PHUKET: The Phuket taxi driver at the centre of the furore over videos of him berating a Thai tourist and his girlfriend in Kamala on Friday night has defended his behaviour, saying he became enraged after he was called a cheat.
Jetsada “Bang Num” Kahapana made his defence yesterday after being approached by reporters to explain his threatening tirade, which started going viral on TikTok.
Mr Jesada also told The Phuket News that the vehicle he uses to transport passengers is a 10-seater VIP van.
“B600 from Kamala to Patong would not be expensive,” he said.
Mr Jetsada said he approached the couple, Kevin Phol and his girlfriend, as they were walking out of the Cafe del Mar club as the club was closing.
“I asked him if he wanted to take a taxi or not, but they did not answer me and walked past me,” Mr Jetsada said.
“They talked with a tuk-tuk driver for a while and then walked back to the taxi queue again,” he said.
Mr Phol had asked the tuk-tuk driver how much to go to a resort on Nanai Rd in Patong, Mr Jetsada added.
“He didn’t ask me first. He asked another colleague of mine, but since my car was the first in the queue for service, my friend pointed at me to specify that this is the driver [Mr Phol had no choice but to use],” he continued.
Mr Jetsada said there was no negotiation between himself and Mr Phol about the fare to be taken from Kamala to Patong.
“‘You are a cheat’ are the first words that they said to me. Then I asked them, ‘How did I cheat you?’
“He showed me that in the Bolt app it was only B168 from Kamala to Patong and accused me of cheating,” Mr Jetsada said. (A screenshot provided to The Phuket News yesterday showed the fare quoted was B165).
“I told them that if they’re happy with the price in the app, go for that price. I still confirm that my taxi is a local taxi. My taxi price is B600, which is the price that has been used since the service here opened to tourists,” Mr Jetsada claimed.
“They still accused me of cheating on the price when they hadn’t even used my services yet,” he said.
“So I asked him why they say that I cheated on the price. ‘Your money is still in your pocket’,” Mr Jetsada continued.
“At that moment, I started to get angry,” he added.
“I didn’t force or threaten them that they must take only my taxi. They can choose to use the service to the fullest,” Mr Jetsada said.
Asked why, as explained by Mr Phol, that the Bolt driver had said that he could not pick up anyone from in front of the cafe, Mr Jetsada said, “That’s because the app has to pin the location. Any customer from any country that uses the app, the app will pin the customer pick-up point to the front of the Inter-Con [interContinental Phuket Resort].”
Mr Jetsada ignored the reports that other taxi drivers would not pick up any customers from in front of the club because of fear of reprisal attacks by the tuk-tuk and taxi drivers already at the taxi rank in front of the club.
Mr Jesada continued his defence, deflecting the key issue by focussing on the claim that he had raised his middle finger at Mr Phol’s girlfriend.
Mr Jesada claimed he never did this. he said that he only pointed his finger in mr Phol’s face.
“You can see the evidence from the clip,” he said.
“I didn’t even turn to look at the woman because I assumed that she is her mother’s gender,” he said.
What can be plainly seen in the video clips posted on TikTok is Mr Jetsada scolding Mr Phol’s girlfriend at close range shouting loudly and waving and pointing his finger close to her face while she recorded the incident on her phone.
“They still provoked me to anger many times,” Mr Jetsada continued.
“They did not end the fight [argument, the incident never resulted in physical contact] even though the police had already arrived on the scene,” he said.
“Today [Jan 30], Kamala Police contacted me to give a statement explaining the details of what happened, but I still don’t know what offence I have been charged with,” he said.
“The Phuket office of the Land Transport Department [PLTO] also called me to come to their office to clarify the details tomorrow [today, Jan 31],” he said.
Source: The Phuket News