Video evidence reveals a Bangkok taxi driver pulling a knife out from the pocket of the driver’s seat door to intimidate 2 Singaporean tourists, who had accused him of not giving them enough change.
Although Bangkok taxis are supposed to be metered, the tourists said they had agreed a price of 400 baht for their journey to Suvarnabhumi airport. However, once they arrived at the airport the taxi driver gave them only 25 baht in change from a 500 baht note.
“What about the other 75 baht?” asked the tourists. “Highway, highway, highway,” replied the driver. “No highway!” insisted the tourists.
Whether the tourists took the “highway” (they mean tollway) or not, taxi drivers should really ask their passengers whether they want to pay extra to take the toll road, and inform them of the charges. To get to the airport, you can choose a route without tolls, it just takes a little longer.
As the pair argued with the driver over the change, the driver can be seen reaching for a knife from the side door of his car…
“He’s got a f*cking knife! Police!”
Luckily, the traffic police were stood nearby and helped to deescalate the incident. After almost 5 minutes of back and forth, the driver gave the tourists their change back.
The tourists were glad they got their money back but were still shaken by the taxi driver’s knife, so they filed a complaint at the airport’s tourist police station, assisted by the officer who helped get them their 75 baht back.
SOURCE: KhaoSod