Man detained after dodging train tickets about 480 times
A man has been detained for allegedly dodging train tickets about 480 times, Shanghai railway police said over the weekend.
The total cost of the tickets he has dodged since July last year is about 20,000 yuan (US$2,840), police said.
Police launched an investigation recently after finding the man surnamed Yang daily travelling between Shanghai and Wuxi city in Jiangsu Province but usually just buying tickets from Shanghai Railway Station to Shanghai West Railway Station.
Suspecting that Yang was dodging tickets, police followed him when he took the train again from Shanghai Railway Station with only a ticket to Shanghai West on August 15.
Yang got off at Wuxi Station, and during the ride, he hid himself in the toilet when the train staff came to check the tickets of the passengers, police said.
After he got out of the station, the police approached him and found that apart from the ticket for Shanghai to Shanghai West, he also had a ticket from Suzhou to Wuxi purchased with his father-in-law’s identity card.
Yang then confessed that he lives in Shanghai and works in Wuxi, and to save the cost of commuting, he usually purchased two tickets of short rides with stops involving Shanghai and Wuxi, police said.
He allegedly said he saved 40 yuan for each trip and about 1,600 yuan every month with this trick.
Yang will also be banned from purchasing another train ticket for 180 days.
