PHUKET — Police from Phuket’s Saku Station have clarified a viral video showing taxi drivers restraining a foreign tourist near Phuket Airport, explaining that the incident occurred due to the tourist experiencing a mental health episode.
The incident, which caused confusion on social media, took place on December 23, 2024. According to police reports, taxi drivers at Phuket Airport helped detain a foreign tourist who was behaving aggressively and causing disturbances with taxi drivers and members of the public in the area.
Police identified the individual as Keith, a 36-year-old tourist from Hong Kong, who had arrived in Phuket on December 17, 2024, on a tourist visa. The day before the incident, on December 22, Keith had actually sought help from Saku Police Station and Tourist Police at Phuket Airport, reporting a lost passport and disclosing that he required regular medication for a psychiatric condition.
In response to his initial request for help, police and the Tourist Assistance Center had contacted the consulate to arrange for passport assistance, which was scheduled for the following day. The authorities had arranged temporary accommodation for Keith at the Louis’ Runway View Hotel near the airport while waiting for his temporary travel documents to return to Hong Kong.
However, on December 23, Keith left his hotel and began displaying erratic behavior, eventually getting into physical altercations with taxi drivers near the airport. The taxi drivers restrained him and contacted the police. When brought to Saku Police Station, Keith continued to show signs of severe agitation, prompting police to arrange for his transfer to Thalang Hospital for medical treatment.
The article has been restructured to present events chronologically while maintaining all key details from the original Thai text.
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