Ride of deceit: Bangkok taxi driver steals 1.2 million baht from dozing Japanese passenger

Bangkok Police arrested another bad boy taxi driver who stole over 1.2 million baht from a Japanese passenger while the victim fell asleep during the journey. This is one of the far-too-many-to-mention stories concerning Bangkok taxi drivers who continue to undermine the good name of Thailand with their scams, schemes, and stealing.

The theft occurred in the early morning of Thursday, June 8. The 40 year old Japanese businessman, Nammo Hiroshi, reported to Thong Lor Police Station officers that he fell victim to a taxi driver thief. He explained that he took a pink taxi car from the Asoke neighbourhood of Bangkok to the Sukhumvit area.

However, the taxi driver unexpectedly pulled over and insisted Hiroshi switch to another taxi car. Hiroshi complied and transferred to another taxi. He then fell asleep until arriving at his destination and later discovered that his belongings had disappeared, including a Rolex watch worth 1 million baht, an iPhone 14 Pro max worth 40,000 baht, MacBook worth 60,000 baht, and a credit card.

Hiroshi later received messages from a bank that his credit card was used yesterday, June 12, in the Bang Khun Tian neighbourhood of Bangkok. So, he asked his Thai friend, 43 year old Jamnian Thepthip, to accompany him to the police station.

After the investigation of the credit card usage, officers from Bang Khun Tian Police Station successfully tracked down and apprehended the thieving taxi driver, identified as 45 year old Sirichai, at his residence in Soi Ekkachai 40 in the Bang Bon district of Bangkok.

All of the stolen assets were retrieved, except the watch which was pawned at a nearby pawn shop. The pink and white taxi car with a registration plate number ทฬ3433 that Sirichai used to commit the crime was parked in the area.

According to the police report, Sirichai was previously arrested for drug-related offences at Bukkalo and Bang Khun Tian Police Stations in 2012 and 2015. He was taken to Thong Lor Police Station for further prosecution processes.

The Japanese victim, Hiroshi, expressed his appreciation to the Thai Police officers that retrieved his belongings. He revealed that he could not sleep and was very stressed after his belongings disappeared. He disclosed that he travelled to Thailand at the beginning of June and is scheduled to travel back to Japan on June 19. He insisted that this issue would not stop him from coming to Thailand.

Last week, a Bangkok taxi driver attempted to scam a Korean passenger by overcharging. The estimated fare of 200 to 250 baht was increased to a dishonest fare of 700 baht.

The Korean man saw through the trick and paid the driver only 300 baht, which made the driver furious. The driver remonstrated aggressively, screaming rude words in Thai against the foreigner.