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Online Uproar Leads To Cabbie's Arrest


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Online Uproar Leads to Cabbie's Arrest

THE NATION August 23, 2013 1:00 am

 

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INTIMIDATING taxi drivers can no longer escape the long arm of the law partly because many victims can now speak up on the Internet, which is what led to the arrest of Thanet Boonsermsap, 37, in Samut Prakan yesterday.

The taxi driver's latest victim, another taxi driver, said he had never met Thanet before when he approached him and demanded protection money yesterday.

"Then, I looked at his cab and remembered that his license plate number had become big news," the victim said. His complaint, via a volunteer, quickly reached the police.

Thanet drives a pink taxi with licence plate number ทศ 856 and there have been many reports on the social media of his extortion and intimidating behaviour. Just on Wednesday, a woman lambasted him for banging her car on a Bangkok road via an Internet post that was widely reported.

After the uproar online, police promised to take action right away.

Apparently, there have been several complaints filed against this cabbie.

On June 15, Surapong Sujaritpinij posted on FM91 Traffic Pro's Facebook page that this taxi driver demanded money from him after he parked near the BTS Bearing Station. Surapong is believed to have officially taken the complaint to Bang Na Police Station.

Jirayut "Max the Star 4" Kantayot, also posted on Instagram on June 16 that this very cabbie demanded money from him.

Bang Na Police Station's superintendent Colonel Tawatkiat Jindakuansanong yesterday said the taxi driver had been convicted once before for demanding money from his passengers, but the court had suspended his punishment.

"But if he repeats the offence, police can arrest him," Tawatkiat explained.

On Wednesday, a woman said that when she got into this pink taxi, the driver refused to turn on the metre and demanded Bt70 for a very short ride in Samut Prakan. She then decided to lodge a complaint at Pak Nam Police Station.

On the same day, the cabbie decided to repeatedly bang into a woman's car in downtown Bangkok. The car owner later posted a message on Pantip.com, lambasting the cabbie and praising another for stepping forward to help her

http://www.nationmul...t-30213273.html

 

Here was the thread on Pantip which eventually led to his arrest. Apparently while stuck in traffic near Bangkok's Makkasan City airport link Terminal, Boonsermsap got out of his taxi and started kicking and banging on her car until another taxi driver who saw what was happening came to help her by kicking and banging on Boonsermsap's taxi until he drove off, but not before the lady took a photo of him and got his number plate.

She drove off but when she got to Asoke Rd by chance she saw Boonsermsap's pink taxi there so she parked up and went to report the matter to a traffic policeman standing there, but he was disinterested in helping, citing lack of injury and damage to person or property and told her to continue on her way since she was holding up the traffic. It was only once the story gathered momentum in Pantip, that the police were forced to act. She also mentioned that Boonsermsap initially shouted at her to hand hand over her driving license for inspection, making her think he might be a police officer.

http://pantip.com/topic/30871940

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Khun Thanet looks like a charter member of Sha Na Na.

 

Makkasan station is the one at Petchaburi and Ratchada, I despise trying to catch a taxi in that area going anywhere significant - traffic is a horrific crawl for most of the day and you get a lot of rejections (from cabbies). Rot Dit maaaaak.

 

Note - if you're taking the airport link to suvarnabhumi or some place like Minburi, Makkasan (ironically) is a much better place to catch the train than Phaya Thai station, because not many people currently utilize it and you don't experience the madness of being herded like an endless gaggle of wayward geese (Phaya Thai).

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JaiRai,

 

Fully concur, makkasan intersection is a nightmare and I refuse point blank to travel that route.

 

About 12 months ago I was attending Rathadaprasedek Court a couple of times / week and I was insistent, expressway up to Centra Lad Phrao, past SCB tower and Ratchada that way, don't even think about makkasan and Hua Mak route. I am paying the expressway fees and the fare so I choose the way I want to go.

 

After a couple of rejections I would then get a decent taxi driver, usually a 60 year old Loong Sumchai, who would say, agh you know the better way it save me time, thank you sir it saves me time too, more than happy to pay 45 Baht expressway fee.

 

I have often found that your average 30-40 year old cabbie thinks he knows best and will take his own route where as your 50-60 year old drivers are more accomodating to a customer request. I don't profess to knowing my way around Bangkok 100% but when it gets to the districts where I live or districts where I have worked and commuted to on a daily basis in many instances I do know better, after all I have only driven in Bangkok on and off for over 20 years now. I have had many older drivers thanking me for showing them a sub soi to bypass traffic jams that they had previously been unaware of.

 

Out of choice I prefer to use a taxi with a more mature driver, not only are they more careful drivers but also tend to accept advice from the customer about alternative routes.

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"Citizen arrest". Seems like a good side of the social networks and the Internet. Thai cabbies are mostly peasants who come to drive taxi where there is nothing to do in the blanket of boredom covered provincies. Or some, like the guy arrested, social rejects by any standards.

 

Social networks also can, and they do, with "hates", sink a billion dollar movie or any business as what the initial twitters of FB-bookers think may go viral and develop into an irrational crusade. People like to like what others liked, and dislike what the majority disliked. Mentality of ...

 

 

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