Car number plate forgery gang arrested in Shanghai
Six detained amid intense competition in China’s commercial capital to get a legal car registration plate
Shanghai police have arrested six people suspected of buying forged temporary car plates and selling them to clients through car dealerships in the city, according to a news website report.
The arrests come as the city is trying to tighten control of the number of car plates to limit the number of vehicles in the city, Thepaper.cn reported.
Shanghai drivers fume over car plate auctions
The suspects bought fake car plates from nearby Anhui province for 15 yuan (HK$18) each, according to the article.
They then distributed the blank plates to car dealerships through a WeChat social media group so they could be printed for clients.
Each of the forged plates was sold to car owners for between 600 yuan to 800 yuan. One car plate was sold for more than 1,200 yuan, the report said.
Shanghai government clerk accused of creating thousands of fake car plates for sale
Shanghai has adopted an auction system for car plates since 2000. About 9,000 new car plates are auctioned off each month as the authorities try to limit vehicle numbers and keep traffic congestion down.