These two inspection vehicles were reported to have used "fake plates". These two inspection vehicles were reported to have utilized "fake plates". The whistleblower provided pictures. Illegal taxis are a chronic problem troubling many cities, and Xuyi County in Huai'an City is facing the same difficulty. There are 546 regular taxis in the county town, but more than 100 illegal taxis, and including the surrounding countryside, the number of illegal taxis exceeds one thousand. In order to strengthen the crackdown on illegal taxis, the passenger management office of the county had no choice but to use some improper methods. Recently, someone reported that the passenger management office of the county used "fake plate vehicles" during law enforcement. What exactly happened? A fast reporter went to Xuyi for investigation.
□ Fast reporter Shi Zhongyin Zhu Junjun
These two inspection vehicles were reported to have used "fake plates", as evidenced by the pictures provided by the whistleblower.
Report
Inspection vehicles were accused of "enforcing with fake plates"
Recently, the Fast Post received an anonymous report that the urban passenger management office in Xuyi County, Huai'an City, used illegal means during law enforcement, "they drove cars with fake license plates so as not to be recognized by illegal taxi drivers. But using fake plates itself is an illegal act, and law enforcement should not be like this." The whistleblower said that there were always illegal taxis near Xuyi's long-distance bus station and Guomao Mall, and the law enforcers had been using fake plates for several months. According to the report, two inspection vehicles from Xuyi County's passenger management office were suspected of using fake plates: a white Santana sedan with the original plate number SuHxxx19, which was using the fake plate SuHxxx52; a black Hongqi sedan with the original plate number SuHxxx06, which was using the fake plate SuHxxx46.
On the morning of September 22, the reporter arrived in Xuyi County. The center of the county, Guomao Mall, and the long-distance bus station at the edge of the city were the two most concentrated areas for illegal taxis. "The passenger management office usually can't catch us," said an illegal taxi driver. He said he knew the license plate numbers of the law enforcement vehicles by heart. "When we see a white Santana with the tail number 19 or a black Hongqi sedan with the tail number 06, we know the people from the passenger management office are coming." Another illegal taxi driver said he knew what the law enforcers looked like, and if they were driving inspection vehicles, it would be easy to spot them.
However, most illegal taxi drivers did not know about the enforcement with fake plates. Although they had seen inspection vehicles with the tail numbers 52 and 46 (reported as fake plates) enforcing the law, they did not notice anything unusual about these plates. Additionally, these plates had not appeared recently. On the morning of September 22, only the white Santana with the plate number SuHxxx19 was seen patrolling.
Explanation
Using fake plates led to catching more illegal taxis each month
That afternoon, the reporter visited the urban passenger management office of Xuyi County. In the courtyard of the unit, the white Santana with the plate number SuHxxx19 was parked without using a fake plate. However, Director Wang of the passenger management office admitted to the fact of using fake plates for law enforcement, consistent with what the whistleblower said: the white Santana with the plate number SuHxxx19 used the fake plate SuHxxx52; the black Hongqi sedan with the plate number SuHxxx06 used the fake plate SuHxxx46. The two fake plates actually belonged to a truck from Xuyi County Public Transportation Company and a bus from Xuyi County Urban Construction Bus Company, respectively.
Director Wang frankly admitted that using fake plates for law enforcement is an illegal act, and according to relevant regulations, a fine of 200 to 2000 yuan should be imposed. However, he defended his actions by saying that due to the difficulties in obtaining evidence during law enforcement, they had no choice but to resort to such tactics. He introduced that there were 546 regular operating taxis and 63 buses in the county town, while there were hundreds of illegal taxis frequently appearing around the county, and if including the surrounding cities, the number of illegal taxis exceeded one thousand. "Sometimes we borrow cars from other units, sometimes we use taxis... borrowing too many times, finally we couldn't borrow any more, so we had to use fake plates on our own unit's cars." He said that the practice of using fake plates for law enforcement started in June this year and ended in late August after receiving complaints from citizens. Subsequently, the passenger management office reported the situation to the transportation bureau and confessed their mistakes. In recent times, they have stopped using fake plates for law enforcement.
"In the past, we could only catch five or six illegal taxis per month, but after using fake plates, we could find 10 every month," Director Wang said. Now that they have stopped using fake plates for law enforcement, but the crackdown on illegal taxis must continue, the passenger management office can only continue to think of ways to borrow cars.
Expert
Law enforcers cannot use illegal means
A common "fake plate vehicle" refers to a car that copies the model and color of a real car, and uses a fake plate with the same number on a car of the same model and color. Fake plate owners, thinking they can avoid punishment, drive recklessly on the road and are more likely to violate traffic rules. Article 96, Paragraph 1 of the Road Traffic Safety Law stipulates: "Using another vehicle's motor vehicle registration certificate, license plate, driving license, inspection qualified mark, or insurance mark shall be confiscated by the public security traffic management department, the motor vehicle shall be detained, and a fine of more than 200 yuan but less than 2000 yuan shall be imposed; if it constitutes a crime, criminal responsibility shall be pursued according to law."
Relevant experts believe that no matter what, illegal means cannot be used to investigate illegal acts. Lawyer Chen Hua from Dacheng Law Offices Nanjing Branch Office stated that there are two views in the legal community: some experts believe that as long as the subject and content of law enforcement comply with the corresponding laws, it will not affect the result of the law enforcement action. Specifically regarding this incident, the law enforcer used a fake plate vehicle, and only needed to bear the civil liability for the illegal act. Other experts believe that law enforcement actions also need to conform to the principle of procedural justice, and if there are illegal acts during the law enforcement process, the final result is also worth reconsidering. That is to say, apart from accepting fines, the investigated illegal taxis can apply for administrative reconsideration to relevant departments, and the punishment for the illegal taxis may be overturned.
Currently, the most effective way to investigate illegal taxis is still joint law enforcement. For example, in Nanjing, the passenger management office maintains contact with the public transport security division and various traffic police teams. When situations such as violent resistance or escape by illegal taxi drivers occur, the passenger management inspectors can receive swift and effective support.
Link
Nanjing once had "license removal enforcement"
The dilemma faced by Xuyi County is common in other cities. The Nanjing Passenger Management Office also used some improper methods when investigating illegal taxis. Law enforcement officers first drove the inspection vehicle to places where illegal taxis often appear and "lurked", parking the front of the car against the wall to block the front license plate, then removing the rear license plate, patiently waiting. When an illegal taxi stops nearby to pick up or drop off passengers, the law enforcement officers waiting in the inspection vehicle suddenly rush out to investigate and seize the illegal taxi. However, removing the license plate from the inspection vehicle is also an illegal act, and was later complained about. "License removal enforcement" was also discontinued, and relevant personnel were severely dealt with.
"The license plate numbers of the six law enforcement vehicles can all be recited by illegal taxi drivers! Now we remove the license plates to prevent being recognized by illegal taxi drivers," said a staff member of the Nanjing Passenger Management Office. Nanjing's illegal taxis are more organized, even equipped with radios. As soon as one illegal taxi discovers law enforcement officers, all other vehicles will get the message and quickly escape. Therefore, at that time, law enforcement officers needed to first understand the distribution and routes of illegal taxis, and then take action using a "front and back pincer movement." Staff members were unwilling to elaborate on the details, "Some experiences cannot be detailed externally, nor can they be promoted, otherwise, if the illegal taxi drivers know, our work will become more difficult." He said that the ability of illegal taxi drivers to counteract measures is very strong, and once the details of law enforcement are exposed, the drivers will have countermeasures, affecting future work.