PATTAYA, Thailand – Just after midnight on June 2, a tall, large-built Caucasian man wearing white shorts and no shirt hijacked a motorcycle taxi in Soi Nernplubwan, East Pattaya. CCTV footage shows the foreigner shoving the driver aside and fleeing on the motorcycle. The video was posted online with the caption: “Pattaya is wild. Foreigner hijacks a bike. The owner got the bike back, but the foreigner escaped.”
Teerasak Sonjoy, 33, the shop owner who posted the video, described how the foreigner hijacked the motorcycle and crashed into a local vehicle before fleeing on foot. The motorcycle taxi driver, Thotsaphon Meesamut, 45, recounted that he had refused the foreigner a ride, only to be chased, shoved, and his bike stolen.
A bystander witnessed the incident, pursued the hijacker, and saw him crash. He got up and fled towards Pattaya Central Road. Locals secured the bike keys. The foreigner subsequently hijacked another motorcycle from a resident buying congee but was eventually apprehended by the police.
The suspect, identified as Oliver Joakim Stare, 34, a Swedish national, appeared to be under the influence of a substance. Mr. Thotsaphon plans to file charges against him.
