A Bangkok taxi-driver has been fined 3,000 baht and has had his driving license suspended for 90 days by the Land Transport Department for overcharging a passenger by 299 baht.
The cabbie, Prasert Chanthai, was also ordered to return the overcharged amounts to the female passenger, a 20-year old who boarded his taxi on Friday night for a trip from Chatuchak Park to Lat Phrao Soi 101. He was also ordered to attend a 3-hour course in service orientation for public transport operators.
The Land Transport Department’s action against the cabbie was in response to a Facebook post, by the uncle of the passenger, who had come to Bangkok to apply for admission to a university in the capital.
In the post, he said that the cabbie appeared to be in a bad mood, due to heavy traffic, and cursed throughout the journey. About half way to the destination, the cabbie dumped the passenger and asked for payment, which was 151 baht on the meter. The woman gave him a 500-baht note, but was only given change of 50 baht, claiming that the rest of the money was the “fare” for his waste of time.
Summoned to the Land Transport Department on Monday, Chanthai admitted overcharging the passenger and behaving impolitely. He was fined 3,000 baht for violating the Automobile Act, including 2,000 baht for overcharging and 1,000 baht for not taking the passenger to the specified destination.
