A District Court judge has issued a prison warning to people who refuse to pay taxi fares if the practice continues to escalate in Galway city.
Judge Mary Fahy gave the warning at Galway District Court yesterday after hearing how Marie Mongan (23), Gaelcarrig Park, Newcastle, Galway, made off without paying a taxi fare after a night out on the town.
Gardaí found Mongan, who pleaded guilty to the charge, stretched out across the back seat of a taxi in a very drunken state early on March 26th last year. She had refused to pay the taxi fare home and had to be removed from the cab when she became extremely abusive.
The taxi driver had picked her up and had driven her across town before realising she was not going to pay him. He stopped gardaí and told them of his predicament.
Fining Mongan €200, Judge Fahy said: “I’ve noticed a lot of people seem to think that making off without paying is a minor matter but it’s costing taxi drivers dearly. If this practice is going to carry on, I’m going to start meting out custodial sentences for it.”
Mongan was also fined €400 for obstructing gardaí as they tried to arrest her partner outside a pub in the city last New Year’s Eve.