‘Borrowed’ licences upset tour operator
Two tour drivers allegedly got associates to pose as them to bus tourists around Fiordland, a company boss claims.
Five Chinese nationals are accused of using borrowed or false licences while driving for Christchurch-based Alps Travel.
Company director Eric Zuo was ‘‘devastated’’ by the allegations and worried about the future of his business, lawyer Rob Davidson said.
The company has more than 20 vehicles, from vans to luxury 55-seaters, in its fleet. Its headquarters is a Chinese restaurant in Upper Riccarton.
Police said they caught the drivers on the Milford Rd to Te Anau (State Highway 94) in February. Police and the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) were targeting passenger service vehicle compliance.
Zuo said earlier he had no idea about the alleged offending and fired the firm’s operations manager after it came to light.
Davidson said the incident involved two staff who ‘‘lent’’ their licences to two other people who did not work for the company. He said it was the first time the two people had driven the buses.
‘‘They [the staff] couldn’t drive the buses so they gave them to two people who could.
‘‘The two drivers were caught on the same day and on the same route.’’
One of the accused drivers, Jiasheng Wu, 24, of Upper Riccarton, returned to China after he could not get a different type of work visa.
He faced charges of driving on SH94 without an appropriate licence and dishonestly using a document – a driver’s licence. Lawyer Shirllay Sun said Wu’s employer assured him the licence he used was appropriate.
Wu admitted the charge of driving without a licence, the lawyer said.
Judge McMeeken fined him $400. Because he was not present at court an arrest warrant was issued for him to appear on the other charge.
Neal said Wu was the ‘‘tip of the iceberg’’, because five Alps Travel drivers faced charges.
Jiayuan Chen, 24, of Lincoln, is charged with aiding Wu to drive on SH94 without an appropriate driver’s licence and a fraud charge relating to a driver’s licence.
Suyan Qi, 21, of Avonhead, is charged with dishonestly using a licence and driving without an appropriate licence on the Milford Rd. Both received registrar’s remands, without plea. They were remanded for further appearances on September 29. Cao was remanded to the same date.
An arrest warrant was issued for Shibin Li who did not appear in court.
‘‘Everyone has been reminded of their obligations in respect of this,’’ Davidson said.
‘‘Eric is not stupid; he knows that it’s important that only qualified people can drive these buses and he knows it’s a serious safety issue.’’
Senior Sergeant Mike McRandle said police and NZTA staff were conducting a three-day joint operation in Te Anau when the drivers were stopped. The operation was held during peak tourist time and targeted all areas of compliance on passenger service vehicles.
‘‘Cases such as this are fortunately not common, with the majority of tourists operators doing an excellent job, working within the law and ensuring the safe passage of tourists throughout New Zealand.’’
NZTA manager Leigh Mitchell said any allegation of people driving in New Zealand using fraudulent licences was a ‘‘major concern’’.
The agency worked with tourism operators to maintain ‘‘a very high safety bar‘‘.