German Man Still In ICU After Dispute With Phuket Tuk-Tuk Driver

[webfact]

German man still in ICU after dispute with Phuket tuk-tuk driver

Mr Trotnow refused to pay 100 baht for a tuk-tuk ride from Aroonsom Plaza

to Tai Pan, a distance of about 800 meters.

PHUKET: -- A German man is in intensive care fighting for his life after he was beaten by a mob of Phuket tuk-tuk drivers for refusing to pay a fare of 100 baht (approx US$3.35).

Kathu Police Duty Officer Teerasuk Boonsang told the Phuket Gazette that he was called to the scene, near the junction of Soi Bangla and Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Road in Patong, at 11pm on Thursday.

The victim, Kurt Trotnow, 53, and his wife took a tuk-tuk from Aroonsom Plaza to the Tai Pan nightclub, Capt Teerasuk said.

The journey is about 800 meters along the southbound Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Road.

“When they arrived, the driver charged them 200 baht, but Mr Trotnow insisted paying only 100 baht,” said Capt Teerasuk.

The maximum fare to be charged by tuk-tuks within Patong is 200 baht, as set by the Patong Taxi Federation in February.

“They had an argument, and Mr Trotnow pushed the driver down onto the road and walked away,” said Capt Teerasuk.

“They happened to meet a brother of Mr Trotnow’s wife. The brother operates a motorcycle taxi there and he tried to help by offering to pay 100 baht of the fare, but Mr Kurt didn’t agree,” he said.

The couple then started walking back towards Aroonsom Plaza when they were set upon by a gang of men.

Some of the attackers reportedly kept kicking Mr Trotnow while he was on the ground, then ran away, Capt Teerasuk said.

Mr Trotnow was taken to Patong Hospital, then transfered to Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town where doctors did an emergency operation to stem bleeding in the brain.

Mr Trotnow is now in intensive care at Phuket International Hospital.

A nurse at the ICU today told the Gazette that Mr Trotnow had not regained full consciousness.

“He can open his eyes sometimes, but he still needs a respirator, and he still has some bleeding in the brain,” the nurse said.

Capt Teerasuk said the investigation was floundering due to lack of detailed information.

“Mr Trotnow and his wife were very drunk. I questioned his wife but she could not remember the face of the tuk-tuk driver or even remember what happened that night,” he said.

CCTV has been of little help.

“The CCTV cameras at Soi Bangla are too far from the scene. The dark and the rain at the time of the incident makes it very difficult to make anything out of the footage.

“I am now checking with the CCTVs of restaurants around there to see if any other cameras recorded the attack,” he said.

Capt Teerasuk highlighted the importance of being able to identify the attackers.

“If they [Mr Trotnow and his wife] cannot remember what happened, or remember any of the attackers’ faces, we will not be able to charge anyone for this,” he said.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/news/detail.asp?id=10896

-- Phuket Gazette 2011-08-29

related topics:

Tuk-Tuk Drivers Surrender To Phuket Police

More Phuket Tuk-Tuk Drivers Move Toward Standard Fares

[steffi]

Violence like this should not be tolerated regardless of the amount in question. If the authorities don't crack down then Phuket isn't safe. You cannot just kick the shit out of somebody because you lost face and expect to get away with it.

[Asianrider]

This follows hard on the heels of the new "Miracle Thailand " campaign NOT !!

[Tibo27]

I don't know if I am more tired of reading always the same story about tuktuk drivers in Phuket or by the fact that Thai-visa loves sharing those informations that will only end up by having a flood of comments on how tuktuk drivers are mafia, how corrupted is the police, how can one be stupid enough to believe that government will do something etc...

News are quite often the same and comments are quite often similar.

[steffi]

I wouldn't worry since the new government will eventually silence the media like the past.

[Tokay]

"CCTV has been of little help.

“The CCTV cameras at Soi Bangla are too far from the scene. The dark and the rain at the time of the incident makes it very difficult to make anything out of the footage."

The CCTV cameras are always "of little help."

[pete66]

100B is perfectly fair, too much even. 200B is just a rip-off.

