Thai woman fined for letting foreigner drive tuk tuk in Phuket
A Thai woman faces a fine for allowing a foreign tourist to drive her tuk tuk in Phuket yesterday, February 20.
The Facebook news page Phuket Times yesterday shared pictures of a foreign man driving a light blue tuk tuk along a Phuket road, accompanied by a caption criticising the foreigner for allegedly working illegally in Thailand. The caption read…
“Just work hard, and you will never be poor. Foreigners steal all the jobs in Thailand. A foreigner works as a tuk tuk driver, doesn’t he? #Patong #PhuketForeigners”
In the images, the foreign man was seen giving a thumbs-up and waving at the camera. A passenger seated in the back of the tuk tuk was seen extending his hand out of the vehicle to take photos of the foreign driver.
Many netizens disagreed with the media’s take, suggesting that the Thai tuk tuk driver might have merely allowed the foreign tourist to drive the vehicle briefly for fun.
They noted that it appeared to be the Thai driver himself who extended his hands out of the car to take pictures.
Others, however, criticised the police and government officials for their inaction, claiming it allowed foreigners to take jobs from Thai citizens. Some speculated that the tuk tuk driver could be of mixed Thai and foreign descent.
In response to the online backlash, officers from Patong Police Station investigated the matter. They summoned the owner of the tuk tuk seen in the video for questioning.
The owner explained that the Thai driver, who rents the tuk tuk to earn a living, had allowed the foreign tourist to drive the vehicle for amusement.
According to the owner, the foreigner worked as a taxi driver in his home country and wanted to try driving a tuk tuk.
The Thai driver allowed him to do so for approximately 1 kilometre before resuming his duties and providing service to the foreign tourist as usual.
The owner emphasised that the foreign tourist was not working as a tuk tuk driver, as some may have misunderstood. However, allowing an individual without a valid driving licence to operate the vehicle resulted in the owner facing a fine of up to 2,000 baht, following Section 56 of the Vehicle Act.
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