Twisted arm of the law

Slides
Photos

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-20 10:05

The credibility of the Shanghai traffic law enforcement department and sanctity of governmental agencies' rule of law is being questioned when there is no transparency about how law enforcers set traps to frame innocent drivers in order to impose fines.

Two victims have taken the department to a district court for being framed - on the charge of running an unlicensed passenger transport business - and fined as much as 10,000 yuan ($1,470) and 20,000 yuan respectively. The third victim even wanted to commit suicide by cutting his wrist after he was trapped and learnt that the person he gave a ride to out of sympathy was the law enforcers' bait to trap him.

It has been revealed that a district traffic law enforcement department has collected more than 50 million yuan by imposing fines on more than 5,000 motor vehicles in two years, much more than the target laid down by higher authorities.

As is known, the ends cannot justify the means. In these cases, not only the procedure to trap innocent drivers with baits is illegal, but also the ends are problematic. They are doing these just for extracting fines from innocent people.

Twisted arm of the law

As a government law enforcement department, it is supposed to maintain traffic order by cracking down on unlicensed passenger transport business and traffic rule violations.

Now it turns out to be a social scourge by setting a lot of baits and traps to frame innocent drivers just for achieving their quota of fines. It is unimaginable how such a department is provided for with taxpayers' money just to extract booty from the people.

The Shanghai municipal government said over the weekend that any person or department found to be collecting evidence, by illegal means, for imposing fines will be severely punished. Such a response is welcome but far from enough.

What the traffic law enforcement department has done is not a matter of irregularity. Trapping innocent people and extracting fines from them in the name of enforcing traffic law is not so much a malpractice; it could be called a kind of robbery.

As government law enforcers, they are supposed to know where the line is. Rather than staying within the line, they are breaking the law themselves, in a blatant manner.

Apparently, a thorough investigation is needed to establish the truth. All the victims and people all over the city deserve to know the whole truth of the scandal. Only by bringing all those responsible to due justice would it be possible to restore the public's confidence in the local traffic law enforcement department and the local government as well.

Even that is not enough. Further efforts must be made to find out the root cause. For example, how can there be targets fixed for fines by a district traffic law enforcement department? It is ridiculous and against common sense. We are yet to know whether the targets or quotas of fines are related to the amount of bonuses law enforcers get. If they are, this is a particular kind of abuse of power by public servants in the name of serving the people. It tarnishes undermines the credibility of the government.

(China Daily 10/20/2009 page8)