Rape on a Chinese ridesharing app: why Didi and Uber should be worried

Earlier this week, news broke that a private-car app driver in Guangzhou had been arrested on suspicion of raping a female passenger. The passenger had apparently been drinking and fell asleep in the car’s backseat. She awoke sometime later in a hotel room and discovered that the driver apparently had sex with her. The driver, a man named Deng, reportedly doesn’t deny the basic facts of the case (that he took a drunk woman to a hotel and had sex with her), although he does deny that it was sexual assault. He is currently in police custody.

It’s a horrific story on a human level, of course, but it also represents a real danger for at least one of China’s ridesharing apps. At the moment, it’s not clear which app the driver worked for – the female victim says she “can’t remember” which app she used to hail the car. But the car’s driver, as it turns out, is a convicted thief who was released from prison only two years ago. If the specific app the passenger used is determined, whichever app it is will be in for an epic public relations nightmare. Not only was one of their customers raped, but the customer was raped by a driver with a recent criminal record.

It seems likely that the police already know which ridesharing company employs Deng, though they have not released that information publicly yet and it’s unclear if they will. The offending company is almost certainly either Didi Kuaidi or Uber, who between them have the vast majority of China’s ridesharing market. Uber, of course, has already had serious trouble with sexual assault accusations and rape in India. Another such case involving yet another convicted-criminal driver could do real harm to Uber’s global branding in addition to hurting it severely in China. Didi, on the other hand, could find itself losing a significant share of its current market lead to Uber if it comes out that the driver worked for Didi and the public subsequently decides Uber’s services are safer.

It seems inevitable that Deng’s employer, whichever company it is, is going to be revealed over the long run. Even if the police don’t reveal it, the victim can likely find record of her booking on her phone, and numerous people at whichever company employs Deng probably have access to driver lists that would include his name. The news may not cause significant damage to either app if it doesn’t come out until interest in this case has died down, but whichever company is responsible – and its investors – should be worried. If it comes out soon, the fallout could be massive.

That said, in case I’m not being clear: whatever damage this case ultimately does to the app responsible is wholly deserved. Especially after the 2014 Uber rape in India, every ridesharing app should be very aware of the importance of thorough background checks when hiring drivers. There is simply no excuse for hiring a convict at this point, and whichever company hired Deng has, either willingly or through negligence, put the safety of its customers at risk. It deserves to see its market share shriveled.