PHUKET — The motorcycle taxi rider from the viral clip, who was seen forcing tourists out of a Bolt taxi service and confronting the female driver, has been arrested by Phuket police.
The incident occurred on October 31 around 5:30 p.m., when a female taxi driver, Ms. Thanaporn, age 32, picked up foreign Asian tourists who had booked through the Bolt application at Loma parking lot in Patong, Kathu district, intending to take them to the airport.
Before they could leave, a taxi rider approached, opened the taxi door, and confronted Ms. Thanaporn for picking up passengers in his territory. Despite her explanation that the tourists had booked through the app themselves, the man wouldn’t listen and ordered the two tourists to get out of the car. Both Ms. Thanaporn and the tourists were frightened, and the tourists complied and left the vehicle.
On November 2, Patong police tracked down the taxi rider using his vehicle registration number to Thawiwong Road in Patong. They found him riding erratically like a drunk person. When he stopped near Laem Petch monastery, police searched under his motorcycle seat and found a half-empty bottle of Thai whiskey.
The police identified the man as Mr. Champen, age 53, and took him to Patong Police Station. An alcohol breath test showed 75 mg%, exceeding the legal limit. They confirmed he was the same person who had threatened the female taxi driver and foreign tourists.
Mr. Champen was charged with drunk driving, using a vehicle not registered for its current use, not wearing a helmet, not carrying a vehicle registration copy, lacking a public transport driver’s license, and failing to pay annual vehicle tax.
At 1:00 p.m. the same day, Ms. Thanaporn gave her statement to investigators to pursue additional charges against Mr. Champen for intimidation, which carries a maximum penalty of 1 month imprisonment or a fine up to 10,000 baht, or both.
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