Ex-driving instructor bilks 21,300 yuan from students

An ex-driving school instructor with a gambling problem has been indicted for swindling 21,300 yuan ($3,427) from four people in Hongkou district, local prosecutors said Monday.

The suspect, whom the court called Li Guoming, was charged with fraud for taking money from potential students for lessons he never delivered, according to a press release from the Hongkou District People's Prosecutor's Office.

Li began working as an instructor at an unnamed driving school in Hongkou district in October 2011. The school provided Li with a car, but required him to find his own students and collect their course fees on behalf of the school, prosecutors said. However, Li stopped handing over the fees to the school in March 2012 due to his gambling habit.

In November 2012, the school dismissed Li and took back the training vehicle.

To continue making money, Li borrowed a car from a friend from another driving school and began looking for new students in December 2012.

He often parked outside residential compounds so he could pretend that he was waiting to pick up students for their lessons. The ruse left passersby with the impression that he was a diligent instructor, prosecutors said. Some residents paid Li to teach them to drive, but he gambled away their money.