It has been reported that taxi and motorcycle drivers in Chongjin, North Hamgyong Province, are suffering from excessive demands for bribes from traffic safety officers.
On the 13th, a source from Daily NK in North Hamgyong Province said, “Recently, traffic safety officers in Chongjin City are demanding more bribes than ever from drivers of motorcycles and taxis,” adding, “They are forcibly demanding bribes even though they are not violating traffic rules.” “Drivers are feeling a huge psychological burden.”
In North Korea, the Transportation Safety Board stands at busy intersections and regulates traffic by controlling vehicles with hand signals and helping pedestrians pass, while also cracking down on drivers who violate traffic laws to prevent accidents.
Transportation safety officers use their authority to crack down on drivers to commit various illegal acts, such as lining their back pockets by accepting bribes from drivers who are drunk and driving.
In addition, it is known that traffic safety agents extort money from taxi and motorcycle drivers under various pretexts to help them make a living or to pay it to their superiors.
However, these days, traffic safety agents are demanding more money than in the past, and it is said that drivers are spending more money than they are earning.
The source said, “Before, traffic safety officers would go to taxi drivers and ask for 10 kg of gasoline or 200 to 300 yuan once or twice a month, but these days, they ask for 500 yuan at a time 2 to 3 times a month.” “As a result, drivers pay more than 1,000 yuan a month in bribes,” he said.
Moreover, most of the vehicles driven by taxi drivers are used vehicles imported from China, so they break down frequently, and once they break down, repair costs are high, which is increasing the deficit.
According to the source, a taxi driver in his 40s from Hoeryeong City said, “These days, traffic safety officers give homework under different pretexts and casually ask for 500 yuan. They got angry and fought once, and in retaliation, they probably made a pact among themselves, but they stopped each other for over 30 minutes and raised various issues about how many rules there were. “It’s better to do homework and go around comfortably, but since I can’t earn the amount they ask for, I think it would be better to just have fun for a while,” he said, expressing his feelings.
In addition, residents who make money by driving people to their destinations on motorcycles are also said to be complaining of the burden as traffic safety officers have recently been requesting larger amounts of bribes.
The source said, “These days, it is the season to prepare for winter, so traffic safety officers seem to be demanding more money from drivers than before as the homework they receive from superiors has increased,” adding, “People who drive motorcycles or taxis have a higher standard of living than ordinary residents. However, due to the excessive demands of traffic safety officers, their income has decreased and they are even in a situation where they are running a deficit, so they are experiencing difficulties that are different from those of ordinary residents.”
Source: www.dailynk.com
