A section of Kenyans on Thursday, February 9, piled pressure on the police to arrest a driver notorious for driving off from petrol stations without settling his fuel bill.
The case of the said driver, who uses an Audi sedan, was reported at Karen Police Station after fleeing from a Shell Petrol Station in Karen.
CCTV cameras erected in the petrol station captured the vehicle's identity, thus aiding management to report the matter to Karen Police Station.
Road Safety agency Sikikia Road Safety called for stern action from the police to deter the young man.
According to a statement from the agency, the driver had made away with yet another bill four days ago at a petrol station in Kikuyu.
Sikika noted that the driver’s parents intervened to settle the bill of Ksh8,000 after he was exposed for the first time.
“The Audi young man has stolen fuel worth Ksh7,000 again. National Police Service arrest this young man on a serious note and let him pay double. Just the other day his parents settled a bill for him after driving away without paying," read a statement.
Kenyans who saw the statement also expressed their rage and called for more intentionality from the government and petrol station owners in dealing with the matter that was becoming more common.
A section of the irate Kenyans called for stern punishment of such offenders, while some proposed the erection of safety features in petrol stations to prevent the trend. However, some who followed both incidents called out the parents for tolerating his behaviour.
"Apart from paying only the fuel, these people should also be punished," a Facebook user commented.
"A real parent will let him get arrested and stay in prison for some weeks to discipline him for once," another one suggested.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke on Monday, February 6, a Sikika Road Safety official noted that most of the cars involved in the trend are hired. He explained that most luxurious cars are not registered under the driver's name hence shifting the liability to the owner.
In addition, the traffic agency noted some drivers flee but return to offset the bills.
