A three-wheeler driver has been arrested at Colombo Port after allegedly overcharging two foreign tourists by Rs. 162,000 during a short city tour, Newswire reported.
The tourists, on a brief stopover from a cruise ship, hired the tuk-tuk for a sightseeing run that included Galle Face Green and the Gangaramaya Temple after disembarking at the Colombo Port. The fare had been agreed at Rs. 18,000.
During the trip one of the tourists handed over a bank card so the driver could withdraw cash from an ATM. The driver allegedly withdrew Rs. 90,000 on two occasions — a total of Rs. 180,000 — and when questioned claimed the full amount was the agreed fare.
With the cruise ship preparing to depart, the tourists alerted the tourist police stationed at the port. Police located the driver and recovered the full Rs. 180,000 from his possession before arresting him. The money is to be returned to the tourists through their embassy once legal proceedings conclude.
The incident is the second tourist-overcharging case of the May cycle to result in arrest. Two weeks ago police arrested a Matara hotelier for billing tourists Rs. 1 million for water, and earlier in the month a massage therapist was arrested in Unawatuna over an Australian tourist’s complaint. The repeated coastal-zone enforcement signals tighter scrutiny of fee disputes during the tourist recovery period that followed the Middle East conflict.
Colombo Port has hosted a series of cruise calls this season, including the Silver Dawn at Galle with 1,007 passengers and the German cruise ship MS Amadea. Short-stopover tours by cruise passengers are typically arranged at the port gate.
Source: Newswire.
