Hot-headed cabbie turns self in to police, denies robbery
A taxi driver filmed kicking two passengers out of her cab halfway through a journey issued a public apology yesterday, but it was not enough to escape charges brought against her.
Phusadee Anchanphati, who appeared in a video clip uploaded on March 28 having a heated argument with the passengers, reported to Bang Khen police station yesterday.
After the video clip went viral on social media, authorities said she was the subject of at least two more complaints filed by passengers in 2014 and 2015 and that police were looking for her.
She later contacted police and arranged to turn herself in yesterday.
In 2015, an arrest warrant was issued for her following a complaint filed with Bang Khen police for allegedly stealing 10,000 baht from a passenger at knifepoint.
She denied stealing the 10,000 baht and using a knife, but admitted keeping one in her cab for self-defence purposes.
Regarding the latest complaint, she said she picked up a couple of passengers, a mother and daughter, from the Platinum shopping mall in the Pratunam area who wanted to go to the Charan Sanitwong area.
Traffic was very bad so the daughter told her to take a shortcut down a small soi, which she did, Ms Phusadee told reporters at Bang Khen police station.
When they became stuck in traffic again, the passengers accused her of deliberately taking a long route.
It was then she told them to get out, but they refused, the cabbie said.
A heated argument ensued after which the passengers walked away.
The mother was about to pay the fare but the daughter told her not to do so, Ms Phusadee said.
That led to her to try and grab some banknotes from the mother’s hands which were torn in the struggle, she said.
Ms Phusadee said she wanted to apologise to the passengers, adding she had stopped working as a taxi driver since the incident.
She admitted to losing her temper at times and having anger management issues stemming from financial problems. This had led to many arguments with passengers.
Ms Phusadee was later led away by Phahon Yothin police wanting to charge her under a 2014 warrant for stealing 2,000 baht and ejecting a passenger before injuring her alleged victim as she sped off.
Ms Phusadee denied the theft, saying the taxi fair was only 53 baht.
Wichien Petchamnong, her lawyer, said Ms Phusadee used to own a Japanese restaurant in Silom but went bankrupt because of the political unrest in 2010.
Her house and property were then seized by banks.
The court later granted her bail set at 200,000 baht.