The victim of a car accident is still in the hospital, waiting for police to find the taxi driver who allegedly hit him. Meanwhile, the taxi company to whom the car's plates were registered claims the driver who hit the victim does not work for them.
Fengtai traffic police told the Legal Mirror Monday that an investigation is underway.
The victim, surnamed Yuan, was riding a tricycle when he was hit by a taxi near Kefeng Bridge, Fengtai district, at around 1 am on March 11.
Yuan suffered two broken ribs, a mild concussion and may have internal bleeding in the brain, according to Fengtai Hospital's diagnosis.
The driver checked Yuan into the hospital and paid a 3,000 yuan ($456.90) deposit, but then he disappeared with all the receipts, said Yuan's daughter-in-law, surnamed Jin.
The driver did not pick up the phone when she tried calling him later, Jin told the Legal Mirror.
The car plate number shows that the taxi belongs to the Beijing North Taxi Company, and that the vehicle was registered to two drivers. However, neither of them was the one who hit Yuan, reported the paper.
"It's not likely that the drivers loaned the car to someone else," said an employee at the Beijing North Taxi Company.
"It's possible that the taxi was a fake. Some people buy scrap taxis and have them painted to look exactly like real taxis, and get fake car plates," the employee told the Global Times Monday. "We've received complaints about such fake taxis, but there's no way to find these people."
The taxi company reportedly said they are looking into the matter and would pull the taxi's driving record and question the two drivers.
Global Times