Editor’s Note: Uber has received a lot of blowback from local governments as it tries to position itself in the Chinese market. However, this time the criticism may be warranted. An Uber driver in Chongqing reportedly attacked a female passenger, causing many to question whether the company’s background checks are thorough enough.

A Chongqing Uber driver went the wrong way, yelled at his passengers, tried to raise the fare, and then chased and tried to beat a female passenger who threated to report him.

A young woman named Zhou recently had a nightmarish experience with an Uber driver this past Wednesday. The 29 year old woman had bruises on her face and arms when she told her story to the media.

7:45 am: Zhou and three fellow students heading to a driving school to take their exam called an Uber in Chongqing at 7:30 am. The car, with the license plate BUN225, pulled up at 7:37 am. Zhou sat in the front seat while the three others sat in the back. A few minutes later, she realized that the driver was heading in the opposite direction of the driving school. “I’m from Chongqing, I know how to get there!” the driver insisted. One of the passengers in the back seat started to give the driver directions and he complied, but began to swear at all of them.

8:00 am: The car came to a section of the road that was a bit damaged. The driver suddenly stopped saying, “You lured me into the middle of nowhere!” Zhou explained that the driving school was a bit far out and they only had a little longer to go. The driver became angry and said that if they did not give him double the fare then he would not let them out. Zhou said that if he charged them double then they would complain to Uber. The driver flew into a rage, “If you complain about me, I swear I will hit you!”

In order to actually make it to their exam, the four passengers decided to pay the double fare. The driver restarted the car. Five minutes in, he asked them for more money to wash his car. The passengers agreed.

8:20 am: The car finally reached the destination. The three passengers in the back got out and headed to the examination room. Zhou had trouble getting her seatbelt off and was slower to get out. “Stupid girl, you can’t even get your seatbelt off,” mocked the driver.

Zhou finally pulled her backpack out of the car. The driver continued to curse at her. “You think you’re the only one who can use profanity?” she asked. “You think you can swear at me?” he said. She swore at the driver and he slapped her in the face.

Shocked, Zhou ran into the examination room. The driver yelled after her, “I’ll be waiting here to get you when you come out!”

8:45 am: Suddenly, Zhou heard a commotion behind her. The driver had followed her into the examination room. He ran up to her and slapped her in the face before she had time to react. Zhou scratched at the driver’s face and ears to try to defend herself.
Her driving school classmates pulled the driver away, but not before he was able to bite Zhou’s left arm. The severe bite bled profusely.

Zhou pulled out her cell phone and called the police as soon as she broke free. The driver shouted “I’ll kill you,” fought off the other students, lunged forward and hit Zhou in the face.

Security rushed into the examination room and pulled the man away into a different room to wait for the police. The driver pulled away and left, not wanting to wait for the police. Zhou was taken to the hospital and treated for her injuries. Her right check was swollen, she had tinnitus in her right ear, her left forearm was bitten and she had multiple bruises.

3:00 pm: After receiving her complaint, an Uber customer service representative contacted Zhou and said that her case would be investigated as soon as possible. Later, Uber staff informed her that the driver could not be reached at this time and the incident could not be resolved at the moment. Later, Zhou received a WeChat friend request from a representative of Uber Chongqing. The representative said that she would meet with Zhou in order to better understand the incident. As of yesterday afternoon, Zhou said she had not received a follow-up about the meeting.

The Follow-Up
Yesterday around 4:00 pm, a local Chongqing police spokesperson said that Uber had been cooperating with the police and had released the driver’s information. The case is still under investigation. As of last night, the driver had been detained for questioning by police and could not be interviewed by press.

Traffic police said that the suspect’s name is Yang, and he is suspected of illegally driving for Uber. Police added that because Uber has no way to completely audit a driver’s background, unfit individuals may be hired as drivers.

Zhou said that the police had asked her to look through photos to identity the driver. She was able to point him out from a picture at the police station. “When I recognized his picture, the policeman with me mumbled ‘still looking for him.’ I asked if he had been in prison. The police asked me a lot of other questions,” said Zhou.

Police told Zhou that the man had been a taxi driver but had been fired for punching a passenger.

One of the three students in the back seat was a 50 year old Sichuanese man named Feng. Feng said that Zhou’s story was true. He said that the driver had been the angriest at Zhou because she had threatened to file a complaint with Uber after he had abused the passengers. “He was cursing and beating the car like a mad dog,” said Feng. From the driver’s language and threats, Feng believed that the man had a criminal record.

Uber’s Response
The manager of Uber Chongqing, also surnamed Yang, said that he was in a meeting and would reply later. After an hour, he did not answer his phone despite repeated attempts to contact him.

That evening, Uber Chongqing released an official statement on Weibo: “We are currently fully cooperating with the police to investigate the incident. After the formal investigation is completed, we will act in accordance with the police’s conclusion and work to prosecute the responsible party.”

An Uber driver named Chen said that when applied to driver for the company his application had been approved in three days. He did not go through an interview process.

Chen said that the application to drive for Uber is very simple. Drivers apply by sending in their name, email, phone number, car make, model, and year, license plate number, a picture of their license and insurance, their ID card number, and three photographs.

Source: The Paper

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Keywords: Uber nightmare Uber Chongqing