By Cao Li

Sun Zhongjie had to lose a finger to win justice. The teenager experienced 12 days of hell after he was accused of driving an illegal taxi in Shanghai this month and wept with joy on Monday when city officials finally cleared his name.

His ordeal may be over, but for the local traffic enforcement authority, which is now under investigation for allegations they use "civilian bait" to trap innocent people, the fight to restore its reputation could take a lot longer.

Sun attracted nationwide attention to his plight when he cut off the little finger on his left hand to prove he had been set up on Oct 14.

But the spotlight quickly shifted to the Shanghai City Administration and Law Enforcement Bureau for Pudong district after it was forced to apologize for using "improper" tactics to snare illegal, or "black", taxi drivers.

It is the first time a Chinese authority has admitted employing illegal methods to enforce the law and critics claim the problem could stretch far wider than traffic violations.

"Entrapment is allowed in China during investigations into certain types of crime, such as drug trafficking. But in Sun's case, he was simply the victim of extortion, which is totally different," said Zhang Peihong, vice-director of the criminal law research commission with the Shanghai Bar Association.

Sun, 19, had moved from his home in Shangqiu, Henan province, just two days before his employers at Pangyuan Construction Machinery Engineering Company ordered him to drive a company minivan to Hangtou, a town in Pudong, to pick someone up at about 8 pm.

"It was late and there were few cars on the street," recalled Sun. "I saw a man standing in the middle of the road, waving. I stopped the car, and he opened the (front passenger) door and got in without asking. He told me he was sick and cold, and begged me to give him a lift. I started to drive again but, within minutes, a van skidded to a stop in front of me at an intersection."

He said the passenger reached over and put his foot on the brake, took the ignition key and threw a 10-yuan note at Sun. He then jumped out of the car.

The van that cut across Sun's vehicle carried district enforcement bureau officers, who accused Sun of driving a black taxi. The minivan was confiscated and the teen was told he faced a fine of 10,000 yuan ($1,400) if the charge was proven.

"I went back to my company and I was blamed for the incident. My brother said it was obviously entrapment. I felt so angry and insulted and I cut off my finger," said Sun, who underwent surgery shortly after to reattach the digit.

This week, Sun received an official apology and was promised compensation.

At a press conference on Monday to reveal the findings of a second probe into the case, Jiang Liang, director of Pudong district, said traffic law enforcement agents had adopted "improper methods" by paying a man - later identified as Chen Xiongjie - to act as "bait" to trap Sun.

"The government has apologized to the public for the incident. The people involved will be punished according to the law," said Jiang.

On the same day, the municipal government announced that a new team headed by deputy mayor Shen Jun would regulate taxi operators and investigate any allegations of illegal law enforcement.

"The government will firmly ban any illegal practice in law enforcement," the authority said in a statement.

Officials with the enforcement department have claimed they face difficulty in collecting evidence to punish black taxis. To prove a case, the passenger in the car must admit to paying the driver, which they will not always do, said a traffic police officer surnamed Cao in Minhang district.

When contacted by China Daily, the Shanghai municipal traffic law enforcement team declined to comment and would only insist Sun's was an isolated case and does not prove illegal practices are common.

The State Supreme Court stipulates entrapment can be used only to catch drug dealers, although if the method is used they must be spared the death penalty. According to Chinese law, trading 50 g of heroine is punishable by execution.

Crackdowns on unlicensed taxis and buses began to emerge in 2000, with the development of public transport in many Chinese cities failing to match the rapid increase in population and demand.

Shanghai enforcement bureau said it seizes around 50,000 illegal cab drivers every year, each of whom face a 2,000- to 50,000-yuan fine under a municipal law implemented in 1995.

In Minhang alone, more than 5,000 black taxis were seized during 2007 and 2008, resulting in fines of more than 50 million yuan, according to figures on the district authority's website.

Districts offer public rewards of up to 600 yuan for tip-offs about illegal cabs but some teams in Beijing and Shanghai have gone further by employing civilians to aid their sting operations.

More than 1,000 people help enforcement bureau officers snare drivers in Shanghai, reported Beijing Morning Post, while one man told China Central Television he made 20,000 yuan a month working undercover as bait for traffic police.

The media attention surrounding Sun's appeal has prompted scores of people to come forward to protest their innocence after being caught in "illegal traps".

Hao Jinsong, a lawyer representing Sun, also said it is estimated several thousand innocent drivers in Shanghai are caught every year in taxi stings. "I have been receiving letters and calls from people across the country, all telling me how they were entrapped," he said.

Zhang Hui, a 33-year-old marketing manager at a Fortune 500 company in Shanghai, said he picked up a hitchhiker who claimed to have a bad stomach in Minhang and was then stopped by enforcement officers as he drove him to the hospital.

The local authority admitted on Oct 26 that Zhang was the victim of entrapment by officers and his punishment was abolished. He is suing in hope of a court ruling that, for the first time, would say the government erred in enforcement.

The Pudong government said yesterday it will accept complaints from people who claim to be victims of entrapment until Nov 3. If upheld, claimants could receive compensation.

The issue of entrapment also came to light in March last year when Chen Sujun, 34, who was acting as "bait" for Minhang officers, was stabbed to death by 21-year-old black taxi driver Lei Qingwen, who had been angry at getting caught. Lei was later sentenced to death with reprieve.

Legal experts say governments waste vital public resources to crack down on black taxies in pursuit of money.

"Law enforcement officers often work with bait to ensnare drivers and then split the fine," said Fu Minrong, a partner with Shanghai Xin Wenhui Law Firm.

Wu Dong, a partner with Shanghai-based M&A Law Firm, blamed the problem on the lack of supervision. He said: "They can fine a driver 2,000 or 50,000 yuan, which gives them too much freedom. In this instance, the fines become a reason for enforcement. Fines for black taxi drivers should be abolished. Instead, officers should simply be allowed to temporarily confiscate vehicles."

Meanwhile, the storm surrounding the entrapment allegations could seriously damage the spirit of goodwill in China, said Hu Xingdou, a professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology.

"If giving a lift to someone is going to land a 10,000-yuan fine, no one will be doing any good deeds," he said. "This illegal practice has been widely applied and it may never have come to the public's attention if it were not for Sun Zhongjie cutting off his finger."

He said the media has shown it plays a key role in overseeing the use of power and should be given more freedom to ensure good practice.

"It is no use setting up another department to oversee the enforcement department. Who is going to watch the supervision department, of which there are already many in China? A clean and transparent government should not be afraid of exposure," he said.