Hefei Car Owner Blacklisted After 260 Free Meals, Repeated Scooter Charging at Dealership

A car owner in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, has been blacklisted and barred from entering a car dealership where he took over 260 free meals in a year and charged his scooters, leading to physical altercations with staff, Dahe Daily reported today.

The dealership said the man, surnamed Pang, visited more than 260 times in the past year to eat for free, often taking food away in containers. He also hid his two electric scooters in his car trunk to charge them at the staff-only charging area.

According to the sales manager, police were called to the site at least six times because of disputes involving Pang. Tensions flared again in March when he parked in the new-car delivery zone to charge his vehicle. Pang defended his frequent visits by saying his workplace is nearby.

Wu Jie, a lawyer at Guangdong Mingsi Law Firm, said Pang's behavior has gone beyond a moral issue and amounts to abuse of rights.

Article 132 of China's Civil Code prohibits civil entities from abusing rights to harm national, public or others' legitimate interests. Even if no specific law is broken, acting unreasonably to harm others constitutes an abuse of rights.

Wu added that repeatedly calling 110 over the same dispute to vent anger may break the law. Malicious harassment of the emergency police line can result in administrative detention under the Public Security Administration Punishments Law.