Procuratorate clarifies role in case against bike-sharing company

The case of a consumer watchdog group in Guangdong suing a bike-sharing company over delays in refunding users' deposits does not fall in the category of public-interest civil lawsuit the procuratorate is entitled to initiate or support.

Zhou Hong, an official with Guangdong Provincial People's Procuratorate, made the remarks at a news conference on Tuesday, reports China News Service.

The Guangdong Consumer Council is also suing Yueqi Information Technology Co, the company behind Xiaoming bikes, for accounting irregularities.

The Guangdong Consumer Council said it has received more than 30,000 complaints about delayed refunds and poor management of Yueqi's deposit account since August. Some consumers worried their deposits have been misappropriated by the company for other purposes.

Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court has accepted the case, which is believed to be the first public-interest litigation involving shared bikes.

While acknowledging the efforts of the council to help consumers retrieve their shared-bike deposits, Zhou the procuratorate official said deposit retrieval involves only personal interests of specific consumers.