At noon yesterday, the Yung Tau community security team of Chang'an Town took over the intersection to prevent vehicles from other regions bypassing the toll.
Event Replay
One hundred meters away from the Song'an Toll Station in Chang'an Town (Shenzhen to Dongguan direction), an ESSO gas station was privately helping vehicles from other regions escape tolls by taking a side road if they refueled for at least 100 yuan. This has continuously caused losses to the state-owned assets of the Song'an Toll Station. Our newspaper's A03 edition yesterday reported in detail on this issue: "A Gas Station in Chang'an Secretly Helps Vehicles Escape Tolls; Losses May Reach One Million Yuan Per Month."
How will the 'toll-escaping route' at the Chang'an ESSO gas station be resolved? Does the gas station's behavior violate relevant regulations? Yesterday, the reporter conducted further interviews.
Gas Station Manager Admits
"(The gate for toll-escape) was opened by us"
At around 11:30 AM yesterday, the reporter arrived at the gas station with town government staff to inspect the scene. It was discovered that the gas station employees still opened the movable iron gate to let vehicles that had refueled pass through the "toll-escape route."
After the reporter and government staff identified themselves, the gas station employees stopped letting vehicles pass. However, they denied the claim that vehicles refueling for at least 100 yuan were allowed to pass.
When the reporter mentioned having audio evidence, the shift leader Chen said, "I don't know." The manager, surnamed Le, also denied it, saying, "Our gas station does not have such a rule."
Under multiple pieces of evidence, Le became impatient. "The gate was opened by us," Le admitted and then explained that due to threats to employee personal safety, they had no choice but to open the gate for drivers escaping tolls. "Previously, there were often drivers trying to force their way through to escape tolls. If our employees didn't unlock the gate, they would get beaten. What can you do if someone wants to hit you?"
The reporter also verified that the gas station indeed had disputes with employees due to vehicles forcibly rushing through the gate on February 24, 2009, June 22, 2010, and June 26, 2010. Multiple alarms were raised. On July 12, 2010, a vehicle forcibly rushed through the gate and injured a gas station employee.
"If you're just afraid of being beaten, then why set a rule that only vehicles refueling more than 100 yuan are allowed to pass, while those less than 100 yuan are not?" Faced with the reporter's doubts, Manager Le finally admitted, "There was a management oversight."
Security Team Takes Over
"The toll-escape route will be completely closed today"
Regarding the management issue at the intersection, Gas Station Manager Le appeared very angry. "If we don't open it, we'll get beaten. What can we do? Managing the intersection is not our responsibility, go find the community." Le loudly told the reporter and town government personnel to "please leave."
By noon, relevant responsible persons from the Yung Tau Community Committee arrived at the scene for coordination. The committee stated that before the establishment of the Song'an Toll Station, the intersection already existed as an entrance and exit for nearby residents and factory enterprises in the community. When setting up the toll station, higher-level relevant departments failed to consider the actual travel needs of the community residents and did not appropriately provide a convenient passage. To date, the construction plan for the toll plaza has not been fully implemented, leading to conflicts between toll collection management and public travel, which resulted in the current situation at the intersection.
How will the toll-escape route be resolved? At around 12 PM, the Yung Tau Community Committee arranged security personnel to manage the intersection on-site. Deputy Secretary Wen of the committee stated that all community residents and local enterprise vehicles could pass, while vehicles from other regions would be prohibited.
At around 6 PM, the Yung Tau Community Committee called the reporter of this newspaper, stating that to thoroughly resolve the management difficulties at the intersection, the intersection would be completely sealed off today.
The Gas Station States
"In the future, we will no longer participate in intersection management"
It was learned that the ESSO gas station belongs to Dongguan Guowei Company. At around 4 PM, Vice President Cai of Guowei Company's operations department contacted the reporter of this newspaper, repeatedly crying out for justice. "We cannot bear the blame for the loss of state-owned assets," Mr. Cai said.
Mr. Cai said that before last year, the community committee had not closed the intersection, and the situation of vehicles rushing through toll barriers to escape fees had always existed, and was very severe. Vehicle congestion also affected the business of the gas station.
At the end of last year, the community committee closed the intersection but left one exit open for residents and enterprise vehicles to enter and refuel. "This exit also left behind hidden dangers," Mr. Cai said.
"We once cooperated with the toll station and the community committee for a year to prevent vehicles from escaping fees. Our employees were spat on by drivers who tried to force their way through. Originally, we did not have this obligation," Mr. Cai emphasized. "This should be managed by the community. Until this April or May, a company in the community, because of hanging accounts at the gas station, installed an iron gate with a lock and gave us the key. That's when the opening and closing of the gate began."
"Why, since the community and the toll station knew about this problem long ago, didn't they communicate with us?" Mr. Cai questioned. For nearly half a year, no relevant departments had communicated with the gas station regarding this matter.
Regarding the gas station's requirement of refueling 100 yuan to allow passage, Mr. Cai said, "This is just employee behavior; the company never had any related documents or regulations. But this does show our management was inadequate."
Finally, Mr. Cai said that Guowei Company takes this matter very seriously. "From now on, we will not be involved in any management issues related to this intersection," Mr. Cai said.
Lawyer's Opinion
"The gas station's behavior may涉嫌 'unfair competition'"
The reporter learned that for the gas station's behavior of helping vehicles escape tolls under the condition of refueling at least 100 yuan, the Chang'an Town Government paid high attention. However, after multiple communications by the town's Industry and Commerce Bureau, Comprehensive Governance Office, and other departments, no applicable laws and regulations for enforcement were found.
Attorney Zhao Xiaotu from Dongguan Dingneng Law Firm also believed that although the gas station's behavior was unreasonable, it is currently difficult to find suitable regulations to penalize them. The gas station's behavior merely exploited a loophole between the toll station and community management for commercial purposes, without reaching the legal level. Only suggestions can be made for the toll station and the community committee to negotiate and properly solve this loophole.
If we must delve deeper, the gas station is suspected of using actions detrimental to national interests for product promotion. The industry and commerce department might investigate and determine from the perspective of "unfair competition." If it indeed constitutes unfair competition, the industry and commerce department can conduct investigations and impose penalties. If the gas station disagrees with the determination, they can sue in court.
The reporter learned from the Dongguan Energy Industry Association that insiders in the industry were also discussing the gas station's behavior. An insider stated that even if the gas station's behavior is not illegal, as a company, they should operate honestly, strengthen self-discipline, and avoid causing reputational damage to the company and the industry.