We've heard horror stories about Didi drivers in the PRD harming their passengers, by uploading their photos to porn sites or even committing murder. But it turns out the safety risks involved in using the popular ride-sharing app go both ways. That was certainly the case on the night of September 2, when instead of paying his fare a Didi user in Shenzhen held up a knife to his driver's throat.
The incident took place around 10pm that night. The driver, whose surname is Rao, picked up a man in Xixiang, Bao'an District. According to the police account, the passenger asked to be taken to Fenghuang Keji Building, also in Bao'an. Rao remembers a sudden turn in events at the end of the trip:
"When we got there this person told me to turn left, turn right; I parked the car. This person said thanks for your hard work, sir, then put a knife to my throat, trapping me."
The passenger asked for money, but Rao didn't have much cash with him. Then the robber told Rao to get his wallet out.
“I said my wallet wasn’t on me, it was in the trunk, you go feel for it. He said I was messing with him, brought the knife to my vein. Once I realized things were going badly, I used my left hand to hold his blade, used my right hand to push the knife away, grabbed the knife from him.”
Rao managed to survive the encounter, but the robber escaped. Rao, whose left hand had had been seriously injured during the struggle, went to a hospital for treatment.
A doctor there stated that Rao is in the process of recovery. However, since the blood vessels, nerves, and tendons of three fingers were severed, he will be slightly impaired from now on.
A doctor describes Rao's injuries to local media.
The passenger who cut Rao has since been taken into custody by Shenzhen police, who tracked him down on September 20.
Initially, with the help of Didi Chuxing, the intelligence division of Shenzhen's criminal investigation department was able to find the robber's personal information. It turned out he was a 29-year-old man from Bobai County in Guangxi Province, whose last name was Chen. When police paid a visit to his apartment in Shenzhen, however, they discovered Chen had already left.
After a long chase, and with the cooperation of Bobai police, they finally caught the culprit hiding out in the town of Longtan, in Bobai County.
After being caught Chen confessed to the crime. He also stated that he'd done it to repay a huge gambling debt of more than RMB50,000. He's currently being detained by the Bao'an police department, who are still looking into the case.
According to them, Chen chose to target a Didi driver because he believed they'd be less likely to take preventative safety measures. Thus, police recommend that all ride-sharing drivers install a GPS and camera inside their car for their own security.
A Didi Chuxing spokesperson said that the app makes both drivers' and passengers' information very easy to find, which should deter people from crime. A reporter for Nanfang Metropolis Daily, however, found that the robber Chen had not authenticated his personal information on Didi, which seems to poke holes in that argument.
However, as the spokesperson stated, Didi does have built-in safety measures. For instance, passengers can instantly make emergency calls using the app. If at any point during their ride they feel threatened, they can select the "紧急求助" option (shown below), which will alert Didi Chuxing and any loved ones' whose phone numbers have been preloaded into the app. Pressing the button will also cause one's phone to automatically begin recording audio, which will then be sent to Didi's safety platform.
When in doubt, press the big red button.
The same function is available for Didi drivers too, allowing them to contact Shenzhen police if necessary. Hopefully, that will be enough to give some peace of mind to Didi drivers working in the big city.
[Images via Nanfang Metropolis Daily r/t Sunshine Daily, Shenzhen Public Channel; PConline]
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