BEIJING - Local police are hunting for clues to a case in which a man was pricked by an HIV-infected syringe left in a taxi, municipal police authorities said Monday.

Police have set up a special team to investigate the case and have asked the public to provide tips, the Beijing municipal public security bureau said.

The man was pricked by the syringe after getting into a cab in the city's Haidian district on August 21. He reported the incident to police the same day.

The municipal center for disease control and prevention said an unidentified liquid left in the syringe has tested positive for HIV.