So his wife is a local Thai and suddenly can't remember anything that happened? How bloody convenient .......

Not to mention soon after meeting her brother, there is suddenly a gang to hand. A call placed perhaps?

Yet again, looks like a case of choose your Thai "relatives" very carefully.

Edited August 29, 2011 by pete66

[Boss]

I'm sure Mrs. Trotnow's brother can reveil the motorbike taxi driver and maybe even the gang of assaultants - - NOT

Risking your life for THB 100 is meaningless. Downing the driver was not very smart...

Stay away from the Patong rat hole.

[Travelish]

This follows hard on the heels of the new "Miracle Thailand " campaign NOT !!

It is a miracle he survived...

[pete66]

I'm sure Mrs. Trotnow's brother can reveil the motorbike taxi driver and maybe even the gang of assaultants - - NOT

Risking your life for THB 100 is meaningless. Downing the driver was not very smart...

Stay away from the Patong rat hole.

I agree "downing the driver" is not smart. But who's account do we have so far? The "too drunk to remember" wife? Sure as heck sounds like the German is in no condition to talk at the moment ....

[DiamondKing]

This follows hard on the heels of the new "Miracle Thailand " campaign NOT !!

The Miracle will be if he survives. so last week the top cop had a meeting with these thugs telling them no more tourist beatings and VOILA the next week a guys is beaten unconcious

Whats it going to take before this stuff stops ? EVEN A TOURIST DEATH wont stop it I predict.

Phuket is a place to avoid like the plague a den of thugs what with the Jet Skis and the Tuk Tuk drivers and regular tourist beatings

DK

[thaikahuna]

A one Km. meter taxi in Bangkok would only be 35 baht. *** the damned tuk tuks. They tried to rip me off for 400 baht for 4 people to go the same distance when I was there last year. I told them to *** off and I would walk rather than pay their extortion. The authorities do not care. The reason is simple, THAI RAK THAI and blood is thicker than water. As foreigners we do not matter. When the hell are people going to wake up and vote with their feet and walk? Let the bastards starve because the responsible parties will NEVER see the inside of a jail cell let alone be arrested for what they have done.

[dmcguire70]

This follows hard on the heels of the new "Miracle Thailand " campaign NOT !!

Some times It's just better to shut your mouth and pay the extra 100 baht.Pushing the tuk tuk driver and making him lose face didn't help matters either. If he had of agreed to pay 50 baht ,

both parties could have sorted it out without the guy ending up in ICU.

[haveaniceday]

42 baht in a Bangkok aircon cab even factoring traffic jams = 200b in Phuket !!!!! Still amazes me why people go there?

The bit about the Patong Taxi Federation was rather cute !!!! A group of mafia tuk tuk drivrrs that call them selves a federation.

Amazing Thailand

Miracle Thailand

[crazykopite]

I agree "downing the driver" is not smart. But who's account do we have so far? The "too drunk to remember" wife? Sure as heck sounds like the German is in no condition to talk at the moment ....

It will be a miracle if this man regains this senseless beating. It will be a bigger miracle if any Tha is brought to justice

Edited August 29, 2011 by LivinginKata
reformatted to lower case

[Poke]

Violence like this should not be tolerated regardless of the amount in question. If the authorities don't crack down then Phuket isn't safe. You cannot just kick the shit out of somebody because you lost face and expect to get away with it.

An Australian staff member of the British Club in Bangkok was attacked Thursday evening by a taxi driver with a machette. 200 stiches, face, neck, and arms.

Not sure what happened preceeding the attack but this is not the kind of thing that happens in Singapore or Tokyo. Tourist office might want to get on this or planes will be empty again.

[Tibo27]

Some times It's just better to shut your mouth and pay the extra 100 baht.Pushing the tuk tuk driver and making him lose face didn't help matters either. If he had of agreed to pay 50 baht ,

both parties could have sorted it out without the guy ending up in ICU.

Agreed, however "pushing" the driver is what came out from the police report. I guess it justify the beating a bit more than if the german guy did not touch the tuktuk driver at all.

