Passenger drinks water offered by Didi premium car service, realises it's pee

In the highly competitive ride-hailing market, companies are offering a wide range of services to cater to passengers' different needs.

One such service is Didi Premier which promises a premium travel experience.

A passenger who recently booked a Didi Premier ride, however, became enraged by a 'complimentary drink' in the car.

Feeling thirsty after boarding a car in Shanghai on Tuesday night (Oct 9), Mr Sun took a sip out of the water bottle placed in the drink holder.

He immediately spat it out, realising that it was urine instead of water.

In a video clip recorded by Sun, he could be seen confronting his driver about the unsavoury beverage.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzUKeXhjD28[/embed]

The driver denied that he was the culprit, but eventually apologised profusely and offered compensation when he saw that Sun was about to make a phone call to complain.

The irate passenger, however, was not appeased and called Didi's customer service hotline as well as the police to lodge a report.

Following exposure by media outlets about the incident, the ride-hailing company made a public apology and said that it has suspended the driver from service.

Didi said that the driver had urinated in the water bottle because he was unable to locate a toilet in time.

The company added that it had also taken both Sun and the driver for a medical checkup on Oct 10.

"A toilet locator is built in Didi's driver app and over 30,000 drivers use it every day. We will continue to upgrade and expand the locator with help from our passengers and partners," the company said in a statement.

minlee@sph.com.sg