Taxicab confession: Thief caught after bragging to off-duty cop

Turns out an Anhui Province man who claimed he had stabbed a bar patron while sharing a Didi ride lied to the wrong travel companion – an off-duty police officer.

Thinking the man was still armed, the officer instead had the driver take them both to his police station, where a background check connected him to three e-vehicle thefts, police in Guangde said.

The off-duty officer, surnamed Shen, said he was heading home in a shared ride he hailed on Didi, China’s Uber equivalent, when the suspect entered the vehicle.

Shen described the suspect was covered with mud as he began shooting his mouth off.

“[He said] I just stabbed someone five times in a bar,” Shen said.

Shen stealthily alerted his fellow officers via text message and instructed the driver to head to nearby Lucun police station.

“I’m in a private car heading to the police station and the man riding with me might be a suspect with a knife. Inform the others to prepare,” the message read.

An investigation revealed the suspect had not committed a stabbing, but was instead connected to the thefts of three electric vehicles.