(Hangzhou) – A father and daughter who occupied a ride-sharing vehicle for 32 hours and urinated inside the car have been detained by authorities in eastern China. The bizarre incident began after the pair had an argument with the driver over the location of their pick-up point.
According to reports, the father, 54, and his daughter, 25, both surnamed Yu, refused to leave the car from 2pm on May 17 to 10pm the next day. The driver, a woman surnamed Wang, had discontinued their order following a dispute over the pick-up location, which did not allow parking.
Wang told local consumer watchdog programme, 1818 Golden Eye, that the pair began screaming at her before getting into the car. The screaming continued once they closed the doors, prompting Wang to end the service and drive them back to where they had originally set off.
The police were called but failed to persuade the pair to leave the car, so Wang drove them to her residential compound that night, leaving the car doors unlocked hoping they would be gone by the next morning. However, Wang was shocked to find that the pair were still in the car the next day, and had urinated inside the vehicle.
The daughter claimed that they were fighting for their legal rights, and refused to leave the car until Wang completed their order, or paid them compensation amounting to 10 times the fare of nine yuan (RM5.87 or US$1.30).
The police eventually issued a summoning warrant after 32 hours, giving the pair no choice but to leave the vehicle. The father and daughter have been placed under seven-day administrative detention.
Mainland social media users have applauded the police’s decision, with many calling the pair terrible passengers who should be blacklisted by the ride-sharing platform. Others have suggested that the platform should take some responsibility for allowing the passengers to choose a pick-up point that didn’t allow parking.
The ride-sharing platform, T3 Chuxing, has said that it will provide legal assistance to Wang and help her recover her lost income.
