A screenshot from the surveillance footage

Guangdong police decided against punishing a Good Samaritan ride-hailing service driver who disobeyed traffic laws to rush an infant in danger to hospital despite the rejection by the infant's parents to testify in his defense. 

The driver, surnamed Ai, from Dongguan in South China's Guangdong Province, was initially punished with an 18-point deduction from his license and 600-yuan in fines after he ran three red lights to rush the vomiting and fainting infant to hospital recently. 

However, when local police asked Ai for certificates from the hospital to explain his chaotic driving, the infant's parents refused to testify for Ai, claiming they had nothing to do with his traffic violation. 

Given that the punishment would severely affect Ai's career as a taxi driver since he would have to reobtain his driving license, the police checked the surveillance footage and checked with the hospital. The surveillance camera near the hospital recorded Ai's car and the infant's parents, testifying for Ai non-vocally, according to which the police withdrew the penalty. 

Chinese netizens compared the incident to a "contemporary edition" of the Farmer and the Snake in Aesop's Fables, criticizing the immoral parents.

A netizen commented that the incident was another positive example of China's advanced surveillance systems apart from its effectiveness in epidemiological investigations in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic. 

Ai said that although the parents' reaction still casts a chill on his mind, he did not regret his behavior, since he ultimately saved the child's life. 

However, the story reversed yet again after one of the infant's parents, surnamed Gui, reported to the police on Monday night, claiming that he did not receive a phone call or message from Ai. 

After an investigation, the local police found that the passengers did not leave any contact information with Ai when they arrived at the hospital. 

In order to deal with his traffic violation records, Ai had to consult the medical staff for the parents' contact information. However, they gave him the wrong contact phone number of another patient which led to the misunderstanding. 

Ai and Gui met at the local police station on Tuesday afternoon and the misunderstanding was resolved.