No idea what happened there of course, but with or without the pushing, I am pretty much sure that our german fellow would have end up in the ICU. Like anyone would believe the fight won't have start if the farang did not "push" the driver (or simply touched him while the driver was standing on his way...)

[ScubaBuddha]

I don't know if I am more tired of reading always the same story about tuktuk drivers in Phuket or by the fact that Thai-visa loves sharing those informations that will only end up by having a flood of comments on how tuktuk drivers are mafia, how corrupted is the police, how can one be stupid enough to believe that government will do something etc...

News are quite often the same and comments are quite often similar.

Really? I'm really confused by your comment. Your not sure which bothers you more?...a group of above the law thugs repeatedly hospitalizing tourists or news outlets reporting it and the subsequent peoples comments about it? Your solution then is to stop reporting it? Wow...I guess you got your priorities in line then. How about you just stop reading the news then? Problem solved.

This is becomeing a weekly thing. It's getting hard to keep all the tuk tuk beatings straight. Can nobody stop them?

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Tuk tuk driver questioned over sexual assault of British girl.

Swedish Tourist Punched by Tuk Tuk driver.

Tuk Tuk Violence

Local expat gets major beatdown by 4 tuk tuk drivers.

Crazy tuk tuk driver tries to run me off the road.

Tuk tuk driver stabs Welshman

4 Aussie tourists beaten and stabbed by gang of tuk tuk drivers

Tuk Tuks in Patong

Tuk-tuks warned: ‘improve or die’

Tuk Tuk fares still to high: Consuls

PM turns spotlight on Phuket problems

Taxi driver charged with rape

Phuket Cruise ship passengers blockaded

Tuk tuk driver assaults a Canadian man after the man refused to pay the extortionate price for a 1 minute ride

Tuk-tuks blockade US military in Phuket.

Governor lays out strategy for war on ‘taxi mafia’

Tuk-tuk drivers in protest over access to port

Eco-tour firms protest tuk tuk ‘bullies’

Issues and Answers: Why aren't parking rules enforced (on tuk tuks) in Karon?

Issues and Answers: Tuk-tuks in Kata-Karon

Issues and Answers: Action on tuk-tuk rip-offs

Issuea and Answers: Why no bus between Kata/Karon and Patong? Answer: Bus driver was pulled from his bus and beaten by "competition."

Issues and Answers: "Government intervention will be needed to create a new taxi service in Phuket." - Pol Lt Col Teeraphol Thipjaroen, Deputy Traffic Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station

"Stay away from tuk tuks and ladyboys" Says Phuket Governor

The Sydney Morning Herald: Phuket rip-off: the trouble with tuk-tuks

Fodor's Travel Guide: Phuket Tuk Tuks and exorbitant charges.

Lonely Planet Travel Guide: Phuket tuk tuk warning

Tripadvisor: Phuket's Tuk Tuks are still at it.

iPetition: Governor Wichai - ban the Phuket tuk-tuks!

Making Phukets Tuk Tuks, Taxi's Fair

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Tuk tuk problems solved soon: Phuket Governor

Tat 'worried' About Phuket Tuk-tuk Gangs

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Tuk tuks no good

Time for action

A recent visitors comments about the taxi mafia

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Would you believe it..Police citing the taxi mafia?

Beating the taxi fares/

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Phuket consuls keep pressure on tuk-tuk, jet-ski scams

Phuket tuk tuk fares in the firing line

Paradise Lost

Phuket officials tackle tuk tuk blockades

Good old Phuket tuk tuks at it again

Phukets must do's and don'ts

How do you get around Phuket cheaply?

.

Edited August 29, 2011 by ScubaBuddha

[BlackJack]

The local Government is POWERLESS to stop these hoods

[LivinLOS]

The bit about the Patong Taxi Federation was rather cute !!!! A group of mafia tuk tuk drivrrs that call them selves a federation.

Actually its all part of the issue.. theres about 600 tuktuks in the Patong group (theres others too like saloon cars) according to published figures.. They pay 10k a month in member fees.. So Pians son sits o top of the administration of 6 mil in monthly federation fees..

