Several cabbies are likely to lose their licences or be suspended when investigations are completed, but the LTA declined to give a breakdown of the number of suspensions or licences revoked.

In a crackdown two weeks ago, the LTA caught 41 errant cabbies in many of these hot spots.

The Sunday Times first highlighted the problem of cabbies fleecing and refusing to pick up passengers last month and, following public complaints, the LTA stepped up enforcement.

The Taxi Operators' Associations, which represents six taxi associations, said in a statement that it did not condone such behaviour, but pointed out that these errant drivers were a minority out for a quick profit.

It said: 'These drivers' irresponsible actions are unfair to the majority of drivers who have chosen to abide by the rules and make an honest living through taxi driving.'

Taxi driver Mohamad Sahat, 61, who has been plying the roads for more than 15 years, agreed that honest drivers reputations' were affected.

Referring to the touts, he said: 'They are happy doing such a thing, but the rest of the drivers are sad that they are giving us a bad name.'

He is part of the Association for Malay/Muslim Taxi Drivers, which has issued its 120 members a warning against such behaviour.

ComfortDelGro, the largest taxi operator with a fleet of 15,000 taxis, said it was patrolling the hot spots regularly, issuing warnings and suspending the hiring agreements of recalcitrant drivers.

But spokesman Tammy Tan added that these actions had their limits: 'The problem is that we can't possibly be at all places at all times, and even when we catch errant drivers and impose strict disciplinary measures like terminating their agreements, they quite easily join another company.'

She added, however, that ComfortDelGro was stepping up enforcement and had just terminated the hiring agreements of two drivers caught touting on Sunday.

The LTA is also intensifying its enforcement operations throughout the week.

The public is urged to give feedback or report errant cabbies by calling its hotline on 1800-225-5582.

mariaa@sph.com.sg