A taxi driver received a THB2,000 fine and one-month suspension of his license for attempting to overcharge a passenger and threatening her for filming their heated argument.
A woman, whose name was not disclosed, recorded a video of her confrontation with cabbie Boonsade Intawongchai and caught him on tape trying to charge her a flat rate and threatening to throw out her phone when she started filming him.
The video went viral when it was shared by Facebook page Mam Podam on Wednesday. The description, apparently written by the passenger, said that she took the taxi from Bang Kapi Intersection to a company near Huamark Stadium. After a while, the driver told her that the meter was broken. Therefore, she started filming their negotiation.
In the video, the driver was ranting about how troublesome it was that the meter keeps breaking and how difficult it was being a taxi driver. The passenger said in the video that she has taken the same route many times and it never exceeded THB60, but the driver insisted on charging her a flat rate of THB80. When she said that he should just drive to the police station, the driver got mad. When he saw that she was filming him, he angrily pointed at her face, a gesture perceived by Thais as aggressive and disrespectful.
“What is this? Are you messing with me? I’m gonna break your phone. You think this is a joke? Delete it now or I’ll sue you!”
The video cut to another scene which the passenger already got out of the taxi.
According to the video description, the passenger got out of the taxi when it was caught in a middle of traffic. The driver menacingly followed her, so she cried for help. The crowd blocked him from her, and luckily a police officer passed by.
In the rest of the video, she is heard arguing with the taxi driver and telling the story to the police.
After the video went viral, Department of Land Transport summoned the driver. He was punished with a fine and suspension for being impolite and not using the meter.
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