Video: Bangkok bus driver filmed attacking passenger, gets fined 1,000 Baht

[connda]

1000 baht fine? Then you wonder why assault and battery is so prevalent in the country. No one goes to jail until they kill someone. And then maybe it's 50-50.

I guess being 'just a guest' here, we should all just accept the 'pressure cooker with a hair-trigger', maniacal, Jekyll and Hyde personalities of most Thai males. Obviously, their behavior is socially acceptable here in the Land of Smile. There are no real sanctions for this type of behavior, so it must be a cultural norm.

[Fairynuff]

The person doing the video was not merely politely inquiring in a mild and civilized manner whether there was any reason for a certain bus not to stop at a certain bus stop, there must of course have been some very serious reason for the guy and woman in the video to be so upset, more to the story will come.....

Yes of course there's more to the story. That idiot with the camera wanted the bus to stop for him. Who the hell does he think he is. They had every right to beat him

[meltingpot2015]

So that's what the bus stop sign is for....

[Bangkok Barry]

What a joke. And then they wonder why people act the way they do as they seem to be able to get away with GBH/ABH, they pay a small fine and back to work as if nothing has happened. I wonder if this even went down on his record at work, let alone criminal record. The mind boggles and Thai's wonder why we say what we say about them as a culture!!!

True it does tell a lot of the culture and the mentality of its people. impulsive and irresponsible. public responsibility and justice..... well, good luck and see it happen again! This time it was not a chinese, not a Burmese and not any other ASEAN member state...

Educate people to answer questions?

Educate children how to apologise to wrong doings and face consequences without being excused!

Educate Adults through the Buddhist way of living that violence is evil

Educate them that such behaviour is not normal - learn to talk and not gackle like a hen or shout like a fishermonger! public servants, those who serve the public should be well mannered mature people who are willing to help. These ones should be sent to look after animals in the zoo.

And educate bus drivers to stop at bus stops. Shouldn't be too difficult to include it in job training, if there is such a thing. Meanwhile, in the Real World the driver would be arrested for assault. In Thailand he doesn't even lose his job. I hope he doesn't display the same short temper in his driving, but we all know from experience that he probably does.

[Bangkok Barry]

Public servants should be made to understand that the main thing in their working lives, is that they are servants. Serve with respect please.

I read an article some time ago in the BKK Post about how stressful it is working on the buses, no toilet breaks, many wear adult diapers,little time for food etc. it isn't surprising if they sometimes flip out, this instance was a little extreme but as others have said we only have half the story.

They don't have to do the job, do they. Why not work in 7-11 in nice cool aircon all day, for example. Countless other professions available.

[The Deerhunter]

Only 7 days? what is that: Time off for good behaviour?

[jsgatse]

what a joke. a week off from work and a 1,000 thb fine. it's probably worth attacking a customer and paying 1,000 thb to get a week off from work!

Fire this guys a$$. If you want change, you need to change.

[arrowsdawdle]

Who's the nutty woman with the same BMTA uniform attacking the person with the camera?

Customer Relations

.

[manhood]

AMAZING THAILAND: and well the fines in Thailand are just to laugh on it! Even thais does as it not hurt anyone. So no hurt, no change!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All fine must hurt their pockets for a long time!

[jesimps]

Well, perhaps the " customer " was abusive to him, to provoke such a reaction ? We don't know the full story.

Some Westerners would like to put him in jail, to lose the job and become a criminal ?

I know of a country who has death penalty, and the highest number of inmates in the world ( compared to the population ) , yet it seems not a winning strategy.

Sign of the times, anyway, some 15 years ago i happened to use Bkk buses a few times, and i was often left wondering at the high level of civilization displayed by commuters and drivers and fee collectors, even in difficult and chaotic situations.

Glad you clarified that for me, I was beginning to think that it was wrong to attempt to cave someone's head in with a bus stop sign.

[outsider]

OMG, what a heavy punishment for what I guess isn't even considered 'a crime'. Poor bus driver

[mauGR1]

Well, perhaps the " customer " was abusive to him, to provoke such a reaction ? We don't know the full story.

Some Westerners would like to put him in jail, to lose the job and become a criminal ?

I know of a country who has death penalty, and the highest number of inmates in the world ( compared to the population ) , yet it seems not a winning strategy.

Sign of the times, anyway, some 15 years ago i happened to use Bkk buses a few times, and i was often left wondering at the high level of civilization displayed by commuters and drivers and fee collectors, even in difficult and chaotic situations.

Glad you clarified that for me, I was beginning to think that it was wrong to attempt to cave someone's head in with a bus stop sign.

Well, as far as i know, it did not happen. The only caved head is in your post .

I am not apologizing for the bus driver behaviour , btw , i am just trying to compare the nanny-state policy and Thailand policy.

Both policies are flawed, IMHO... 'coz people are not perfect, not even me, and not even you.

... But i know where i chose to live...

[edwarda909]

First there was road rage. Now sidewalk rage.

[mogo51]

Who's the nutty woman with the same BMTA uniform attacking the person with the camera?

What planet do they live on? What is their problem. Goes to show that do not just save it up for farangs.

[Lupatria]

1,000 Baht fine and then back to business as usual....

...because this is considered "peanuts" you have to steal coconuts to go to jail.

[hawker9000]

Yeah, we know, we know. It happens everywhere...

[meltingpot2015]

It's so common...we need something like the G8, G20 to tackle it.

[MockingJay]

As long as these suckers just get a slap on the wrist and everything is being excused just because the reason for the incident has been "explained" (I was angry, I was drunk, I was on drugs, I was whatever), nothing will change.

