The incident, which occurred at about 1pm, was captured on a dashcam and quickly circulated online, prompting Phuket City Police Chief Pol Col Chatree Chukaew to order an immediate investigation.
Police tracked down the suspect, identified only as ‘Mr P’, at a rented room on Soi Tatan in Ratsada. A search uncovered a toy switch gun hidden under his motorbike seat.
Mr P, who had a female passenger with him during the incident, was taken to Phuket City Police Station for a drug test, which returned positive for methamphetamine.
He now faces charges of illegal use of Category 1 narcotics, intimidation, disobeying traffic signals (driving through the underpass), and failing to pay annual vehicle registration.
The taxi driver involved, who asked not to be named, told police he was driving a passenger from Vachira Phuket Hospital to Thalang when the confrontation occurred. He explained that the motorbike overtook him inside the underpass without warning, before the rider pulled alongside, revved his engine and ordered him to stop.
“At first I wasn’t going to stop, but then he came along the left side and pointed a kratom bottle at my windshield, threatening to throw it,” the driver said. “I stopped because my passenger was starting to panic.”
He said the motorbike rider then opened his seat and tried to pull out what looked like a gun while pacing back and forth in an agitated manner. The situation was eventually calmed by the rider’s female passenger, who intervened and stood between the two men.
“I told him my car had both front and rear cameras. He then put the gun away and rode off,” the taxi driver recounted.
The driver has confirmed he will pursue legal action, calling the incident a serious case of intimidation. “Using a firearm is a serious crime, whether fake or real. There were foreign tourists in the car. This damages the reputation of our tourist city,” he said.
He also reminded motorists that motorbikes and samlor (motorcycles with sidecarts) are prohibited from entering the underpass due to the risk of high-speed collisions. “I want people to use the road safely and to be more patient,” he added.