A Chinese man was recently detained after protesting a US$7.61 ticket by paying it with small change, much to the chagrin of police officers.
Last Wednesday, Mr. Li, whose full name was not released by the Chinese press, was stopped and cited by Shanghai police when he allegedly ran a red light on his electric scooter, reports Global Times.
At first, it seemed like Li would pay the fine, telling officers that he needed to run to the ATM to withdraw cash. However upon his return, Li presented the police with 500 one-jiao coins – there are 10 jiao in one yuan – threw them to the ground and yelled: “Take it, here is the money,” according to authorities.
Li went on to arrange the strewn coins into one-yuan stacks on the street, drawing a crowd. Officers said it was at the point they detained him in order not to block traffic.
At the station, a further 200-yuan (US$20) fine was imposed on Li, reported the news site, citing Xinmin Evening News.
As similar tactics have been used by Chinese traffic violators in the past, police said that they now bring coin-counting machines with them on duty, rendering the tactic less useful.
Perhaps this is a good case study for the Vietnamese official who recently recommended Vietnam only use bills with denominations below VND20,000 to cut down on bribery.
[Photo via Flickr user Austin Kirk]
