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Rare condition can't stop taxi driver

Taiwan's shortest taxi driver Abel Cheng sits in his cab yesterday. Cheng, who suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta, announced yesterday that he will donate 5 percent of his income to a local association helping patients with the rare disease and called on more people to help raise funds for the organization. PHOTO: CNA

Standing just 123cm tall and weighing in at 30kg, Abel Cheng (程健智) is proud to be "the smallest taxi driver in Taiwan."

Cheng suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), a rare genetic condition that leaves the bones of sufferers deformed and brittle.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Cheng said that he had decided to tell his story to the media to show that it is possible for those who suffer from OI to lead normal lives.

In the three months since he started driving his cab, Cheng has faced questions from customers over his ability to drive safely.

In some cases customers have refused to take his cab after seeing how small Cheng is. His vehicle is modified as his legs cannot reach the pedals of ordinary vehicles.

"I think it is probably safer to ride in my taxi than the average taxi in Taipei," Cheng said. "Because of my condition, I drive very carefully."

OI sufferers have such brittle bones that any major car accident could prove fatal.

Cheng recounts a youth spent mostly at home recovering from bone fractures.

"Out of my six years in primary school, I probably spent three of them at home because of broken bones," Cheng said. "After three successive fractures, I dropped out of high school."

Cheng eventually went back to school and met his wife while studying at a technical college in Chiayi. He worked for three years as a research assistant for the Council of Agriculture, but life in the lab did not suit him.

"I am making less money now driving a taxi than I did in my old job," Cheng said. "But I enjoy helping people and giving back to the community."

Cheng said he wants to cultivate a customer base of physically or mentally disabled people or those sympathetic to the disabled.

"To serve with empathy is my work philosophy," he states on his business card.

Five percent of Cheng's earnings go towards a local OI charity. There is also literature in his cab to help educate his customers about OI.

His cab can be booked at 0919-909-850.
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