Didi Chuxing issues public apology for death of female passenger

Chinese ride-sharing company Didi Chuxing has blamed its own ‘vanity’ for lapses in safety which led to the rape and killing of a 20-year-old female passenger. The firm issued a public apology for the incident which took place on 28 August and says it will now prioritise safety over growth.

In an emailed statement, Didi founder Cheng Wei and president Jean Liu say: "We see clearly this is because our vanity overtook our original belief. We raced non-stop, riding on the force of breathless expansion and capital, through these few years; but this has no meaning in such a tragic loss of life."

The 27-year-old driver was arrested and confessed to the murder of the 20-year-old victim.

According to Didi, the driver did not have a criminal record but a previous passenger had filed a complaint against him.

The %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external BBC BBC News website link false https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-45337860 false false%> says this follows Didi’s decision to suspend its Hitch carpool service following a public outcry over the second murder of a passenger in three months.

According to a %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external report BBC report website link false https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44081885 false false%> on 11 May, a 21-year-old woman had been killed after taking a ride in Zhengzhou, the capital of the east-central Henan province.

China’s transport ministry has since pressed Didi to conduct better driving vetting and education.

Didi has stated it intends to establish a system for passengers to call the police and improve safety features which include a function that allows riders to share itineraries.

The company says it would also re-evaluate Hitch’s business model.

"We might not be able to eradicate 100% the ill deeds carried out by criminals who might seek to abuse this platform, but we will try our upmost to protect passengers and drivers and continue to drive down crime rate in this industry," the statement adds.