Phuket taxi driver threatened, suspects identified by police
Cherng Talay police officers identified two men accused of threatening a metered taxi driver after he picked up two foreign passengers at Boat Avenue, Phuket, earlier this month. The legal status of the aggressors remains undetermined.
Phudit Sa-atphan, a legally registered metered taxi driver, publicly urged the police to intensify their efforts following his formal complaint on February 8. The incident occurred at approximately 10.30pm when the driver picked up the foreigners, who requested to be dropped off in the Laguna area.
As he attempted to leave Boat Avenue, two men on motorbikes from a nearby taxi queue confronted him, questioning his right to pick up passengers there.
The confrontation, which was recorded on video and posted online, prompted Phudit to report the incident to Cherng Talay Police Station immediately. His complaint was registered by Police Lieutenant Khajornkiat Khamwichairat.
Phudit later posted online, stating, “If I’m wrong, I apologise. But you shouldn’t have threatened to shoot me. I’m old, almost 60 years old. If you push me, I’ll fall.”
Phudit added that he had yet to be updated on any progress in the case.
Amidst growing online criticism regarding the police’s lack of action, Cherng Talay Police Chief Police Colonel Wiraphong Rakkhito confirmed yesterday, February 23, that the suspects had been identified as Preecha “Kim” Leo-in and Somsak “Games” Taveesin, reported The Phuket News.
Officers are actively searching for the two men to bring them in for questioning as part of the ongoing investigation. Pol. Col. Wiraphong did not offer any reasons for the difficulty in locating the suspects, nor did he refer to them as Phuket taxi drivers.
In similar news, police in Bangkok arrested a 46 year old taxi driver accused of stealing from passengers who were intoxicated and abandoning them en route. The arrest followed the attachment of a GPS tracker to his vehicle.
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