Delivery boy nabbed at Beijing train station was selling real-name ticket

A scalper at Beijing West Railway Station has become the first to be detained for trying to dogde tough new ticketing rules, police said on Wednesday.

Four undercover officers snared a man identified as Fan, 19, as he attempted to sell a high-speed train ticket heading to Xinxiang, a city in central Henan province.

According to a press statement from Beijing Railway Police, the suspect was spotted hassling people waiting to buy tickets at about 6 pm on Tuesday. When one man showed an interest, he took his ID card and jumped the line.

Fan, who is originally from Shanxi province, was taken into custody just as he was about to hand over the 189-yuan ticket to his customer, who was allegedly prepared to pay 50 yuan extra for the service.

Police said Fan is a delivery boy for a nearby lamb hotpot restaurant. He was off-duty at the time and admitted he was "bored" and simply wanted to make some quick cash.

"The line was 10 meters long. Although that's not long, for people who are in an emergency and don't have time to wait, it is," he told officers after being taken into custody. He has asked police not to notify his parents in the countryside for fear of upsetting them.

It is the second time Fan has been caught working as a ticket scalper, which in Chinese are referred to as huang niu, or "yellow bulls". On May 14 last year, the teenager was detained for 10 days for the same offence. This time he faces two weeks behind bars, said the statement.

Starting June 1, anyone buying tickets for high-speed trains in China will need to provide ID cards or passports so their names can be stamped on the pass. The move is aimed at improving security and deterring scalpers.

Police patrols around Beijing's railway stations have been stepped up to prevent illegal ticket trading and ensure public order, Beijing Railway Police added in the statement.

China Daily

(China Daily 06/02/2011)