What happened: Following the second murder of a female passenger in three months, Didi said it would suspend its carpooling service today. The company also said it had failed to investigate a complaint by another passenger that related to the driver that was allegedly responsible for the rape and murder in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province on Friday (August 24).
Why it’s important: The incident has caused public outrage. Posts on social media relating to the case have been reposted or read nearly one billion times. Didi’s inability to respond to customer complaints has also been called to attention. Prior to the murder, another female passenger reported the driver for harassing her. She claimed the driver attempted to drive her to a secluded area before she was able to get out of the car. Didi has responded to the second murder by firing Huang Jieli, general manager of its carpooling business, and Huang Jinhong, deputy president of the company’s services department. Despite the company revamping its service and including mandatory facial recognition for all drivers, many users have chosen to delete the app and cease using the company’s services.