BANGKOK — A tollway guard was beaten unconscious after getting into an argument with a group trying to go through without an Easy Pass.
Aneerut Saengmitr, 52, was assaulted by an unidentified man after telling the people inside an Isuzu truck to back out from the Easy Pass lane at the Pracha Chuen entrance to the Sirat Expressway on Sunday morning.
“They tried to pay with cash in the Easy Pass lane,” said police Capt. Noppadol Homsombut. “When they couldn’t go through, they weren’t happy.”
Someone riding in the passenger seat of the truck, which had license plate 1 ฒผ5526, became enraged and started cursing at Aneerut after he told them to back out and drive up to a toll booth that accepts cash.
As Aneerut later told police, he raised his voice to explain to the man why he was asking them to back up. That’s when the man exited the vehicle and yelled that Aneerut should not shout at him. A toll booth worker then called for him to watch out, as the other was drawing back his arm.
The man repeatedly punched Aneerut in the face until the guard fell unconscious to the floor. The vehicle then drove away and Aneerut was rushed to Kasemrad Hospital. He later filed a complaint with police.
Police are looking for the owner of the truck to track down and charge the passenger responsible for the attack with assault, Noppadol said Monday.