A taxi driver was fined 5,000 baht and had his driving license suspended for six months by the Land Transport Department after he admitted he molested a female passenger, claiming that they knew each other.
The taxi operator was also fined 1,000 baht for the failure to submit a report about the backgrounds of the cabbie to the department.
The incident which occurred during the early hours of June 22 was captured by a smartphone and its photos was later posted in the social media prompting many comments critical of the behavior of the cabbie.
The incident also prompted the Land Transport Department and the police to investigate which eventually led to the police arrest of the taxi driver, identified as Somchai Simlee, 43.
Somchai told police that he was the cabbie shown in the photos. He said that he took the victim and her friend from Sukhukvit Soi 11 first to Soi Pattanakarn 25 and then to Soi Onnuj 46.
After dropping the victim’s friend, Somchai said he drove the victim to Soi Onnuj. While driving, he said they both chatted and he touched the woman’s legs twice because they had known each other before.
The cabbie also admitted that he was high on drug that night.
