Mobikes set on fire by rival firm employee

A man accused of burning 13 Mobikes in revenge for them taking space in a parking lot has been arrested for arson.

Minhang District prosecutors said the suspect surnamed Tao, from another shared bike industry player whose name wasn’t disclosed, was infuriated that the Mobikes occupied a parking area that used to hold bikes from his company. He decided to burn them all to vent his frustration. 

The bikes were set ablaze on July 19. Passers-by helped to put out the fire. According to Mobike, 13 bikes were damaged.  

Police caught Tao after checking roadside monitoring videos. He has admitted guilt.

Tao said he found an oil leak while driving his moped and it gave him the idea of spilling oil on the Mobikes. He put the idea into practice and set the bikes on fire.

Investigation found Tao had earlier received a five-day detention for obscuring QR codes on Mobikes.