(Yicai Global) April 9 -- A truck driver in China’s northern Hebei province has taken his own life after being fined CNY2,000 (USD305) by police when his in-car geotracking unit, mandatory for service vehicles in China, lost connection.

Freight trucks and passenger carrier autos must have a satellite positioning system, according to Chinese regulations. This is linked to transport management departments through a Subscriber-Identity-Module chip so as to track the vehicle’s location, speed, driving duration and so on.

Most auto manufacturing plants will preinstall the device, which can be linked to China’s self-developed Beidou Navigation Satellite System or the US’ Global Positioning System. But sometimes drivers will choose to install them themselves after purchase, and will often opt for the cheapest options which can malfunction, an industry insider told Yicai Global.

The man, who died by poison intake on April 5, was driving a FAW Jiefang truck. It is not known if he was the victim of bad signal or a poorly functioning device.

Recorders can occasionally go ‘offline’ but they reconnect very soon as the signals sent by the BeiDou Navigation Satellite and Global Positioning Systems are constant, industry insiders said. Usually this only happens when the vehicle is passing through tunnels or is in an underground parking lot.

Some individuals who had been fined for a prolonged period of disconnection said they suspected their devices had been tampered with by others, but they had no way of providing evidence, they added.

Editor: Kim Taylor