Tourist questioned by police, Phuket taxi drivers said he was driving a “service vehicle”

A Russian tourist was taken to a police station in Phuket for questioning after local taxi drivers reported that the man was driving throughout the island province, claiming he was picking up passengers. The tourist was just driving his family members, but the car he rented ended up being registered as a service vehicle. Both the owner of the vehicle and the tourist had to pay a 1,000 baht fine.

The car had a green licence plate, which is for service vehicles, like taxis. When local taxi drivers saw the car full of passengers with a foreign man behind the wheel, some assumed he was getting paid to drive people around. Following complaints from local taxi drivers, saying the foreigner was taking away their livelihoods, the tourist and the owner of the car were asked by the tourist police from Patong Provincial Police Station and officers from Phuket’s Department of Transport to come in for questioning.

Reports say the tourist had just rented the car for a day, promising to return it at 9pm on Tuesday. The tourist had an international driver’s licence and used the car for a family trip. Since the car was registered to be used as a service vehicle and not for rental, both the driver and the owner had to pay a 1,000 baht fine.

Related story: Traveller calls police over high fare charged by Phuket taxi driver

SOURCE: Dailynews | โหดจัง จังหวัดภูเก็ต