A cabbie that grossly overcharged his Chinese tourist passengers recently was arrested last night.
Driver Surachai Sritapthai charged a group of Chinese tourists THB2,540 for riding from BTS Phaya Thai station to the Tara Place hotel in Samsen area.
Their journey should have only cost between THB103-THB150 when calculated using the Grab app.
The driver will face charges that are punishable by fine and imprisonment.
He was arrested yesterday after the staff of Tara Place Hotel called the tourist police and explained what happened. The tourists paid the large fee but had complained about the high fare and had taken pictures of the meter and the cab’s license plate.
Surachai was found at Condo City Home on Soi Ratchadapisek 10 and was taken to the police station. He was identified on a video call with the tourists.
The driver claimed that he pushed the wrong button on the meter, leading it to display the code number of 2540 instead of the fare.
Police announced that dishonest drivers can display this code instead of the fare in order to cheat foreign tourists that are unsure of what the fare should be.
Surachai has no license and has committed similar crimes in the past. He had also altered the license plate number of the cab, reported Thai PBS.
Police said he will have to pay a THB1,000 fine and stay in prison for a month for driving without a license and cheating. They are considering giving a harsher punishment and fining the cab’s owner, who is Surachai’s brother.
No word on whether he had to return the THB2,540 to the tourists.
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