Hong Kong jails ex-Chinese soldier for 8 months for offering illegal taxi services 691 times – reports

2026-01-26 - 23:51

A former People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldier has been sentenced to eight months in prison in Hong Kong after admitting to offering illegal ride-hailing services in his Tesla Model S sedan while visiting the city as a tourist, according to local media. Fanling Magistrates’ Courts. File photo: Peter Lee/HKFP. Zeng Yulin, 39, appeared at Fanling Magistrates’ Courts on Monday for sentencing. He had previously admitted to 19 offences, including breaching his conditions of stay, driving a motor vehicle for hire or reward, and using a vehicle without third-party insurance. The former PLA Ground Force officer was accused of conducting 691 ride-hailing trips in Hong Kong between June and August last year, earning a total of approximately HK$73,000, according to reports. During that period, Zeng was in Hong Kong as a tourist and had used an ex-classmate’s identity to register with Chinese ride-hailing platform Amap, known locally as Gaode, which also operates in the city. Multiple, prolonged offences In mitigation, his lawyer told the court the defendant committed the offences due to financial pressure and submitted letters written by his wife, mother, and other former PLA colleagues, pleading for leniency. But Acting Principal Magistrate Veronica Heung said on Monday that the defendant had entered Hong Kong multiple times over a prolonged period to commit the offences, thus posing a risk to society. Heung added the defendant had spent about RMB300,000 (HK$335,459) in the mainland on a vehicle and HK$130,000 for the Tesla in Hong Kong, which he used for the offences. Ride-hailing services on Alipay, which connects to Amap. Photo: Kelly Ho/HKFP. The defendant’s financial pressure was “self-induced” and different from those struggling to make ends meet, Heung said in Cantonese. The magistrate reduced the sentence by a third to account for Zeng’s guilty plea, handing him an eight-month jail term. She also suspended Zeng’s driving license for 18 months. Zeng was arrested on August 21 last year after he offered a ride to a police officer posing as a passenger via the Amap platform. He told police after his arrest that he signed up as a ride-hailing driver because he wanted to “make more money” for his family.