China's Didi suspends carpooling service; sacks executives after second rape and murder

China's largest ride-hailing service provider Didi Chuxing has fired two executives and suspended its hitch carpooling service from tomorrow after the second rape and murder of a female passenger in three months allegedly by its drivers, the company said today.

The move comes after a female passenger was killed on Friday only three months after another Didi driver allegedly killed a flight attendant.

Didi will suspend its hitch online services nationwide and re-evaluate its business model and service logic, a statement issued by the ride hailing firm said today.

The hitch ride sharing function allows car owners to provide taxi services.

The company today dismissed Huang Jieli, general manager for the hitch business, and Huang Jinhong, vice-president for client services, from their duties.

On Friday, the 20-year-old woman in Yueqing of Zhejiang province in eastern China, was raped and killed allegedly by her driver Zhong, who hailed from Southwest China's Sichuan province, state-run China Daily reported.

She reportedly sent a message to a friend asking for help before the contact was lost.

Zhong who was arrested had confessed to raping and murdering his passenger, police said, adding that