Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi vows to do better after fleet owner attempts suicide, blaming company in note
- Yan Baocai, who owns a car leasing company in Shanxi province, tried to kill himself last week due to business woes he linked to Didi
- The company said it had met with him and would “spare no effort” to improve
China’s largest ride-hailing platform Didi Chuxing has promised to improve its policies for selecting car leasing partners after a fleet owner attempted suicide, blaming the company for allowing unqualified vehicles to operate on its platform while refusing to work with companies such as his that use licensed cars.
Yan Baocai, who owns a car leasing company in Shanxi province, tried to kill himself by taking pills and alcohol last Thursday but survived after family members rushed him to hospital, according to Chinese media outlet Lie Yunwang.com.
A suicide note said to be written by Yan has since gone viral on China’s Twitter-style microblog Weibo – in it, the car fleet owner said he was “exhausted” from dealing with the company’s troubles. “I never thought I would be forced into this pitiful state by illegally operated private hire cars,” he wrote in the note, which Yan’s company provided to Lie Yunwang.com.
“I don’t understand why Didi won’t accept legitimate cars that comply with government regulations, but the roads are flooded with unqualified Didi cars … You want to kill off law-complying car rental companies and drivers, using your monopoly to defy regulations? Then fine, I will die,” he said, adding that he was giving his life to apologise to drivers in his company and show the world Didi’s “evil face”.
Beijing-based Didi expressed concern for Yan and his family in an open letter on Monday, acknowledging the incident.