PHUKET: The horrific accident that saw a Phuket taxi driver kill a 57-year-old Swiss man on a motorbike in Rawai on Monday (Dec 13) simultaneously sent shivers down the spine of those who ride motorbikes on the island and sparked another outpouring of outrage from the island’s expat community, and among expats abroad who are very familiar with Phuket.
The victim, Carlo Franciolli, died after a taxi van – an SUV modified to carry seven passengers – swerved across the road and struck Carlo on his motorbike before slamming into a roadside power pole.
While the people who care about Phuket are calling for justice to be served, they already know that it is unlikely any form of true justice will see the light of day, and with the chilling death of Carlo the games have already begun.
The taxi driver, Somchai Kobkoi, has already told police, as noted in the police report, that he was driving downhill at speed when he lost control of the vehicle. But anyone can see that the accident happened on a flat, straight section of road. Any version of “downhill” is at least several hundred metres away, and drivers in both directions on that section of road have a clear, unobstructed view of any other vehicle.
As simple as it gets, the police cannot be trusted when it comes to dealing with Phuket’s taxi drivers. The notorious accident in 2018 that saw a Phuket taxi driver wipe out six cars and a motorbike in morning rush hour traffic – killing the motorbike driver while the taxi’s tourist passenger was still in the car on his way from the airport to his hotel – provided a rare glimpse into the extent that local law enforcement will go to in order to hide the resulting “justice” delivered that they so often like to boast about.
After initially refusing to name the driver in that accident, police then named him as Marut Puangsombat, 23 years old at the time. Of course Marut was instantly charged with reckless driving causing death, but it took 15 months to bring him to trial. Capt Suporn Mueangkai of the Thalang Police, who led the investigation, took 217 days to bring the charge to court.
During that time it took six months before police finally gave Marut’s correct family name, Puangbanjong, to the press. Capt Suporn said he had confused the name with another case.
Providing the wrong name initially made it impossible to track the case at Phuket Provincial Court, and without being provided the correct name the Phuket Public Prosecutor’s Office said they had no idea which case The Phuket News was asking about. Apparently a taxi wiping out six cars and a motorbike and killing a person is not memorable to Phuket’s public prosecutors.
Finally it came to light that Marut was initially sentenced to four years imprisonment, but in the end he was released on a suspended sentence and was banned from driving his taxi for three months.
All throughout the police investigation and the trial Marut was allowed to continue working as a taxi driver, picking up and dropping off tourists at Phuket International Airport, including through the lucrative tourism high season that year.
That’s Phuket’s trusted law enforcers doing their part to protect the image of Phuket as a world-class tourism destination. There is no reason to believe this case will be handled any differently.
For some reason top-end officials do not perceive the dangerous driving of Phuket’s “public transport sector”, as they like to call it – despite every form of transport on the island being privately owned and operated – as damaging to Phuket’s reputation as a “world-class tourism destination”. Yet Phuket’s taxi drivers, and especially the van drivers, are deservingly despised by Thais and foreigners alike for their dangerous driving.
According to local Swiss newspaper laRegione, Carlo was known as an open, welcome and charitable person who wintered in Thailand, mostly Phuket, for many years. He even arrived to help in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami. What damage to Phuket’s reputation do officials think they are limiting by ignoring his death? What’s the point in promoting Phuket as a safe haven from COVID-19, if tourists are going to get killed on the roads? Of note, Carlo’s uncle is a former mayor of their hometown Lostallo. News of Phuket’s deadly taxi drivers already returning to the roads so early in Phuket’s tourism recovery efforts has already bolted.
Yet, when it comes to a video being posted on Facebook of a drunken bully of a parking attendant threatening tourists wanting to park in order to dine at a restaurant, in strolls the Army to ensure that the situation is handled quickly and properly. The imbalance in what is perceived as more damaging to Phuket is stupefying.
When it comes to the dangerous taxi drivers on our roads, they should send in the Army, every time. Period.
Source: The Phuket News
