THREE employees at a traffic police station in Bao an District allegedly extorted 2,000 yuan (US$302) from a driver by threatening to detain him in custody for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), Chinese-language media reported yesterday.
The driver, who gave only his family name Zhong, said he was approached by three men in police tow-away team uniform when sitting in his car waiting for friends near Xixiang Bus Terminal.
They came straight to me and said they would take me to a police detention center for drink driving, said Zhong, who claimed to have had two bottles of beer at dinner that night.
He said the three men took him to a corner of the road and told him that they would let him go if he paid them 2,000 yuan. They didn t ask me to take a breath test before threatening me.
Zhong refused to pay and asked for a breath test. They wouldn t listen and tried to take me away. I was scared and gave them 2,000 yuan.
The three tow men left after taking the money.
A spokesperson for Xixiang Subdistrict traffic police said they had received similar complaints about extortion involving their employees and would investigate the matter. Tow men are not authorized to conduct roadside breath tests for DUI, the spokesperson said. (SD News)
