China traffic trickster stages rush hour ‘crashes for cash’, caught by previous victim
- Fraudster on bicycle targets cars in non-motorised lanes at busy crossings, preys on guilt of drivers after being ‘hit’ for cash
A bicycle rider in China has been detained for staging road accidents to blackmail car drivers after netting 100,000 yuan (US$14,000) in ill-gotten gains over a two-month period.
The modus operandi of the man, surnamed Zhang, was to ride a bicycle on streets in Beijing during rush hours and deliberately approach vehicles which were illegally driving on the non-motorised lanes so that he would easily be knocked down, reported Beijing TV.
Many drivers use the non-motorised driveways because they hate waiting in a queue, especially before the intersections, in the hope of stealing a march on others.
In China, if a car is found using a non-motorised lane, the driver will be fined 200 yuan (US$28) and have a two-point deduction from their driving licence.
Zhang said if he was hit by a car, he would demand between hundreds and thousands of yuan in compensation. His extortion scheme relied on the feelings of guilt felt by drivers.
Last month, a driver, surnamed Li, fell victim to Zhang’s racket by paying him 2,500 yuan (US$350) in compensation after his car knocked Li down near a main crossroads in Beijing’s Shijingshan district at 6am on a work day.
However, days later, at the same place and at the same time, Li met with Zhang again as the latter rode a bike and fell down beside his car again.
Li called the police and surveillance footage showed that Zhang had done the same thing in mid-April and asked another driver to give him 500 yuan.
At the end of April, police officers caught Zhang and detained him for fraud.
He admitted that he staged such accidents 3-4 times per day, with his income from the racketeering scheme reaching 100,000 yuan over the past two months.
Blackmail cases involving road accidents are common in China.
Three men were detained by Beijing police in May for extorting two men out of 18,000 yuan (US$2,500) in a deliberate rear-ending accident.