That buys a lot of non working video cameras !! They are paying a fee, and they know that is 'protection' hence they are merely getting their moneys worth out of the situation. Totally logical from that point of view.

[scalper]

How can the capt knows the german guy pushed the driver as nobody was there and the wife remember nothing!!

[OliverPludra]

Very strange...if his wife can't remember anything, how do they know all the details of what was happening before???

[ScubaBuddha]

To be fair to the tuk tuk drivers, the police chief only warned them about blockading roads after the last gang beat up some tourists. Beating tourists to within an inch of their life is still clearly fair game.

Edited August 29, 2011 by ScubaBuddha

[me313]

200 baht equals approximately 4 and a half Euros. A German paying anything less than ten euros for such a trip in Germany would be lucky indeed. While this is not Germany, the foreigners come here expecting everything for cheap and to push people around, just like that German just pushed the tuk-tuk driver to the ground because there was an argument. We don't have the whole story, because as was noted, the German couple were drunk, it is possible they are putting themselves in a much better light than they have behaved, and the Tuk-tuk driver cannot be located because 200 baht is not an incredibly high price to pay for a taxi ride in the rain in the middle of the night.

[Pool Boy]

The victim, Kurt Trotnow, 53, and his wife took a tuk-tuk from Aroonsom Plaza to the Tai Pan nightclub, Capt Teerasuk said.

“When they arrived, the driver charged them 200 baht, but Mr Trotnow insisted paying only 100 baht,” said Capt Teerasuk.

“They had an argument, and Mr Trotnow pushed the driver down onto the road and walked away,” said Capt Teerasuk.

“They happened to meet a brother of Mr Trotnow’s wife. The brother operates a motorcycle taxi there and he tried to help by offering to pay 100 baht of the fare, but Mr Kurt didn’t agree,” he said. (Capt Teerasuk)

The couple then started walking back towards Aroonsom Plaza when they were set upon by a gang of men. (acc. To Capt Teerasuk??)

Some of the attackers reportedly kept kicking Mr Trotnow while he was on the ground, then ran away, Capt Teerasuk said.

This captain seems to know aw awful lot, bearing in mind that neither the victim or his wife could report anything.

[LivinginKata]

Post (& reply) advocating gun use has been removed.

[ThaiSold]

This guy had a Thai wife so he knows the deal with Tuk Tuk's. You negotiate the fair before you hop in not after. While I don't condone the Tuk Tuk drivers actions,I don't agree with what the German did either. Honestly when something like this happens it's usually provocked by the actions of the passenger. Most of these Tuk Tuk drivers are probably using Meth there's no logic to them be smart about things, I don't care how much of a tough guy you think you are when thais attack you, you can't possibly repel 10 guys at once geez. Ask how much the fare is, don't like it walk ask someone else and say thank you. Crazy stuff, i bet he's regretting his own actions sitting there in hospital.

[Scott]

I hope he makes a full and complete recovery.

[pete66]

200 baht equals approximately 4 and a half Euros. A German paying anything less than ten euros for such a trip in Germany would be lucky indeed. While this is not Germany, the foreigners come here expecting everything for cheap and to push people around, just like that German just pushed the tuk-tuk driver to the ground because there was an argument. We don't have the whole story, because as was noted, the German couple were drunk, it is possible they are putting themselves in a much better light than they have behaved, and the Tuk-tuk driver cannot be located because 200 baht is not an incredibly high price to pay for a taxi ride in the rain in the middle of the night.

What a load of tosh. 200B is a rip-off in Thailand. They weren't in Germany. Who cares what it costs in Germany? Its like saying beer costs $10 a bottle "back home" so don't worry if you get charged $10 a bottle in a country where it costs $2.

And it wasn't a German couple, it was German man with a Thai wife, apparently from Phuket. So she would know very well 200B is "tourist rip-off" price, as obviously did he as well.

<deleted> has the rain got to do with this?

One lesson of course is to always negotiate the price before you get in, then you can avoid having your head kicked in at the other end.

[manarak]

What a stupid story if true.

In Thailand, everyone always meets stupider than himself.

The result...