Woman reports theft, attempted rape by taxi driver on Chatuchak Expressway

By Suriya Patathayo 
The Nation

 

 

A 28-year-old woman filed a police complaint on Sunday accusing a taxi driver of diverting from the route to her destination while she dozed off due to drunkenness, then robbing her of her valuables and attempting to rape her at a roadside spot on Chatuchak Expressway in Bangkok’s Khan Na Yao district at around 1am on Saturday.

 

The woman, whose name was withheld, filed the complaint at 11am on Sunday with Sai Mai police station and also submitted as evidence CCTV footage from a restaurant in Soi Thong Lor 10 area where she hailed the taxi for a ride to Ratchadapisek area. 

 

 

Th woman initially said she did not remember much of the detail, said police. Sai Mai deputy inspector Pol Captain Sathit Phaokaew brought her to the scene on the expressway where she reportedly escaped the suspect’s vehicle and called for help from passing motorists while the suspect fled.

 

As the area was in Khannayao precinct’s jurisdiction, police forwarded her case to the responsible precinct, Sathit said.

 

 

The woman said that she was drunk and dozed off after getting in the taxi. She said she woke to find the taxi had pulled over on Chatuchak Expressway near the exit to Sukhaphiban 5 Road and the driver – who she described as a middle-age man – was sitting in the backseat with her trying to molest and rape her.

 

She said she fought back and opened the door to get out of vehicle and called for help from passing motorists, prompting the suspect to flee. She later found that Bt2,000 of cash in her wallet was gone along with the gold ring on her finger.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30344243

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-04-30

A sleepy drunk young women, so drunk she can't even remember

what went on, wearing gold jewelry, alone in a tax on a long ride home,

what could go wrong i wonder...

43 minutes ago, ezzra said:

A sleepy drunk young women, so drunk she can't even remember

what went on, wearing gold jewelry, alone in a tax on a long ride home,

what could go wrong i wonder...

 

I hope you aren't victim blaming here ??

"You are on very thin ice, my Pedigree Chum"

Apparently not all drain covers and damp patches are the same when drunk.

2 hours ago, ezzra said:

A sleepy drunk young women, so drunk she can't even remember

what went on, wearing gold jewelry, alone in a tax on a long ride home,

what could go wrong i wonder...

I am one of those that express the belief that you need to take some responsibility for your actions, BUT, not in this case.

You should be able to have a little too much to drink, doze off, and expect to arrive safely delivered by the taxi. (this is coming from someone who does not drink)

As to the "bling"; a girl should be able to go out on the town wearing her jewelry (that is what it is for after all)

 

 

Are there criminal background checks performed on taxi drivers prior to issuance of a permit or licence? Is a criminal record a requirement?

14 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Are there criminal background checks performed on taxi drivers prior to issuance of a permit or licence? Is a criminal record a requirement?

 

There are no such things as criminal checks in most companies in Smile-land, because a lot of thugs get free after less than a year every time they're caught in related crimes........

2 hours ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

I hope you aren't victim blaming here ??

"You are on very thin ice, my Pedigree Chum"

Never been the same since havibg to remove his Harvey weinstein posters

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

Are there criminal background checks performed on taxi drivers prior to issuance of a permit or licence? Is a criminal record a requirement?

A report issued by police some years ago said that around 40% of Bangkok taxis were unlicensed. That is probably still true and a lot of the drivers don’t even have a regular driving license, let alone a commercial vehicle license which might require a criminal background clearance when you apply or renew.

 

I had had a collision with a taxi in Wireless Road which U turned without looking and broke its axle. At the Lumpini cop shop the driver admitted he had no driving license and had never even applied for one. He encountered the full force of the law for this offense in front of me - a B500 fine!

 

The taxi cooperatives are controlled by influential figures who need to rent out their cabs. They are supposed to check criminal records and licenses but can easily sort our any misunderstandings that may arise with police or the Dept of Land Transport.

Taxis in Thailand are no longer safe, they rob old people coming in from the airport, and now they rape.... there should be a standardized system in issuing taxi driving licenses...police background checks? Character statements for the "Phu Yai Baan", ...etc. Though Thailand has become a must go to tourist destination, and the Thai Tourist associations doing so much in all kinds area the one and most important area they have left out is "Safety".... That is why it is still a developing country I suppose!!!!

2 hours ago, DoctorG said:

I am one of those that express the belief that you need to take some responsibility for your actions, BUT, not in this case.

You should be able to have a little too much to drink, doze off, and expect to arrive safely delivered by the taxi. (this is coming from someone who does not drink)

As to the "bling"; a girl should be able to go out on the town wearing her jewelry (that is what it is for after all)

 

 

Very well said.

 

And kudos to the brave girl, many would have just written the incident off as a loss of money and ring rather than face the media and so-called socials. I hope her privacy is respected as much as possible.

2 hours ago, pmh2009 said:

That is why it is still a developing country I suppose!!!!

 

i'm not really sure why Thailand is still a developing country when it has been on Planet Earth for as long as other countries and is so proud of a supposedly long and rich culture.

Last time I was in Bangkok I was told that the BTS stopped at 11pm. Not sure about the underground.

