Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

CRIME

Taxi driver locks woman in boot after fare dispute

A taxi driver in Hamburg became so enraged during a fare dispute with a passenger that he beat the woman and then locked her in the car boot for five hours before she was freed, the police reported on Monday.

Published: 5 September 2011 10:48 CEST

Taxi driver locks woman in boot after fare dispute

Photo: DPA

According to Hamburg police, the 32-year-old victim suffered from shock and severe bruising on her arms and legs, after being found by on Sunday following a huge manhunt. The driver has been jailed.

Authorities say the incident started when the woman, who was taking a cab home from the city’s Reeperbahn entertainment district, became concerned that the driver was taking a detour in order to charge her more money.

When she asked whether he was trying to drive the fare up, the driver became angry and hit her in the face before forcing her into the taxi’s boot and locking it, according to police.

The woman called the emergency number on her mobile phone, but she only found after passers-by heard her cries and called authorities.

The man had apparently parked the cab outside his apartment north of Hamburg in Schleswig-Holstein, left the screaming woman in the trunk and went inside.

The Local/DPA/mdm

Aide to German far-right MEP arrested on suspicion of spying for China

The man, named only as Jian G., stands accused of sharing information about negotiations at European Parliament with a Chinese intelligence service and of spying on Chinese opposition figures in Germany, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

On the website of the European Parliament, Jian Guo is listed as an accredited assistant to MEP Maximilian Krah, the far-right AfD party’s lead candidate in the forthcoming EU-wide elections.

He is a German national who has reportedly worked as an aide to Krah in Brussels since 2019.

The suspect “is an employee of a Chinese secret service”, prosecutors said.

“In January 2024, the accused repeatedly passed on information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament to his intelligence service client.

“He also spied on Chinese opposition members in Germany for the intelligence service.”

The suspect was arrested in the eastern German city of Dresden on Monday and his homes were searched, they added.

The accused lives in both Dresden and Brussels, according to broadcasters ARD, RBB and SWR, who broke the news about the arrest.

The AfD said the allegations were “very disturbing”.

“As we have no further information on the case, we must wait for further investigations by federal prosecutors,” party spokesman Michael Pfalzgraf said in a statement.

The case is likely to fuel concern in the West about aggressive Chinese espionage.

It comes after Germany on Monday arrested three German nationals suspected of spying for China by providing access to secret maritime technology.

READ ALSO: Germany arrests three suspected of spying for China

China’s embassy in Berlin “firmly” rejected the allegations, according to Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua.

According to German media, the two cases are not connected.

In Britain on Monday, two men were charged with handing over “articles, notes, documents or information” to China between 2021 and last year.

Police named the men as Christopher Berry, 32, and Christoper Cash, 29, who previously worked at the UK parliament as a researcher.

Url copied to clipboard!