Taxi rider in Pattaya nabbed for overcharging 1,600 baht for 3-kilometre trip

Mueang Pattaya Police Station officers arrested a motorcycle taxi rider without a permit for overcharging two passengers 1,600 baht for a 3-kilometre trip to Pattaya International Fireworks Festival. The suspect shipped the blame onto another rider.

Two passengers shared their money transfer receipt on social media and explained that a motorcycle taxi rider charged them 1,600 baht for a trip to the fireworks event. The distance was less than 3 kilometres.

The passengers declared the transaction as fraud and warned that no one would want to go to Pattaya in the future if taxis continued to extort and rip off tourists and foreigners.

The bank account’s name on the transfer receipt clearly showed the name of the motorcycle taxi rider, Duriya Kamnarn. Police tracked down Duriya and found that he was a Bangkok resident, not Pattaya.

Bangkok police went to Duriya’s house and met his mother but her son was not present there. The mother later convinced Duriya to turn himself in at Mueang Pattaya Police Station yesterday, November 28.

Duriya explained that he is an app-based rider in Bangkok. He decided to go to Pattaya with his friends thinking that they could make a lot of money from passengers at the event. They then asked local motorcycle taxi drivers in the area to join them outside a petrol station in southern Pattaya.

Local motorcycle taxi rider blamed

Duriya claimed that he took two passengers together with a local taxi rider. Upon arrival at the event, the local taxi rider asked the two customers to transfer travel fees to his bank account. The local rider allegedly told Duriya that he did not have a bank account.

“Let the passengers transfer money to your account and share half of it with me later.”

Duriya went on to explain that he was shocked to see that the travel fare was 1,600 baht. He gave 800 baht in cash to the local taxi rider and continued to serve other passengers. He later found the transfer receipt shared on social media and decided to go back to Bangkok immediately.

Duriya added that he felt guilty for the expensive fare but did not know how to apologise to the victims because he was not the person asking for that high fare. He had never overcharged his passengers. However, he confessed he was wrong in this case.

Officers reported that Duriya’s case would be transferred to the Chon Buri Provincial Transport Office and would be punished for violating Section 96 of the Land Transport Act. Public transport drivers who overcharged will face a fine of 500 baht.