If they stayed operational longer it would give many people the opportunity to get nearer home before hiring a taxi or motorbike.

London underground recently opened 24/7.

 

7 hours ago, ezzra said:

A sleepy drunk young women, so drunk she can't even remember

what went on, wearing gold jewelry, alone in a tax on a long ride home,

what could go wrong i wonder...

She ends up being blamed for the actions of a scum bag predatory rapist piece of filth?

59 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

i'm not really sure why Thailand is still a developing country when it has been on Planet Earth for as long as other countries and is so proud of a supposedly long and rich culture.

Because they only want to 'develop' the bits they like and don't want to change anything else !

I really don't understand some of the innuendo used by some posters here, I really don't care what country anyone happens to be in whether it be Thailand, India, good ole USA, UK, Europe or anywhere else, people, particularly women should to be able to confidently use public transport, whether that be a bus, train or taxi without fear of being assaulted, molested, raped or robbed.

 

The fact that she had been for a night out with friends, had had a few sherbets, was wearing some jewelry is irrelevant, she did the sensible thing and got a cab home, she had every right to expect to be delivered safely to her place of residence without being attacked.

 

A sleeping, slightly inebriated female is not an invitation to rape and robbery, sheesh some of you people.........  

29 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

I really don't understand some of the innuendo used by some posters here, I really don't care what country anyone happens to be in whether it be Thailand, India, good ole USA, UK, Europe or anywhere else, people, particularly women should to be able to confidently use public transport, whether that be a bus, train or taxi without fear of being assaulted, molested, raped or robbed.

 

The fact that she had been for a night out with friends, had had a few sherbets, was wearing some jewelry is irrelevant, she did the sensible thing and got a cab home, she had every right to expect to be delivered safely to her place of residence without being attacked.

 

A sleeping, slightly inebriated female is not an invitation to rape and robbery, sheesh some of you people.........  

Whilst I support the body of your post perhaps you could be a little more careful of the generalizations as I believe that there has only been one poster who went near to blaming the victim.

4 hours ago, pmh2009 said:

Taxis in Thailand are no longer safe, they rob old people coming in from the airport, and now they rape.... there should be a standardized system in issuing taxi driving licenses...police background checks? Character statements for the "Phu Yai Baan", ...etc. Though Thailand has become a must go to tourist destination, and the Thai Tourist associations doing so much in all kinds area the one and most important area they have left out is "Safety".... That is why it is still a developing country I suppose!!!!

If you put in all those checks then people would be spending a long time at the side of the road trying to find a taxi. It is a sad fact that in Thailand you cannot trust a taxi driver to simply do his job. As for being a developing country I agree, it is developing but in all the wrong ways.

8 hours ago, Arkady said:

A report issued by police some years ago said that around 40% of Bangkok taxis were unlicensed. That is probably still true and a lot of the drivers don’t even have a regular driving license, let alone a commercial vehicle license which might require a criminal background clearance when you apply or renew.

"Some years ago..."?  So what's relevance of that comment today and your subsequent ridiculous speculation? 

4 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

She ends up being blamed for the actions of a scum bag predatory rapist piece of filth?

Did he rape her?

since she did not add the "failure to use meter" complaint can we assume at he agreed to use the meter.  perhaps in his brain as he couldn't cheat her on the fare he'd just rob and molest her.

5 hours ago, Lemonltr said:

Last time I was in Bangkok I was told that the BTS stopped at 11pm. Not sure about the underground.

If they stayed operational longer it would give many people the opportunity to get nearer home before hiring a taxi or motorbike.

London underground recently opened 24/7.

 

The last train from the BTS depot leaves at midnight, always has done, so, depending which station you're at, it can be used up to about 12.25am ish.  Last train that stops at Asoke outbound is 12.15am.

12 hours ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

I hope you aren't victim blaming here ??

"You are on very thin ice, my Pedigree Chum"

Hmmm. Well, I blame her for having poor judgement, she got sh*t faced and then hopped into a totally unknown taxi, alone, early in the morning, where did she think she was, certainly not in Bangkok apparently.

 

Of course in a perfect world young nubile girls should be able to do such things and all taxi drivers would act like complete gentlemen, all of the time...........beam me up Mr Scott, planet surreal is not for us. 

41 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

Did he rape her?

Doesn't make a difference in my book.

 

Any scum who attempts rape should be treated as the filth they are and judged as a rapist.

10 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Are there criminal background checks performed on taxi drivers prior to issuance of a permit or licence? Is a criminal record a requirement?

 

Being ornery is a requirement, it seems.

 

 

39 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

Being ornery is a requirement, it seems.

 

 

No doubt about that, armed too!

2 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

Doesn't make a difference in my book.

 

Any scum who attempts rape should be treated as the filth they are and judged as a rapist.

So he didn't.

7 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

So he didn't.

Read my post carefully. 

2 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

Read my post carefully. 

I did, and he didn't rape her.  Those are facts, the rest of your quote that I don't need to read again is just your opinion.

3 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

I did, and he didn't rape her.  Those are facts, the rest of your quote that I don't need to read again is just your opinion.

Good. 

 

Then you  know how I feel about this rapist filth.