PETALING JAYA: A tourist allegedly attempted to pay his taxi fare with a large quantity of cannabis, prompting the driver to contact the authorities.
Thai news portal The Thaiger reported that the incident occurred on Tuesday (15 July). The 54-year-old taxi driver had picked up the foreign man and his wife from Suvarnabhumi International Airport and was taking them to a hotel in Pattaya.
The fare was reportedly estimated at 2,000 baht.
The driver arrived at the hotel at around 12am.
However, the tourist, who had initially assured the driver of full payment upon arrival, was allegedly short of funds, possessing only 900 baht, while his wife had just 50 baht.
“I asked for the remaining 1,050 baht, but instead, he pulled out a massive bag of cannabis and tried to offer that instead of cash,” the driver was quoted as saying.
Taken aback by the offer, the driver firmly refused the tourist’s alternative form of payment and threatened to call the police.
The tourist was reportedly “unfazed” and walked into the hotel lobby.
“I’ve helped passengers without money before because I felt sorry for them.
“But this time I felt completely taken for granted. People always talk about bad taxi drivers, but who’s protecting us from foreigners who pull stunts like this?” the taxi driver added.
He later lodged a police report against the foreigners at around 1.30am.
