Want someone beaten up? In China, there's an app for that
Staff Reporter
2015-04-20
A screenshot of Didi Da Ren shows users seeking a thug for hire, a one-night stand and a manager. (Internet photo)
An app in China has become a platform for people to hire thugs to beat someone up, reports the Kunming-based Yunnan Information News.
Didi Da Ren, or Didi Hit People, was initially a satirical fabrication by a Chinese online talk show in February as a parody of people's anger concerning unethical and uncivilized behavior.
Perhaps inevitably, the joke has become reality. An Android phone user surnamed Zhang told the Yunnan newspaper that he found the app on April 16 and almost succeeded in hiring a thug through it. Zhang posted a request through the app which was answered by someone willing to beat someone for money. The individual's phone number was sent to Zhang's smartphone via the app.
The paper's reporters found the app was available on Android app stores and other third-party app stores including 360, Wandoujia and Xiaomi. The webpage of 360's app store showed it had been downloaded over 40,000 times while Wandoujia recorded 8,800 downloads.
The reporters found the app's users need to register their real name, user name, password and phone number to post a hiring ad. Users are required to describe the type of heavy they are looking for and state how much they are willing to pay — which must be more than one yuan (US$0.16).
The paper's reporters posted offering two yuan (US$0.32) and were given a phone number. The phone was answered by a man surnamed Lei in Shanghai who said he charged 200 to 500 yuan (US$32-$80) for a fight. Lei claimed to be able to put any victim in hospital and said he could inflict any degree of harm for the right price. He required a time and place and a photo of the target for recognition purposes. He claimed to have answered several ads through the app and his services now require a booking two days in advance. The client does not have to meet him in person but can pay him through online third-party payment service Alipay after the job is completed, he claimed.
The app's description said the thugs for hire include gym coaches, retired soldiers, gangsters and outlaws.
Changsha Zhang Kong Information Technology Limited, which developed the app, said it was not created to offer a service for contract beatings. It was intended as a platform where people who need a job done can find someone with the requisite skill, the company said. It added that the app has no connection to cab-hailing app Didi Dache, the Chinese equivalent of Uber, but admitted that it gave its app a similar name to exploit the former's popularity.
A company staffer said the app's terms state that the app is intended for entertainment and social networking only and the company does not take any responsibility for any illegal action undertaken by users. The company also denied it was involved in a video going about on the internet which shows a nurse finding a thug through the app to beat up a male patient who was threatening her.
The company's owner said the ads seeking thugs for hire and have been spotted and staff have been instructed to delete them manually. 360 said on Thursday that it has removed the app from its stores but the app is still available for download from the app stores of Wandoujia and Xiaomi.
