China ride hailing giant Didi Chuxing has halted its ‘Hitch’ carpool service after a second female passenger was murdered in just a few months.
The Hitch service has been suspended in order to tighten up ‘many deficiencies’ after a 20-year-old woman was raped and murdered by her Didi driver in the city of Wenzhou.
A 27-year-old driver named Zhong has been detained and has confessed, police say.
The service was suspended for a short time back in May after a woman was killed in Zhengzhou.
It only restarted after adding safety measures including facial recognition of all drivers before each ride.
It also restricted rides after dark although the latest incident took place in the afternoon.
"The (latest) incident shows the many deficiencies with our customer service processes," Didi said, adding that ‘we will not shirk from our responsibilities in this.’
The company also fired the head of Hitch and a customer service executive.
Didi said the driver had passed background checks and had no criminal record, although a previous complaint was made about him from a passenger.
"As the scale of our service grows, we also face an immense challenge against our ability to manage safety. We will humbly and sincerely accept the criticisms of the public and government overseers," a Didi statement said.
