Fare fight: Thai woman’s plea after Bangkok taxi driver slaps her

A Thai woman took to social media to seek justice and also issue a warning to others after a male taxi driver in Bangkok slapped her in the face for refusing his dishonest service.

The victim posted details of the incident on her Facebook account, stating that it occurred around 11pm on March 22. She mentioned flagging down a yellow taxi with the registration number ทฬ 5221 near Phetchaburi MRT Station in Bangkok but did not disclose her destination.

The taxi driver refused to use the meter and insisted on charging her 100 baht for the trip, even though the fare would typically be about 70 baht with the metered system. He mentioned that he usually only served foreigners and charged them 300 to 400 baht for a similar distance.

The woman pointed out that what he was doing violated the law, which angered the driver. He demanded she leave the car if she could not accept his condition. Then, the driver demanded 40 baht from the victim before leaving.

The victim refused to pay the requested amount and asked the driver to drop her off. Upon exiting the car, the driver followed her and slapped her in the face. The woman managed to evade the first assault but was struck on her left cheek by the second slap.

The victim described the driver as a man aged between 35 and 40 with a mohawk hairstyle. She reported the assault to the police and underwent a medical examination to document her injuries, which included red marks on her face and pain in her ear.

The woman updated that she also reported the driver’s behaviour to the Land Transport Department and believed that the punishment for him would be issued within a few days.

According to the Land Transport Department, there were 10,687 issues with taxis in the past five months. The five most common complaints include refusing to serve passengers (2,291 times), displaying disrespectful behaviour (1,872 times), driving dangerously (1,285 times), overcharging (1,054 times), and refusing to drop passengers at agreed destinations (564 times).