New Express
June 25, 2009

A bus driver who apparently held a grudge over being called back to duty from sick leave, deliberately hit multiple vehicles, killing four people yesterday in Huizhou, Guangdong Province.

Today's New Express reports that on June 22, 46-year-old Li Guoqing was allowed three weeks' leave for health reasons by his company. The very next day, a company manager called Li and asked him to return to stand in for another driver.

Described by his colleagues as "introverted, with few friends and a hot-temper," Li grew irritated while he was waiting for the bus to arrive. When it did, more than an hour late, he sped off without waiting for the ticket-taker to come aboard. Empty except for Li, the bus hit a total of 28 vehicles during its high-speed journey down its usual route.

The four dead were the driver and three passengers of a taxi. In addition, 11 others were wounded.

A lawyer quoted at the end of the report said that the manager who called Li back would bear primary responsibility based on a law banning bus drivers from working when ill or fatigued.

Li's company, the privately-owned Chengtong Transportation Company, has suspended operations for the time being.

In other news, Spring Airlines, a privately-run carrier founded in 2005, plans to offer passengers no-seat tickets, pending approval from aviation authorities. According to company president Wang Zhenghua, the new measure will boost the plane capacity by 40% and will substantially cut the price of air travel.