Killer Chinese Didi driver forced victim to transfer 9,000 yuan

China | 27 Aug 2018 4:24 pm

The Chinese Didi Hitch driver, named Zhao, 27, who is suspected to have killed a 20-year-old femlae passenger on Friday in eastern Wenzhou city, had forced the victim transfer 9,000 yuan to his account before raping and taking her life on a mountainside, state media reports.

The female surnamed Zhao was on the way to a friend’s birthday party when the driver made a detour to a desolate mountainous area instead of the simple highway route. At some point during the ride, the diver tied Zhao’s hands and feet, taped off her mouth and stabbed her neck before pushing her off a cliff.

According to the police, only three cars passed the Didi on the mountain road that day.

Although the passenger sent the SOS message to her friends and the family immediately contacted Didi customer service, they didn't pass on the information about the driver to the police for several hours.

"The incident shows the many deficiencies with our customer service processes, especially the failure to act swiftly on the previous passengers' complaint and the cumbersome and rigid process of information sharing with the police,” the company said in the statement .

"Although the suspect had no prior criminal record, had provided authentic documentation and passed a facial recognition test, the incident still shows many deficiencies with our customer service processes,” Didi said in a statement on Sunday.

On Sunday, China’s Ministry of Transport (MOT), together with the municipal transport and public security watchdog in Beijing and Tianjin, held talks with DiDi and urged it to carry out an overhaul of its carpooling service and ensure the safety of passengers.

The body of the woman, surnamed Zhao, was found on August 25 by police in Yueqing City, Zhejiang.

Police said the Didi driver, surnamed Zhong, was arrested on August 25 around 4:00 a.m. and admitted that he raped and killed Zhao on August 24 around 2:50 p.m. She got into his car around 1 p.m., according to her friend who reported the case.