It wasn't supposed to happen, but it did: a 21-year-old stewardess was raped and murdered by her Didi Hitch driver on May 6, prompting a massive manhunt that ended when the assailant was finally found dead in a river.
But even as Didi Chuxing publicly apologized and vowed to add safety features while getting rid of social functions during its one-week suspension of the inter-city car-pooling app, there's no turning back. Whether or not Didi can rehabilitate its image, the Chinese public has become so enraged by the murder that women's public safety has become a top concern throughout the country.
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And, with no murderer to catch nor any available service to criticize, China's outrage towards wayward taxi and car sharing drivers has shown zero tolerance for improper behavior as seen by numerous news stories from the past week.
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Didi has fired one of its employees after he discovered to be surreptitiously following one of his female passengers after dropping her off at her Beijing home last Thursday (video above). The woman, named Liu, said the man explained he was only looking for his next fare when she confronted him in a phone call, only to find out from Didi that the opposite was true. Police are said to be investigating.
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Sichuan police have taken in a taxi driver for questioning after he was recorded on camera last Tuesday attempting to look down the blouse of his female passenger as she was busy retrieving her money (photos and video above). Even before that, the Sichuan taxi driver was said to have "picked a hair" off his female passenger's bare shoulder.
And while he isn't a driver of a taxi or car share, Friday saw Guizhou police jail a driving instructor who was caught on camera inappropriately touching the thighs of one of his students while in a car (video below). The victim said the driver teacher had been groping her for three days before she used her cell phone to catch him in the act, resulting in an administrative detention punishment lasting eight days.
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Besides all having been caught on video, the stories have angered Chinese netizens who want justice. Amid numerous cries of "pervert," some people say the eight-day-long punishment – the only one to involve jail time – is not enough.
"It is too light, and will not act as a deterrent," said one commenter.
It is too light, and will not act as a deterrent.
This week's backlash comes amid a growing tendency for women to take a stand and fight back against gropers and voyeurs on China's public transportation systems.
A Beijing woman was hailed a "hero" for publicly confronting a subway groper last month when national reports show her gripping her groper by the lapel and loudly condemning him. In addition, this past week has seen a voyeur plead for forgiveness on his knees after he was shamefully caught trying to peek under a woman's dress with his phone.
Hearing their customers' concerns, taxi companies around China are trying to regain public trust. Shanghai just announced a "red ribbon" campaign in which passengers can knowingly flag down a female taxi driver during late hours.
The Didi Hitch murder was surprising for the fact that the perpetrator was able to bypass numerous safeguards such as a facial recognition registry, using someone else's account, and having already been the subject of a previous sexual harassment complaint. But now, with zero tolerance for having to suffer crimes of any kind, it seems like Chinese women are taking their safety into their own hands.
Images: Miaopai.com
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