GOING VIRAL on Thai social media is an account by a Japanese man on having to run for his life from a knife-wielding taxi driver after a dispute over the latter not turning on the meter, TV Channel 3’s 3PlusNews said this afternoon (Feb. 8).
This Japanese man, only identified as X who has been living in Thailand for a long time, warned Japanese people to be careful after this hair-raising incident.
He related that he hailed a taxi and when the driver rolled down the window, he told him where he wanted to go. At that time he did notice that the cabbie’s eyes were red and he looked intoxicated.
The cabbie was silent for a moment and then said he would go.
Despite already having a bad feeling about this cabbie acting abnormally, he still got into the cab. He repeated his destination, but the cabbie did not turn on the meter and said “150 baht.”
The Japanese man then said, “I’ll get off then,” and did so, slamming the door shut.
The cabbie got out of his vehicle, chased and kicked him, then went back and returned with a knife in his hand.
The Japanese man said he ran for his life and when he turned around again, he saw that the cabbie had returned to his vehicle and started to drive away. He quickly took some photos.
He confirmed that he was not injured and reported the incident to police.
The superintendent of Huai Khwang police station later said while the victim reported the incident on Feb. 5, he did not leave his address or phone number. However he returned the next day and an investigation was quickly launched and the taxi driver arrested, TV Channel 7 said.
He has been charged with assault, frightening other people, carrying a knife and charging a fare in excess of prescribed limits.
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Top and Front Page: Pixelated image of the taxi driver and his vehicle which the Japanese man who was chased by him took. Credit: 3PlusNews
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