A tuk-tuk driver was fined on Monday and ordered to undergo three hours of good behaviour training for being rude and aggressive to a Singapore couple in demanding more money than they had earlier agreed on for a ride.
Thung Mahamek police fined Thongkham Cherdchai, aged 57, 1,000 baht for having the wrong licence to drive public transport, several media outlets reported.
He was also found to have used improper language to his passengers, and ordered to attend a three-hour course to improve his driving behaviour.
Tourist Police commissioner Pol Maj Gen Suthun Prommayon instructed police to find the rude driver after a Singapore couple posted a video on a Instagram account, singapore_incidents, on Sunday, complaining of their "horrible" experience in Bangkok.
"Another horrible experience for Singaporean couple at Thailand, this time with a tuk-tuk driver," said the headline above the post.
Another message on the social media platform said: "BKK tuktuk driver attacks tourists after he fails to cheat them."
The clip showed a tuk-tuk driver using abusive language to the couple, including several F*** words, on a footpath, with his vehicle parked by the kurb, apparently on Sathorn road.
The man pointed his finger at them and used his hand to try and prevent them from recording a video, and challenged them to register a complaint with police by showing the licence plate of his vehicle.
They said the driver demanded more money from them, even though they had settled on 160 baht for the ride when he picked them up at Siam Paragon shopping centre for a trip to Surasak BTS station.
The tourists refused to give him more money and that angered the driver.
The incident went viral on social media, creating a bad image at a time when Thailand is desperately trying to attract tourists back to the country after the disastrous tourism slump caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
