ALTHOUGH the girls did not note down the licence plate number of the taxi, taxi company ComfortDelGro and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) managed to track down the driver.

Ms Tammy Tan, group corporate communications officer for ComfortDelGro, said this was done through satellite tracking, based on the location and time that the girls alighted from the cab.

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Ms Tan said the company was 'appalled' over the incident and had been assisting LTA with its investigations.

Said Ms Tan: 'What the cabby did was not only wrong, but potentially dangerous for the girls. We do not condone his actions and he has been severely penalised with a final warning and demerit points.'

Ms Tan said the company's cabbies have been told that they are not allowed to terminate a trip without a valid reason.

She added the company will be monitoring the cabby's performance. If there's another lapse, his contract will be terminated.

'We have apologised (to Mrs Puan) for the trauma she and the girls were put through. We will reimburse the fare and give them some complimentary taxi vouchers,' said Ms Tan.

This article was first published in The New Paper.