Chinese man dies after falling off baht bus in Pattaya (video)
A Thai baht bus driver in Pattaya denied any knowledge of an accident in which a Chinese man fell from his vehicle and later died.
Locals in Pattaya condemned the baht bus driver, later identified as Thongchai Thonglueng, for his alleged cruel behaviour after he left the 48 year old Chinese man, Chi Fai Lam, lying in a pool of blood on Pattaya Sai 2 Road on the morning of July 22. Witnesses rushed the Chinese national to hospital but he succumbed to his injuries.
Security camera footage showed the Chinese man falling from the dark blue baht bus but the driver sped away without checking on him. The vehicle’s registration plate was identified as 10-6324, and the driver was later identified to be Thongchai.
Thongchai was summoned to Mueang Pattaya Police Station for questioning that afternoon. He insisted that he was unaware his passenger fell from his vehicle.
Thongchai explained that he picked up seven to eight passengers from the Dolphin Roundabout and dropped them off at Pattaya Walking Street. He checked the passengers in his rear-view mirror and saw that no one remained. He claimed he did not know when the Chinese man boarded his vehicle or when he fell off.
A witness, 56 year old motorcycle rider Sriprai, told Matichon that many people shouted at the baht bus, asking the driver to stop but he ignored them and sped away.
Police did not reveal the next steps in their investigation and did not clarify what legal action would be taken against Thongchai.
A similar accident was reported in the Isaan province of Udon Thani in April when a 76 year old Vietnamese woman fell out of a tuk tuk and later died in hospital. The Thai tuk tuk driver also claimed he was unaware that his passenger fell from the vehicle, only realising the accident had occurred when he reached the passenger’s destination.
In a related report, a foreign man narrowly escaped death in May when he was hit by a bus while cycling on Pattaya Sai 2 Road. The bus driver did not stop to check on the foreign cyclist and there was no report on whether he was called in for questioning or legal action.
