‘Rich and wilful’ mystery man, irritated after family dispute, pays Chinese cabby US$5,700 to jump red lights and ‘leave scene quickly’
- Mystery man hails cab then starts transferring large sums via QR code to driver and demanding he drive through red lights
- When the driver refused the man became agitated and violent before fleeing as the cabby pulled up next to another taxi and sought help
A frightened taxi driver in China was paid 30,000 yuan (US$4,400) and ordered to drive through red traffic lights by a passenger who later explained that each 10,000 yuan was for one red light.
The driver, surnamed Chai, from Puyang city in Henan province, central China, picked up the 30-something-year-old male passenger last Wednesday.
The man paid Chai 9,000 yuan (US$1,300) as soon as he got in the car and told him to “leave the scene quickly”.
“Soon after he got in the taxi, he transferred 9,000 yuan to me via QR code and asked me to ‘leave the scene quickly’,” Chai told Henan Broadcasting Network.
The passenger later made three more separate 10,000-yuan payments during the four-kilometre ride.
He also told Chai he wanted to go to the city of Shijiazhuang in Hebei province, northern China, which is about 322km away from Puyang city.
As they approached the first intersection displaying a red light the man asked Chai to just drive through. When Chai tried to explain he was not prepared to break the road rules, the man said he would pay him 10,000 yuan for jumping one red light.