China’s Didi suspends carpool service after woman’s murder
BEIJING: China’s riding hailing giant Didi Chuxing on Sunday suspended a carpool service following the rape and murder of a 20-year-old woman by a driver, the second such incident in months that has triggered widespread concerns about the safety of taxi hailing services.
A statement by the company, the largest in the world by number of trips, admitted deficiencies in its Hitch service and that it will be suspended from August 27.
There have been “disappointing mistakes,” the statement said, adding the service will remain suspended until a complete reval- uation. Hitch is one of Didi’s 10 services, which connects car owners and passengers travelling on the same route.
Two top executives from the department have been removed from their posts.chinese media reported that the victim, Zhao, had booked and boarded a Didi taxi in the city of Wenzhou in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang on Friday afternoon.
“After realising that the driver was not taking a normal route, Zhao sent a number of text messages to friends and family asking for help. When Zhao’s family later tried to contact her, Zhao could not be reached, and the family informed the police,” the website reported.
“On Saturday morning, the driver, surnamed Zhong, was arrested. He admitted to raping and killing Zhao, whose body was found hours later by the side of the road,” the report added.