China cracking down on transport sector after Didi rape-murder

Didi said on Aug 26, 2018, that it would suspend its Hitch carpooling service from Aug 27 due to "disappointing mistakes" while the company re-evaluated the product's business model. PHOTO: REUTERS

BEIJING (REUTERS) - China will crack down on dishonest and illegal conduct in the transportation sector, a government agency said on Monday (Aug 27), two days after police said a Didi Chuxing passenger was raped and murdered by her driver, after which the firm halted its carpool service.

The killing of the 20-year-old passenger in the eastern city of Wenzhou is the second such incident since May, fuelling outrage on social media and denting the image of Didi, which is the world's largest ride-hailing firm by number of rides and is expanding globally.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said various government departments will push to improve overall governance of operators in the transport sector.

China's transport ministry said on Monday that the country's ride-hailing sector had many firms and that companies that did not provide its passengers with effective safety precautions were not needed.

In a commentary published on its website, the ministry said: "If a company is not compliant and self-disciplined, and takes its passengers' lives as a game, the public will vote with their feet and the government will not just stand by.

China's police and transport ministry said on Sunday that Didi Chuxing had "unshirkable responsibility" for what happened to the passenger after she got into a Didi carpooling service vehicle last Friday.

Didi said on Sunday that it would suspend its Hitch carpooling service from Aug 27 due to "disappointing mistakes" while the company re-evaluated the product's business model, and said it had removed two executives from their positions.

Police said a 27-year-old driver named Zhong was detained at about 4am last Saturday and confessed to raping and killing the passenger.

Didi said that the suspect had no prior criminal record, had provided authentic documentation and passed a facial recognition test before starting work.

However, it also said there was a complaint made against the driver last Thursday by a passenger who alleged the driver took her to a remote place and followed her after she got out of the car.

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