Ride-hail driver guilty for death of passenger

Zhou Yangchun, a driver for online ride-hailing platform Huolala, was sentenced to one year in prison with a one-year reprieve by Yuelu District People's Court in Changsha, Hunan province, on Friday after his negligence in driving caused the death of a female passenger.

According to the court, Zhou received an order through Huolala to help a passenger surnamed Che move on Feb 6.

Zhou asked Che whether she needed his aid to move her belongings to the van, which would require her to pay an extra fee, but she refused. Zhou was unhappy, as it meant he had to wait for longer and could not earn more from the order, the court said.

After the two set out for their destination, Zhou did not remind Che, who sat in the front passenger seat, to fasten her seat belt, it said.

During the trip, Zhou became unhappy, as he asked her if she wanted to pay to have him help her unload her belongings after arrival, but she refused again, it said.

As they drove, Zhou did not follow a route recommended by the platform and changed to another one to save time, it said. When Che questioned him, he expressed his dissatisfaction with her.

Che felt frightened, leaned her body out of the van's window and asked Zhou to stop, but Zhou, who had noticed she might jump out of the car and be in danger, did not attempt to stop her, nor did he stop the vehicle, it said.

When she fell out the window, Zhou stopped the van and called an ambulance and police, it said.

Che died on Feb 10 in hospital, and forensic identification showed her death was caused by a head injury she sustained when she fell, it said.

The one-year reprieve means that if Zhou does not reoffend during that year, he will not have to serve the jail sentence. If he does reoffend during that year, the one-year sentence kicks in.