Phuket taxi drivers wait for military bigwigs to file complaints

PHUKET: Outraged taxi drivers from Phuket’s tourist-popular Kata-Karon area who vowed to file a complaint with military leaders yesterday about the tearing down of taxi stands on private land have pushed back their mission until Friday.

“We spoke with officers at the Navy base at Cape Panwa yesterday to find out who we should file the complaint with. They told us that both Vice Admiral Tharathorn Khajitsuwan of the Third Naval Area Command and Col Somchai Ponatong of the Army’s 41st Military Circle had left for Bangkok,” Suparp Pime-Kaew, head of the Kata-Karon taxi drivers group, told the Phuket Gazette last night.

“They are the ones in charge, and we want to file our complaint with military leaders, so we are going to wait until Friday when they are set to return from Bangkok.”

Kata-Karon subdistrict chief (Kamnan) Winai Chidchiew told the Gazette yesterday that the taxi drivers were planning to file a complaint against a Karon Police Superintendent over claims that police tore down a taxi stand that was located on private land (story here).

“We are out of work and in trouble now,” said Mr Suparp. “We want to know when the taxi cleanup will be complete and where we will be allowed to park and wait for customers, so we can start working again.

“We have families to take care of.”

— Woranut Pechdee