On Saturday night in Bangkok, three passengers were physically assaulted by a group of taxi drivers on Thonglor Road.
Yesterday, Sunday, July 30, a Thai man named Chatchanan Chantajinda posted on Facebook the account of the assault on him and two of his friends—another guy and a woman—along with footage of the incident. Two police officers were even visible in one of the cameras at the site, but they didn’t appear to be able to stop the attacker of two of the victims, a man wearing a dark blue shirt.
Chatchanan acknowledged that he and his two buddies had consumed alcohol prior to the event, which may have caused them to act rashly against the drivers. The argument started when Chatchanan and his pals attempted to hail a cab from Thonglor Soi 12 to Sukhumvit Soi 14 with the license plate number 7 2376. The driver, who did not have a taxi license, declined to transport them though.Chatchanan observed the car’s license plate indicating it was a personal vehicle, not an official taxi, while he was asking the driver why. Chatchanan approached the driver with the following after becoming irate at their apparent disobedience of the rules and their refusal:
“Why do you turn us down? What, is your car in violation?
To avoid escalating the issue, Chatchanan’s friends grabbed another taxi and departed the area. But five or six more cab drivers, including the original, followed. Chatchanan acknowledged that he had pointed his middle finger in annoyance at the unlicensed driver.
They were forced to stop when the illegal taxi driver cut them off as they approached Thonglor Road. When five to six additional taxi drivers appeared from another vehicle and blocked Chatchanan and his friends’ way, they ignored their request for the driver to keep going.
According to Chatchanan, he and his pals promptly reported the problem to the Thonlor Police Station, and authorities dealt with their complaints right away. When two police officers arrived, they did not do much.
According to Chatchanan, one taxi driver struck him in the ear, and another tried to get his companion out of the car by punching the woman’s body. The cab group escaped the area following the attack’s success.One of the victims said to Channel 7 that this had been one of his most horrific experiences. There were unauthorized taxi drivers everywhere, but no one took them seriously, allowing them to operate unlawfully, overcharge customers, and act violently.
The legitimate taxi driver who was involved in the confrontation went to the police station and assisted with interrogation. He said that he was afraid of the cab gang and was confused of how to handle the circumstance at the time.
The police then called the unlicensed taxi driver, who had initially refused to take the passengers, in for questioning. Before conducting a two-hour interview with Channel 7, he was questioned.
The driver claims that he did not at all reject the passengers. Instead, he was awaiting a customer who had used a smartphone application to make a reservation for his services. He emphasized the fact that he was an unauthorized taxi driver on the app.
The driver also claimed that the passengers’ group did not give the complete truth. He insisted that they gave him the middle finger before they apologized. After hearing about the event on the phone, his buddies came to help him after he followed them to request an apology.
According to Thonglor Police Station, both parties will be called in for additional questioning the following week, and after the investigation is complete, the proper charges will be brought.
READ MORE: https://bangkokone.news
SOURCE: https://www.ch7.com
