A video emerged online showing a taxi driver in Bangkok pulling a knife while trying to intimidate a Singaporean couple after allegedly trying to cheat them of their fare.
The netizen who posted the video, Naomi Tan, spoke to TODAY saying that she was with her husband attending a friend’s wedding in Bangkok.
She said that she was shocked and that she had thought that it was safe there.
The incident happened on 11 July, and the couple were travelling towards the Suvarnabhumi Airport to catch their 8.20am flight back to Singapore.
They were staying at the Movenpick Hotel Sukhumvit 15 Bangkok, and their taxi was hailed from the road by staff members of the hotel.
The driver and the couple had agreed on a fare of 400 baht (SGD $15) after refusing to use the meter inside his taxi to determine the taxi fare.
When they reached the airport, Tan gave the driver a 1,000 baht note but the driver refused to give the couple their change.
He turned aggressive and when the couple pressed him for their change, the driver went to the side door’s compartment and pulled out a knife, which was wrapped in what appears to be a cloth.
The couple then went to an airport security guard for help and the driver finally gave in and gave them back their change.
They then filed a police report at the police station that was inside the airport.
Tan revealed that she received an email from the airport police on 13 July that they have contacted the driver and interrogated him, as well as conducted checks on his license and criminal record.
He was then taken to the Suvarnabhumi Airport Local Police Station to be charged with the offence of carrying a weapon in public, and the Thai Department of Land Transport was also informed of the incident.