Didi rocked by second passenger killing in three months despite additional security measures
Didi confirms a complaint was made by a female passenger against driver one day before he confessed to killing another rider
A second killing in three months involving a passenger using Didi Chuxing’s ride-hitching service has placed the Chinese company back under scrutiny after stepped-up security measures failed to prevent the death.
Police in Leqing city in China’s eastern Zhejiang province said on Saturday they found the body of a 20-year-old female surnamed Zhao, and arrested a Didi driver who confessed to her rape and murder. The victim had sent a message to her friend a day earlier asking for help before she went missing. Investigations are still ongoing.
Didi, which ran the hitch-a-ride service, said it would not “shirk from responsibility” and expressed deep sorrow for the tragedy.
The case comes just three months after the death of a female user of Didi Hitch in Henan province sparked safety concerns, causing the Beijing-based start-up to suspend the ride-pooling service and step up safety measures.
The revamp included the introduction of mandatory facial-recognition scanning for all drivers on its platform before they take any orders, a move designed to prevent unauthorised persons from stealing the identity of Didi-registered drivers.
It also halted pairing up commuters heading in the same direction after 10pm and started to send automatic alerts to both passengers and car owners on unfinished trips between 10pm and 6am.
In the latest case, the arrested driver, whose family name is Zhong, had passed background checks and had no prior criminal record, according to Didi. He had registered with the company using his authentic ID, driver license and vehicle registration certificate, according to a statement on Saturday.
