Phuket taxi driver drives away foreign woman over air conditioning dispute

A Thai taxi driver faced criticism for a viral video of him chasing away a foreign passenger by pulling her out of his cab. The driver defended himself saying the foreign woman kicked his car door over an air conditioning dispute.

The Facebook page, โหดจัง จังหวัดภูเก็ต (meaning so brutal, Phuket province), shared a video when a Thai taxi driver pulling a foreign woman out of his cab at a petrol station on December 24 with the caption saying…

“This happened at the Bang Chak Petrol Station on Bypass Road in Phuket. What happened there? A witness shared this video with the page’s administrator. This is destroying the image of the country and also the image of Phuket taxis. This foreign woman already reported the matter to the police. We are waiting for more details on the story.”

The video shows the taxi driver opening the left door of his car and pulling the female passenger out. The passenger could not resist him and got out of the car with her bag. The driver tried to get all of her belongings out of his car before the video was cut.

The Facebook page later shared a video of the taxi driver clarifying the incident yesterday, December 25. The driver said he had to drive the foreign woman away because she caused a scene after complaining about the air conditioning.

Air conditioning conflict

According to the driver, the foreign passenger asked him to turn off the air conditioning and open the window for her. He complied but left the air conditioning on near his seat because he felt hot. The female passenger asked why he still had the air conditioning on, so he told her that he felt hot.

The foreign woman was not impressed by his actions and began to make a fuss. She then kicked the door of his car, so he asked her to leave. The woman did not comply, so he pulled her out of the cab, as can be seen in the video.

The driver stressed that he reported the incident to the police and found that some witnesses already filed a complaint against him. He explained the whole story to the police and managed to reach an agreement with the woman. In the end, he sent her to a hotel in Bang Tao Beach free of charge and apologised to her for his violence.

Netizens are divided. Some sided with the taxi driver, saying that customers are not always right. She should not be treated badly, even if she paid for the service. Others said that the taxi driver should not use violence against passengers, no matter what the problem is.