Normally, people will take a train or plane to travel from Hangzhou to Beijing. A ticket for a second-class seat of bullet train costs some 530 yuan, while a plane ticket can cost thousands of yuan depending on airline companies' discount policies.





The news soon angered the public on social media platforms, as many people felt the taxi driver was innocent and shouldn't refund the cost.





Qingchen 918 said, "Isn't it dubious that a mentally ill person is allowed to take so much money with her? What's wrong if I'm simply so rich that I want to take a taxi to Beijing? ... I don't think the driver should return the fare. Instead, he should ask for a compensation for reputation loss."





Chaofantuosu VS said, "Normally, a taxi driver will check with you two or three times where you want to go. I think the driver must have checked this even more times for a destination as far as Beijing. As for schizophrenia, isn't it the responsibility of her family to keep an eye on her?"





Renge Fenliexing Wangu Buhua said, "The deal was reached after negotiation, which proved the girl was in the normal state of mind. If she is mentally ill, her family should produce a doctor's certificate, and in such a situation, her family shouldn't have allowed her to go out on her own. The driver shouldn't return the fare."





But the case might be more complicated than what the public's reaction. Zheng Ruoyang, the head of Zhejiang Handing Law Firm, said the crux of the problem is the mental ability of the girl. If she is fully disposed, and the fare was paid of her own accord, her family has to accept the deal. But if she is diagnosed as having an unfit disposition for such a decision or having a limited disposition when taking a taxi, the driver has to return the fare under law.





Since the driver had followed his customer's instruction to take her to her destination, the girl's family needs to share part of the trip's cost, and how much the family should afford depends on if the driver can prove he had duly checked the girl's state of mind, Zheng added.



