Taxi drivers beat up passengers over 500 pesos

Four passengers of a Bogota taxi were attacked by six taxi drivers for being 500 pesos (27 cents) short to pay for their ride.

The incident took place on Wednesday evening in the poor south of the Colombian capital.

According to one of the passengers, they were surrounded by their taxi driver and five of his colleagues and kicked and beaten with sticks until police interfered.

“Unfortunately a very serious situation arose for 500 pesos,” a representative of the city’s taxi federation told television network Caracol. The taxi representative added that his organization had located the taxi driver that initiated the violence.

According to Canal Caracol, the driver of the taxi who was given 500 pesos too little, pressed the alarm button to warn nearby taxi drivers he needed help.

Two of the passengers were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.

A spokesman of the Bogota police department called on the taxi drivers who took part in the beating to present themselves to the authorities.

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