PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Sermphan Sirikong has ordered Kamala Police to investigate the incident in Kamala on Friday night that resulted in videos showing a Phuket taxi driver angrily berating a Thai tourist couple for calling him a cheat start to go viral on the TikTok platform.
“If any wrongdoing is found, we will take legal action immediately,” he said in a public statement yesterday (Jan 30).
The incident involved Kebin Phol, son of online celebrity “SuperdocYo”, and his girlfriend as they attempted to hire a taxi to take them from the Cafe del Mar club in Kamala to the hotel where they were staying on Nanai Rd in Patong.
The couple were told they had one choice of taxi driver, Jetsada “Bang Num” Kahapana and his 10-seater VIP van. The fare they were asked to pay was B600.
Mr Phol attempted to hire a private taxi driver using a “Grab” and “Bolt” app on his phone. He was cited B165 for the fare, but the driver refused to pick up the couple from in front of the club due to fear of reprisal by the tuk-tuk and taxi drivers already parked at the taxi rank there.
Videos of the incident posted on TikTok have sparked widespread criticism of Phuket’s tuk-tuk and taxi drivers for their stranglehold on public transport in Phuket and the fares they charge tourists, and local residents.
Officials were not spared from the criticism for allowing the situation to continue, especially in light of how much financial hardship Phuket people have suffered due to the COVID-19 impact on tourism.
Mr Jetsada told reporters yesterday that he became angry after he was called a cheat.
Police were called on Friday night and Mr Phol was taken to Kamala Police Station, where his statement to police was accepted as a formal complaint noted as Criminal Case 30/2656.
Mr Jetsada was not taken to the police station at the same time. Instead he was called to present himself at Kamala Police Station late yesterday afternoon.
Present to question Mr Jetsada was Kamala Police Deputy Superintendent Pol Lt Col Somnuk Damkaew.
Mr Jetsada told the police his same description of events he told reporters earlier yesterday, that he reacted angrily only after he was called a cheat.
“The first word he said back was, ‘You’re a cheat’, instead of negotiating that it was too expensive,” Mr Jetsada said.
Mr Jetsada said that the Grab and Bolt drivers were much cheaper because “their car is a low-cost taxi”.
“This price [the B600 Mr Jetsada offered] has been available since the restaurant opened and may be increased according to distance or the number of passengers,” he said.
“To say that going to Patong costs B500 [sic], it’s probably not fixed, but sometimes the number of passengers is five to six people. The price will move up accordingly. The average price will be B500,” he said, according to a report by the Phuket office of the Public Relations Department (PR Phuket).
“The price of B600 is due to the distance going into Soi Baan Nanai, which is far enough from the city of Patong, as well as being late at night, but he [Mr Phol] insisted that I was a liar.
“I said to go using the car through the application if he wanted. There was no coercion or anything,” said Mr Jesada, according to the report.
The official PR Phuket report made no mention of the Grab or Bolt driver refusing to pick up passengers from in front of the club due to fear of reprisal by the tuk-tuk and taxi drivers already parked at the taxi rank there.
Source: The Phuket News