China's transport ministry to conduct checks on ride-hailing industry through end-2018

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - China's transport ministry said on Monday it will conduct checks on the ride-hailing industry through the end of this year as it tries to revamp the fast-growing sector beset with safety issues sparked by a murder case involving a Didi driver.

The ministry will work with the police to remove vehicles and drivers that fail to meet standards by the end of 2018, as part of wider efforts to ensure passenger safety, it said in a statement on the Twitter-like Weibo feed.

Ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing Technology Co Ltd has been under pressure to fix its operations after a passenger was raped and murdered by her driver last month. Earlier in September, Didi said it would spend 140 million yuan ($20.42 million) to improve its customer service.

($1 = 6.8547 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Lee Chyen Yee in Singapore; Editing by Angus MacSwan)