'Mystery' road cameras removed

Workers are seen removing surveillance cameras yesterday in Baoshan District, where rows of surveillance cameras over a road sparked controversy recently. (Sun Zhan)

Rows of surveillance cameras that left motorists baffled when they appeared at a crossroads in Baoshan District were removed last night.

Shanghai Baokang Electronics Company installed the 75 cameras and associated devices in equipment tests.

But the public questioned whether a company — rather than traffic police — had any right to set up surveillance devices on public roads.

However, the company had removed all the camera equipment by yesterday evening.

Zhou Jianping, president of Shanghai Baokang Electronics Company Ltd said in a television interview yesterday that the large number of surveillance cameras were used in tests to monitor big traffic flows.

Zhou admitted that the company had no written permission for the tests but claimed government authorities were aware they were taking place.

The Shanghai Baokang president said data collected by the cameras would only be used for comparison, and will not be stored or made public.

A total of 55 devices were set up on a bar close to the junction of Youyi Road and Keshan Road.

Another 20 devices were installed on a pole at the other side of the crossroads.