A taxi driver who witnessed a traffic accident has been arrested for attempted extortion after trying to blackmail the person he thought was responsible for the crash, Beijing Evening News reports.

Wang Tonghe saw the traffic accident last Monday and sped after the car involved. Although he failed to catch up and stop the driver, Wang memorized the number plate of the car in front of him, which he thought was the same one involved in the crash. However, instead of reporting the incident to police, Wang tracked the driver down himself and asked the man to pay him 35,000 yuan (US$4,220) to keep quiet about the accident.

The driver, who had nothing to do with the accident after all, reported Wang to police last Wednesday.

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