Taxi driver fined Bt3,000, license revoked

But the driver, Pipatpol Jaikham, 52, claimed that he thought the couple gave him a tip and claimed that he demanded only Bt600 from the couple.

The driver was summoned by the Inspection Division of the Land Transport Department Tuesday to hear the charges and face the penalties after the incident was posted by a Facebook user, Krit Karnchanabatr, on his Facebook wall on Monday.

Krit recounted that on Monday, the president of his company came to Thailand for the first time with his wife but they were overcharged for Bt6,000.

Krit said the hotel later checked a security camera and saw the license plate of the taxi in question and a hotel staff at the airport managed to locate the driver and demanded him to return the money or else the hotel would file a complaint with police. The driver agreed to return Bt5,400 so the Swiss couple became happy and decided not to pursue legal action.

But after the incident was widely shared among Thai Facebook users, the Land Transport Department took action against the driver.

Sukree Jaruphum, the director of the Inspection Division, said the driver had been complained against once on January 3 for overcharging a passenger.

Pipatpol told reporters that he did not use the meter and he wrote down the fare of Bt600 but the passengers handed over Bt6,000 to him so he thought they gave him a generous tip.