| Tough anti-crime rules for couriers loom A new Shanghai law will require all courier parcel offices to install 24-hour surveillance and parcel-screening systems and keep footage for at least 30 days to boost security and thwart crimes such as drug trafficking. A draft of the new law requires the courier companies to keep a database of all senders and receivers and send updated versions of them to the postal watchdog as a measure to help curb parcel crimes. Li Huide, the post bureau director, said repeat cases like this prompted the new law requiring rigorous screening and monitoring. Couriers have also been used to deliver ammunition, explosives and drugs, said the bureau officials, citing an example where seven drug dealers were arrested this March in Nanjing, capital of neighboring Jiangsu Province, for using parcel delivery to transport a drug shipment. Customers can also expect improved service quality as the law will contain higher industry standards. The Shanghai Post Bureau said local police had cracked several fraud cases in recent years in which the criminals stole the recipients' information, delivered them fake parcels and tricked them into paying for the deliveries. The parcel-delivery industry has boomed swiftly across the country in recent years, primarily in connection with fast-expanding online commerce. The companies must pay the post offices for the service. |
Friday, 8 June 2012
Tough anti-crime rules for couriers loom
