Pol lt Col Kajonkiat Khamwichairat, Deputy Chief of Cherng Talay Police, was informed of the incident at 10:30pm.
Patrol officers arrived to find the damaged taxi and its driver, Suriya Plodmai, 53, and the Egyptian man, identified as Basem Aly Ismail, 31, still at the scene.
Mr Suriya told police that he picked up Mr Basem from the Patong area and was dropping him off in Bang Tao for the agreed price of B450.
After arriving at the scene, Mr Basem asked to borrow Mr Suriya’s mobile phone so he could call a friend, but after using it, Mr Basem refused to return the mobile phone, Mr Suriya said.
Mr Basem slammed the phone down onto another mobile phone that Mr Suriya was holding, causing both phones, a Xiaomi 12 and a Samsung A54, to be broken.
After that, Mr Basem went into a fit of rage and used an iron rod to smash the car, Mr Suriya told police.
The car suffered a broken windshield, several broken windows and a broken rear windshield, with damage to the surrounding areas.
Rescue workers from Cherng Talay Municipality took Mr Basem, who was described as still in a “fit of frenzy”, to Thalang Hospital. From there, Mr Basen was transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town.
Police said they were continuing their investigation with the intent of pressing charges against Mr Basem.