HONG KONG - An Australian man has been arrested in Hong Kong after the driver of a taxi he was travelling in died following a crash, police and reports have said.

The man, who was named by the Sunday Morning Post as 22-year-old Kelsey Michael Mudd, was held after the fatal crash early Saturday morning, police said in a statement.

The Post, citing police sources, said there had been a dispute between the driver and Mudd before the incident in Hong Kong's Central district at 3:30 am (1930 GMT).

The car smashed into the central railings and then hit three taxis travelling in the opposite direction, the police statement said.

The passenger then moved into the driver's seat and drove off on the wrong side of the road, before hitting another taxi, the statement added.

The Post said the passenger was being treated by paramedics when he took control of the car and traffic police were already at the scene.

A police spokeswoman said Sunday she was unable to confirm the nationality of the man, only that he was a foreigner. He was arrested on suspicion of taking a vehicle without authority and drink driving, police said.

The 58-year-old driver of the taxi, along with two other taxi drivers and the passenger were taken to hospital following the crash. The taxi driver was certified dead a few hours later.

The Post named him as Wong Chi-ming and said he was married and had a son and a daughter.

The newspaper said police were looking into the possibility that Mudd could be charged with murder.

Photographs in the newspaper show the bloodied face of a passenger, with captions identifying him as Mudd.