Online uproar leads to cabbie's arrest
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 “Tor [Tahan] Sor [Sala] 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.
