One such driver of a hotel Mercedes-Benz, 25-year-old Mr Ponchai (or “Jack”, he declined to reveal his surname ), posted his grievance online on Monday and presented his car to the press yesterday (April 17).
Mr Ponchai told The Phuket News that he believes the damage was done while he was driving a passenger from Phuket International Airport to Patong on Songkran day afternoon (April 13).
“It happened at about 3pm on April 13 after I picked up a tourist at Phuket International Airport and was driving along Thepkrasattri Rd. This route had lots of people splashing water with coloured power,” he said.
“I went back to the hotel as normal, and I did not find out about the damage until I washed the car the next morning. There were spots that would not wash away. I had to report to the hotel, which owns the car, what had happened.
“I have no idea why anyone would want to do this to my car. I have no idea how to file a claim to get it fixed. Who could I file a claim against? There were many people playing coloured powder in water,” Mr Ponchai said.
“At the time the dashcam was not set up for recording, so I cannot identify who did this,” he added.
Since his Facebook post on Monday, Mr Ponchai has gained much sympathy online for his situation.
A similar post complaining of permanent damage to paintwork caused by Songkran celebrations has gone viral with more than 27,000 reactions and more than 4,700 shares on Facebook since the complaint was posted on Monday (April 16). (See post here.)
“I heard that many other drivers of public transportation vehicles, such as vans, cars and others, a re facing the same situation,” he said.
“They don’t know who they can claim against, it’s a waste of time,” Mr Ponchai added.