Undercover Squid Game Cop Busts Taxi Drivers

Squid Game costumes were big around the world this Halloween—including in Hong Kong, where a police officer dressed as a guard from the hit South Korean show to arrest taxi drivers for overcharging passengers. Sources tell the South China Morning Post that another officer dressed as a vampire for the operation, in which at least four taxi drivers were arrested for overcharging passengers traveling from Halloween celebrations in the city's Lan Kwai Fong entertainment district. One driver, who covered his meter and tried to charge the undercover officers more than twice the normal rate for the trip, had been arrested for overcharging nine times before, the sources say.

Three of the four drivers had failed to display their identity plates in an apparent attempt to avoid complaints about overcharging, which is a common offense in Hong Kong despite potential fines of more than $1,000. Police say the four taxis involved have been impounded while authorities check to see if they have been illegally modified. Elsewhere in the region, the trend in Japan and Taiwan for Halloween costumes depicting ordinary people in mundane but relatable situations was on display again this year. Mothership rounds up some of the best, including "airline passenger who missed the chance to throw out her garbage" and "person who got distracted by their cellphone while decluttering." (Some elementary schools in New York state banned Squid Game Halloween costumes.)