District governments also offered public rewards of up to 600 yuan for tip-offs about illegal cabs. They even went further by employing civilians to act as baits to entrap innocent drivers.

On Sept 8, Zhang Hui, 32, picked up a man who said he was suffering from a stomachache and begged for a ride. Zhang was later cornered by a group of law enforcement officers, who fined him 10,000 yuan.

On Oct 14, 19-year-old Sun Zhongjie cut off his finger to demonstrate his innocence after being entrapped in a similar way. He cleared his name on Oct 26, when the district government apologized to him and admitted to the unethical practice.

Mayor Han said in order to prevent such scandals from repeating, the government would step up training for administrative enforcement officers, so that only the qualified get credentials to fulfill their responsibilities.

Xu Xiaoqing, vice president of Shanghai Lawyers' Association and deputy to the ongoing congress, said institutional improvement is the key to controlling power abuse.

"By decoupling revenue and expenditure of government departments through information disclosure, people can expect to see a cleaner and more transparent government," he said.