Police have arrested a taxi driver who allegedly slashed to death an American passenger with a sword.
Cherdchai Utamacha, 32, is accused of killing Troy Lee Pilkington, 50, after an argument over a THB51 (USD1.6) fare turned violent near Sukhumvit Soi 68 on Saturday evening.
Cherdchai admitted to killing Pilkington shortly after his arrest.
According to the police, Cherdchai picked up Pilkington near Central Bangna department store and was planning on taking him to his residence in Sukhumvit Soi 85. During the trip the pair encountered a traffic jam and Pilkington became irate. The passenger allegedly yelled at his driver, claimed he had been cheated and then walked away from the cab with the meter displaying a THB51 fare.
As his passenger stalked away, Cherdchai rolled down his window and demanded payment. In response Pilkington tossed an empty coffee cup at the driver. Cherdchai then removed an 18-cm-long blade from his trunk to threaten the American, he claimed.
The dispute quickly escalated into a struggle which ended once Cherdchai knifed Pilkington several times. The attack was captured on a nearby camera and uploaded to Youtube. After the attack, Cherdchai dumped the machete into a canal and threw away his shirt.
Police have recovered both items from the two spots, the Bangkok Post reported Sunday.
Police said the slain American had lived in Thailand for more than three years and could speak Thai fluently. He had a Thai girlfriend and lived with her in Soi Sukhumvit 85.
dynjo says
Tragic and senseless but let this be a lesson to all tourists, do not go head to head with taxi drivers, especially not over 51THB! If you have a problem with a fair, note the taxi number, smile, pay and then call 1584 to report the driver.
Westerners fight to win, Thais fight to kill.