Pattaya—
On October 28th, 2023, the Pattaya City police officers received a complaint about motorcycle taxi drivers at Walking Street, South Pattaya, Bang Lamung, Chonburi.
The victims were Mr. Sathit Ruenjit, 41, and his girlfriend, Ms. Aranya Phato, 33. They revealed to Thai media that early in the morning on October 26th, 2023, Sathit parked his motorcycle on the roadside of Walking Street to pick his girlfriend up after work. However, one of what Sathit called alleged “taxi mafia” members chased Sathit away before punching him in the face. Another man then threatened Sathit his life and claimed to have support from an alleged influential figure.
It’s unclear according to Sathit exactly why they attacked him, with the matter under investigation. One possibility brought up by police is that the taxi drivers may have thought Sathit was a mobile app driver, their competitor.
Meanwhile, Aranya had captured some footage of the incident and handed it to the Pattaya police officers as evidence.
Initially, the Pattaya City police officers performed a field inspection to find the alleged “taxi mafia” members. The two alleged taxi drivers who physically assaulted and threatened Sathit were fined 2,000 baht each without further legal proceedings. Their names however were not released by police.
According to news reports from locals, similar incidents have occurred many times, however, the police officers have taken action but could not completely eradicate continued complaints about taxi drivers.
