Tinted windows, suspicious phone calls: Malaysian travellers encounter shady driver in Bangkok

A trip to Bangkok turned into a harrowing experience for a group of five Malaysian travellers, who were picked up by a shady driver. 

One of the travellers, surnamed Tang, told China Press they booked a private-hire car to take them from their hotel to Don Mueang International Airport on Monday (Sept 4). 

When their ride arrived at the hotel, Tang said she noticed something amiss when the driver did not get out of the car to help the group with their luggage. 

"I tapped on the driver's tinted windows to ask if we could put our bags in the car boot, he was looking at us weirdly," recounted the woman. 

As the group, consisting of two men and three women, boarded the vehicle, the driver began asking them for details about their trip. Tang observed that he seemed to be more interested in the female passengers.

The driver then made a phone during the ride, further raising suspicion. 

One of Tang's friends, who understood some Thai, said he heard the driver mention the words "Philippines" and "commission of 500 baht (S$19) a day".

The driver was also heard saying he was "excited and nervous", reported 8world. 

When Tang used her own her phone to check the route to the airport, she realised that their trip was only supposed to take 30 minutes, as compared to 50 minutes shown on the driver's navigation system.  

The group then asked the driver to stop the vehicle and let them alight, but he told them he couldn't stop the vehicle in the middle of the road as he would be caught by traffic police.

While he offered to drop them off at a petrol kiosk further down the road, Tang realised that there was no petrol kiosk ahead of them. 

Suspecting that they were about to be sold to human traffickers, the group opened the vehicle's door, grabbed their belongings and escaped while the vehicle was stuck in traffic. 

"The driver told the person over the phone that we were trying to escape, but he did not question us, or try to collect any money," said Tang, who said she won't be travelling to Bangkok anytime soon.

The woman noted that the ride-hailing app showed that the driver had accepted over 600 rides, adding: "Not everyone might have been as fortunate as we were. If the situation had been different, we would not have been able to escape." 

While the travellers warned others about dubious drivers, it is unclear if they had made a police report over the incident.

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claudiatan@asiaone.com