Van driver suspended over road rage
Phuket passenger van driver Kiattisak Tharaporn, 40, who assaulted another van driver at Phuket International Airport on Jan 16, has had his driver’s licence suspended for 180 days.
The suspension was reported by the Phuket Info Center (PIC) on Jan 19. Phuket Provincial Police and the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO), which is responsible for all public transport on the island, at time of press still had yet to publicly recognise the incident.
The branch of Airports of Thailand that operates Phuket airport (AoT Phuket) has reportedly asked the police to press charges of the assault, the PIC report noted.
The report also noted that AoT Phuket had asked the court “to order a ban on entering the area” after finding out that he had a history “of being punished many times before”.
Of note, AoT Phuket has full authority on which taxis and passenger vans may enter airport grounds, a point AoT Phuket made very clear when banning taxi app drivers in the name of ‘security’.
According to the Phuket Info Center, the driver, Kiattisak Tharaporn, 40, apologised for the assault.
The assault gained attention from local officials only after a video of the incident started to go viral on local social media channels, showing the assault taking place in full view of tourists at the airport.
Police began investigating the assault after the video shared online showed one van driver repeatedly kicking another van driver, prompting the second van driver to flee into the departures terminal. The assault occurred in full view of tourists at the front of the terminal building.
Pol Capt Kornphumphot Pongpaiboon of the Sakhu Police confirmed that he was informed of the incident at 8:39pm on Jan 16.
Officers arrived and found the two drivers, Kiattisak and his victim, van driver Songsak Gasman, 34. Both were sent to Thalang Hospital for physical examination while police are continuing their investigation, Capt Kornphumphot said.
The video clip showed Mr Songsak pulling up in front of the departures terminal in a white passenger van. Mr Songsak exited the vehicle to remove luggage from the back of the van.
Kiattisak pulled up in his van, silver in colour, in the next lane. Kiattisak exited the van and directly approached Mr Songsak.
Following a brief exchange of words, Kiattisak kicked Mr Songsak in the stomach. He kicked Mr Songsak a second time, knocking Mr Songsak backward and onto the ground. A third kick was blocked as Mr Songsak backed away.
Kiattisak continued to follow Mr Songsak, with one kick missing his target and landing Kiattisak on the ground by his own efforts, giving Mr Songsak the chance to flee into the terminal building.
Meanwhile, tourists in front of the terminal witnessed the entire assault.
Mr Songsak told reporters on Jan 18 that the incident originated from when the two vans were travelling along in Soi Bang Ma Lao Soi 6, near the entrance to The Slate Hotel.
Kiattisak accused Mr Songsak of cutting him off. Mr Songsak strongly denied the accusation. Kiattisak then followed Mr Songsak as he drove to the airport.
When Mr Songsak saw Kiattisak pull up at the airport, he thought Kiattisak wanted to continue to just talk about the incident, which was obviously not the case.
THUGS APLENTY
Meanwhile, disparaging comments about the violent nature of Phuket’s taxi and van drivers continued online, with yet another incident reported by Phuket Info Center..
A fully legal app taxi dropped off a passenger at a “famous restaurant” in Pasak Soi 8, Cherng Talay, at about 10pm on Jan 18.
A passenger van then blocked the woman’s exit from the area while a man from the taxi queue nearby approached the woman’s car. The man, presumably a local taxi driver, saw the woman recording on video on her phone, prompting him to threaten her.
The man tried to open the door to the car, but the doors were locked, so the man snapped off a windshield wiper and walked away.
The woman said a formal complaint had been filed with Cherng Talay Police.