Foreign men attack Phuket taxi driver over fare dispute (video)
A viral video showed two foreign men attacking a Thai taxi driver outside a supermarket in Phuket, allegedly over a fare dispute.
Several Facebook news pages in Phuket shared the video of the physical assault today, December 3. In the video, one of the two foreign men, both wearing white T-shirts, is seen kicking the taxi driver, who was standing next to his red-and-yellow taxi.
The two foreigners immediately walked away from the scene after the attack but continued to complain to the driver in their native language. The driver was heard speaking with witnesses at the scene…
“They refused to pay the fare. They gave me only 50 baht.”
Witnesses and a person who recorded the video suggested the taxi driver report the matter to the police. They also expressed their disapproval of the foreigners’ violent actions.
The news Facebook page, Phuket Hotnews, reported that the incident occurred outside a supermarket on Thep Kasattri Road in the Thalang district of Phuket. The news agency then questioned officers at Thalang Police Station for further details.
According to the police, the taxi driver did not file a complaint with them initially, but they summoned him to the station for questioning after the video circulated on Thai social media.
The taxi driver told police that the two foreigners had booked his service through the Bolt app. They travelled from Patong to their accommodation in Thalang, with the fare being 570 baht.
However, the two foreigners had only 200 baht in cash and requested to pay the remainder in foreign currency. The taxi driver refused the foreign cash, and the foreigners asked him to take them to a supermarket for a currency exchange, to which the taxi driver agreed.
After the exchange, the driver requested an additional 200 baht for the trip to the supermarket. The foreigners refused to pay and argued with the driver before the physical assault occurred. The driver insisted that he would not take any legal action against the two foreigners.
Following the release of further details, opinions among Thai netizens were divided. Some urged the taxi driver to take legal action against the foreigners, while others sided with the foreigners, suggesting that the driver might not have informed them about the additional fare for the supermarket trip.
