Police hunt for Didi driver suspected of killing female passenger

Police in China are searching for a Didi driver suspected of killing a female passenger. The driver is alleged to have abandoned the vehicle and jumped into a river to escape, reports the People's Daily.

Ride-hailing company Didi has published detailed information about the driver, 27-year-old Liu Zhenhua. They are offering a reward of up to 1 million yuan (160,000 U.S. dollars) for information concerning his whereabouts.

File photo of victim Li [Photo: People's Daily]

The victim was a stewardess for Kunming-based airline Lucky Air. She ordered a ride using the hitchhiking option in the Didi app when she left the airport to go to Zhengzhou Railway Station in Henan Province at midnight on May 5.

Li contacted a colleague on WeChat soon after getting into Liu's car, saying that the driver wanted to kiss her. Li rejected her colleague's suggestion to get out of the car, saying that she was okay.

After Li's family was unable to get in touch with her the following day, they called the police on May 7. The next day, police informed Li's family that they had found her body with multiple stab wounds.

Many netizens have expressed their concerns regarding the safety of ride-hailing. Unlike express and premier drivers, drivers on Didi's hitchhiking service do not need a car-hailing driving license, however they still need to provide their ID card, driving license, and vehicle registration information.

Photo of suspect Liu Zhenhua published by Didi [Photo: People's Daily]

Yuan Shan, a commentator with news agency thepaper.cn, has criticized Didi, saying the company ignores the supervision of driver's paperwork. Two months ago in the city of Hangzhou, authorities found more than 200 cases of illegal ride-hailing. Ninety percent of cases were connected with Didi.

Passengers who use a ride-hailing service should check the registration details of a vehicle before getting in, and share their location with friends via WeChat. It is also recommended that they refuse drivers who pick up random passengers, says thepaper.cn.