Chinese national Xing Jingwei claimed B20,000 was stolen from him following an altercation with the driver of the motorcycle taxi in the early hours of this morning in Patong.
Mr Xing said to police that he had alighted the motorcycle taxi around 1am this morning on returning to his Patong hotel following an evening spent in Ban Mon. Police reports did not specify which hotel Xing was staying at.
As the fare was being paid an argument broke out between Xing and the driver of the motorcycle taxi, who police later confirmed as 22-year-old ‘Mr Pan’.
Police stated that eye witness reports at the scene recall Xing attempted to chase the motorcycle and grabbed the rear of the vehicle before he fell and injured his elbow.
Xing then entered the hotel he was staying at and reported to staff at the reception desk that he had been robbed of B20,000 by the motorcycle driver. Police were notified in due course.
Police managed to track down Mr Pan via his Honda Wave motorcycle which had Nakhon Si Thammarat license plates.
Mr Pan explained that an argument had broken out when he dropped Xing off at his hotel in Patong due to language difficulties and Xing claiming he was being charged too much. Frustrated at not being able to communicate effectively, Pan decided to drive away from the scene, knowing he had done no wrong. He categorially denied taking B20,000 from Xing, police confirmed.
Police questioned Xing further at Patong Police Station at 7am this morning in the hope of better understanding the situation.
It was during this questioning that Xing admitted he had made up the part of the story where he had been robbed of B20,000 although police did not state why exactly he had decided to do so, nor did they state whether any charges would be brought against him for doing so.