Traffic authorities in eastern China have tracked down a car that racked up a whopping 50 traffic offenses over two days in mid-June, which included running the red light 49 times and speeding once, local media reported.
But it was not a reckless driver in a hurry. In fact, the offenses were part of a petty but calculated plot by a woman to get back at her ex.
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Conspiring with her longtime suitor, the woman, surnamed Lou, rented her ex’s car through a middleman and went on a spree of traffic transgressions in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang.
During investigations, police initially approached the owner of the offending Audi sedan. But the man, identified only by his last name Qian, said the car had been rented to another man, who in turn told the police he was merely renting the vehicle for an acquaintance, Zhu.
Using video footage, police identified Zhu and Lou as the driver and passenger of the car, local news outlet The Paper reported.
Further investigation revealed that Lou and Qian, the car owner, were once romantically involved.
When Qian started treating Lou coldly and posting photos of him with other women on social media, a resentful Lou sought revenge in the most unusual way, the police said in an interview with local media.
Zhu confessed to the police that he had been pursuing Lou for a long time. He said Lou had agreed to date him if he rented Qian’s car and took revenge by way of traffic offenses.
The couple has been detained on suspicion of provoking trouble, The Paper reported.
As the bizarre story made its rounds on Chinese social media, mockery is stacked against Zhu, the devoted suitor. “Being a simp gets you nothing in the end,” one wrote on Weibo.
“One’s stupid and the other one’s evil,” commented another.
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