Minivan Driver Charged after Threatening Taxi Driver with Knife at Phuket Intersection

Phuket-

In Phuket, a minivan driver named Mr. Thanong, aged 57, has turned himself in to the police following the spread of a video on social media. The video, which became popular on Saturday, April 27th, appears to show him threatening a taxi driver with a knife at an intersection near a department store in Wichit.

The incident occurred at the Darasamut Intersection, where both the minivan and the taxi were waiting at a U-turn point before a red light. Mr. Thanong is seen exiting the minivan and approaching the taxi while holding a small knife. The video does not show what transpired following their conversation, as it ends abruptly.

Colonel Chatree Choowichean, the Wichit Police Chief, informed the Phuket Express that they reached out to Mr. Thanong after the video went viral. He subsequently surrendered at the Wichit Police Station. Mr. Thanong underwent alcohol breath and urine tests, both of which returned negative results.

Mr. Thanong explained to the police that the altercation began when he honked at the taxi for driving slowly in the right lane. This led to a heated exchange between the two drivers, although no passengers were present in either vehicle at the time.

Mr. Thanong is now facing charges for carrying a weapon in public without a valid reason and for threatening another individual.

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Goongnang Suksawat
Goong Nang is a News Translator who has worked professionally for multiple news organizations in Thailand for many years and has worked with The Pattaya News for five years. Specializes primarily in local news for Phuket, Pattaya, and also some national news, with emphasis on translation between Thai to English and working as an intermediary between reporters and English-speaking writers. Originally from Nakhon Si Thammarat, but lives in Phuket and Krabi except when commuting between the three.