No Jail For Cabbie Who Assaulted Tourist

[Flashermac]

PHUKET - An illegal taxi driver who abducted and sexually assaulted a Chinese tourist while high on drugs and alcohol will serve no jail time.

 

Paitoon Kruain, 32, received a suspended sentence of 13 months and a fine of 10,500 baht after pleading guilty on Friday to all the charges against him, the Phuket Gazette reported.

 

The court initially sentenced him to 26 months in prison and fined him 21,000 baht, a court clerk told the Gazette.

 

"However, because he pled guilty to all charges, the penalty was cut in half," she said.

 

Because it was his first offence, the sentence was suspended. While he will serve no jail time, he must report to the court every month, said the clerk.

 

Paitoon picked up the 19-year-old Chinese woman at Phuket International Airport on May 17 and kept her locked in his car for nearly five hours as he drove around the island while repeatedly touching her.

 

The woman told police earlier that the driver persuaded her to sit in the front seat because the back seat had a problem. He began to fondle and attempt to kiss her and she threatened to hit him with her shoe if he didn't stop.

 

The woman managed to flee when the car ran out of gas and Paitoon got out of the car to push it.

 

Police identified the culprit after the victim described the car, its licence plate number and Paitoon's driver ID number.

 

After his arrest, he tested positive for methamphetamine. In all he faced five charges: deprivation of liberty; sexual assault; using a Category 1 narcotic; consuming alcohol while driving; and operating a regular vehicle as a taxi, for which he paid a 2,000-baht fine.

 

Although Paitoon was initially taken into custody and sent to Phuket Prison, he was released on bail on May 31, a prison officer told the Gazette.

 

"I do not know how much the suspect’s bail was. The court would have decided the amount," the officer said.

 

"The case is finished," Paitoon's mother told reporters after her son walked out of the courtroom on Friday.

 

Paitoon will, however, be barred from applying for a taxi driver's licence for five years, said an official at the provincial Land Transport Office.

 

 

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/373142/no-jail-for-first-offence-sex-assault

[dean]

That still leaves buses and tut tuts for him

[Flashermac]

He is "barred from applying for a taxi driver's licence for five years." So? He didn't have one before either ... " An illegal taxi driver".

[YimSiam]

Lucky for the driver the countries weren't reversed - arrested for kidnap and assault of a tourist in Beijing, he'd probably've been executed by now, rather than called in to be informed that he's free, no worries... 14 days in jail, not even the standard 45 days for a first time piss test violation! Must be somebody's nephew, or part of a 'family'...

 

YimSiam

[sayjann]

Lucky for the driver the countries weren't reversed - arrested for kidnap and assault of a tourist in Beijing, he'd probably've been executed by now, rather than called in to be informed that he's free, no worries... 14 days in jail, not even the standard 45 days for a first time piss test violation! Must be somebody's nephew, or part of a 'family'...

 

YimSiam

i will finally to all you BM's who moan about the Taxi's on Phuket.....

i've never had a problem as i've never used them,but reading the story in the Phuket Gazette i saw they used the words 'Taxi Mafia' in the headline.

if it's good enough for the paper to publish that then who am i to disagree?.