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China’s taxi-hailing giant Didi suspends carpool service after driver rapes, murders woman
Investigations revealed that although the suspect didn’t have a criminal record, another woman passenger had filed a harassment complaint against him on Thursday.
Chinese taxi-hailing giant Didi Chuxing on Sunday suspended a carpool service following the rape and murder of a 20-year-old woman by a driver two days ago.
The second incident of the kind to occur in China over the last few months, it has triggered widespread safety concerns among users.
The statement from the company – the largest in the world by number of trips – admitted deficiencies in its Hitch service, and announced that it will be suspended from August 27 until a complete revaluation is done. There have been “disappointing mistakes”, it said.
Hitch, which connects car owners and passengers travelling on the same route, is one of the 10 services provided by Didi. Two top executives from the department have been removed from their positions in this connection.
Chinese media reported that the woman had boarded a Didi taxi at Wenzhou city in the eastern province of Zhejiang on Friday afternoon. “When the victim realised that the driver was not taking the regular route, she sent a number of text messages asking friends and relatives for help. When family members later tried to contact her, she could not be reached. They then informed the police,” the website Sixth Tone reported.
The report said the driver, surnamed Zhong, was arrested on Saturday morning. “He admitted to raping and killing the victim, whose body was found hours later by the side of the road,” it added.
Investigations revealed that although the suspect didn’t have a criminal record, another woman passenger had filed a complaint against him on Thursday for repeatedly demanding that she sit in the front passenger seat. He also allegedly attempted to follow her out of the vehicle.
“Didi’s customer service did not investigate the matter any further,” the Sixth Tone report said.
A 21-year-old flight attendant who had booked a taxi through the same Hitch service was raped and murdered by the driver in May. According to reports, she was stabbed at least 20 times.
The Hitch service was suspended for a week after the incident.
According to an AFP report from May, a 24-year-old woman in southern China was robbed and murdered by a Hitch driver in 2016. He was subsequently apprehended.
