Biz Unusual

Entrapment driver wants money back

By Xu Fan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-19 08:04

An illegal taxi driver, recently fined 4,000 yuan by the Haidian district urban administration, or chengguan, is fighting his case claiming he was a victim of entrapment.

If entrapment is proven it will be the first such case in Beijing, following the recent success of a similar case in Shanghai.

Du Guowu, the driver, appealed the fine during an administrative reexamination hearing at a Haidian district government building on Tuesday.

Both sides said they are willing to accept mediation but Du said he wants his money back.

Haidian chengguan said they would respond to his request after completing their investigation.

"I was filled with anger because of the entrapment," said Du, 38, from Mentougou district.

"I admit offering a taxi service without a license is illegal. But I have to feed my family and my 6-year-old son because my wife has no job," he said.

"It must be illegal for chengguan to entrap me."

An officer surnamed Zhao from the law enforcement office of Haidian chengguan denied the accusations, saying there had been no entrapment, the Beijing Times reported.

Du had been offering an illegal taxi service for two months when he was stopped by a man near Pingguoyuan on Sept 7. The man asked for a lift to Chaijiafen and agreed to pay 40 yuan.

"When I arrived, the passenger told me there was a school nearby and asked me to slow down," said Du.

Du said his car was stopped by a van from the front and a chengguan vehicle from behind.

He said the passenger quickly left his car and climbed into a chengguan vehicle. A group of plain-clothed men appeared and one of them showed Du an ID card, asking him to get out of the car. The men drove Du's car away and left him with a fine bill.

The following day he went to a local chengguan office and paid the 4,000 yuan fine and an additional 300 yuan in fees.

"When I remember the event in detail, it seems so obvious the passenger was their bait," said Du.

He said chengguan officers should wear uniforms on duty and also claimed they signed his interrogation record.

Wang Yukai, a professor of public administration in the China National School of Administration, said entrapment violated administrative laws and lowers public trust in government.