A young Irish teacher at a Bangkok school admitted to making up a story about being robbed and assaulted by van driver in Pattaya on Monday — he was just too drunk to remember anything.
According to police, Ciaran Duffy, a 25-year-old English teacher at Sarasaswitaed Minburi, came clean yesterday that he was wasted on beer and had no idea what happened when he was trying to find a ride back to Bangkok.
Duffy initially alleged that a Pattaya van driver demanded a THB2,000 fare from him and attacked him when he refused to pay. He also said the driver robbed him of THB2,500 cash and escaped, Thairath reported.
The driver, Buddee Srimontri, 52, reported himself to authorities and told a different story.
He said the Irishman was drunk and whined that no van would pick him up. Buddee decided to take the Irishman in, but he disturbed other passengers by yelling and lying down on the seats until his feet touched other passengers.
Buddee told police he had to kick the Irishman out and admitted to pushing the teacher out of the vehicle. However, the driver said he didn’t take Duffy’s money, and other passengers had witnessed the incident.
Duffy then admitted to making up the story and suggested he might have dropped his wallet even before getting a van.
At the press conference yesterday, the Irishman apologized and shook hands with the driver, MThai reported.
