A Phuket taxi driver denied physical assault on a foreign man after a video of their argument went viral on Thai social media yesterday, May 4.
The footage was posted by the Facebook page Koh Kalok Phuket with a caption questioning how the situation should be handled and included hashtags criticising taxi drivers.
In the video, a foreign man is seen arguing with a taxi driver outside a hotel in Phuket, while a child believed to be the couple’s son is present.
The person recording the video claimed the driver had cancelled the trip and told the tourists to remove their luggage from the vehicle. The foreign man then spat on the back of the car, which escalated the situation.
The driver is seen demanding the man clean the vehicle, but he refused and continued arguing. The man’s wife attempted to defuse the situation and cleaned the car herself.
The video prompted criticism online, with some users accusing the driver of cancelling bookings and acting aggressively towards tourists, raising concerns about Phuket’s image. Others speculated that the dispute may have escalated into a physical assault after the footage ended.
Some social media users urged others to wait for the driver’s explanation. The driver later responded in the comment section under his Facebook account, Sombat Lee.
Sombat stated that the foreign family had booked the ride through an application. He said he travelled to the pickup point and attempted to contact the passengers via the app’s chat function but received no response.
According to the driver, he arrived at the hotel but could not locate or reach the passengers, prompting him to cancel the booking and prepare to leave.
He said the tourists then arrived and placed their luggage in his vehicle. He told them they would need to make a new booking because the original trip had already been cancelled.
Sombat said this led the tourists to remove their belongings before the foreign man spat on the car. He asked the man to clean it, but he refused, resulting in the argument seen in the video. The driver insisted on his innocence and denied the physical assault allegation.
He also called for understanding from the public and asked those posting abusive comments to remove them, acknowledging that some may disagree with his actions but urging respectful discussion.
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