Now just imagine, the attacker would have been a white expat, attacking a Thai bus driver and his wife... All hell would break lose, public Thai outrage, crackdowns on visas for foreigners, stricter immigration rules and perhaps Psychological screening of whites before being allowed to enter the country would have been implemented. But for Thais, everything, even gunning down a cheating girlfriend in a department store, can be explained.

I am so sick of it.

Thainess at its very low. Every day anew... Land of smiles, my rectum

[Blue Muton]

Well, perhaps the " customer " was abusive to him, to provoke such a reaction ? We don't know the full story.

Some Westerners would like to put him in jail, to lose the job and become a criminal ?

I know of a country who has death penalty, and the highest number of inmates in the world ( compared to the population ) , yet it seems not a winning strategy.

Sign of the times, anyway, some 15 years ago i happened to use Bkk buses a few times, and i was often left wondering at the high level of civilization displayed by commuters and drivers and fee collectors, even in difficult and chaotic situations.

Abusive or not, it's inappropriate for a bus driver to attack a customer for a few inappropriate words. The police should be called and let them handle the situation. The driver should be fired. Or he'll probably do the same thing another day.

Quite. And the guy "became a criminal" as soon as he committed a crime, either this particular assault or more likely on previous occasions. What an absurd suggestion that "some westerners" would like him to "....become a criminal".

[biplanebluey]

The person doing the video was not merely politely inquiring in a mild and civilized manner whether there was any reason for a certain bus not to stop at a certain bus stop, there must of course have been some very serious reason for the guy and woman in the video to be so upset, more to the story will come.....

More to the story? What more do you want------- let's just forget it

[nottocus]

Death penalty.......nah...just kidding.

Certainly shouldn't be allowed to drive a bus again.

[Redline]

That's a normal reaction right? Assaulting a passenger for asking a question. If not, it will be now...

[yasorab]

High time these people were sacked not fined minimum amounts and suspended for as little as 7 days. These are public servants paid to do a job. What does it take to ensure public safety ? or will they just wait until the day someone gets killed. Not very good PR for Thailand in the wider world !

[metisdead]

A post containing a link to another forum has been removed.

[thhMan]

I think for many, Thais lost their original culture years ago and replaced it with what they see on television (soapies and the need to fly off the handle, demand/demean things from the lower class/staff, slap, punch yell etc... as normal way of life )...

My wife told me that the person who filmed it, actually verbally abused the driver for not taking them to the destination they wanted to go to immediately, which was the next stop

And that other lady approached the person filming and told her to stop yelling at the driver and being abusive to him

This actually makes more sense, as it explains why the driver went nuts and why that other lady got involved...

So the person filming then posted it online to play the "victim"

So this is maybe why the driver got the punishment he got, since his actions where a result of the abuse shelled out by the customer (person filming) and serves to let the driver know that he should have handled it another way...

You may recall some Thai dude driving backwards, multiple times into the car behind him and claiming "victim" status... This incident seems like a similar situation.... Whine enough and people may believe your BS

[atyclb]

Obviously we are only getting half the story...

yes indeed, he will be fined 10,000 baht for damaging the bus stop sign, after all, its not as if he stole 3 coconuts.

[meltingpot2015]

Quite. And the guy "became a criminal" as soon as he committed a crime, either this particular assault or more likely on previous occasions. What an absurd suggestion that "some westerners" would like him to "....become a criminal".

too many hypothetical's ^...either this or that...this more likely than that...

[GAZZPA]

Well, perhaps the " customer " was abusive to him, to provoke such a reaction ? We don't know the full story.

Some Westerners would like to put him in jail, to lose the job and become a criminal ?

I know of a country who has death penalty, and the highest number of inmates in the world ( compared to the population ) , yet it seems not a winning strategy.

Sign of the times, anyway, some 15 years ago i happened to use Bkk buses a few times, and i was often left wondering at the high level of civilization displayed by commuters and drivers and fee collectors, even in difficult and chaotic situations.

Very interesting viewpoint. Do we all really want this guy to lose his job and receive a criminal record for a moment of stupidity? Now, if the passenger was seriously hurt then sorry that would have to be the case,, however he wasn't. I am not so sure I would. It would be easy to jump on the bandwagon and say fire him, arrest him for assault etc,etc, but I think that may be overboard.

The problem is finding the balance of making the punishment severe enough to be a deterrent and yet not go overboard and emotional. It's not easy but I get the impression that people in Thailand, due to culture, face issue or whatever seem to really fly off the handle and resort to violence all too quickly. It may be an unfair observation but it is how I see it.

This has to be tackled somehow, not sure how but people can't just lose control like this. There has to be a level of verbal communication, raised voices, even some course words before it gets to the point of trying to beat the passenger around the head with a metal sign.

[meltingpot2015]

He's only banned from driving a BUS (for 7 days), right?.

Can he drive a taxi?

[SunsetT]

Well, perhaps the " customer " was abusive to him, to provoke such a reaction ? We don't know the full story.

Some Westerners would like to put him in jail, to lose the job and become a criminal ?

I know of a country who has death penalty, and the highest number of inmates in the world ( compared to the population ) , yet it seems not a winning strategy.

Sign of the times, anyway, some 15 years ago i happened to use Bkk buses a few times, and i was often left wondering at the high level of civilization displayed by commuters and drivers and fee collectors, even in difficult and chaotic situations.

Abusive or not, it's inappropriate for a bus driver to attack a customer for a few inappropriate words. The police should be called and let them handle the situation. The driver should be fired. Or he'll probably do the same thing another day.

I think they need, at very least, something like a 'suspended sentence' to accompany a fine for a 1st violent crime of this nature or any other violent crime. This might deter any further violence offences especially when violent crime in Thailand seems to be on the increase.