‘You’re my last passenger’: Tearful taxi driver scams Thais out of big tip with tragic life story

A kind-hearted Thai couple found out their taxi driver was likely a fraud after handing him a THB3,000 (about USD90) tip, following a tearful car ride filled with tragic life stories.

The Department of Land Transport is searching for the dramatic driver after Thai woman Wannipa Nakwattana shared her story on Facebook with the suspicion that she and her husband had been scammed.

According to Wannipa, as soon as they got in the car, the driver told them in a teary voice that they “would be his last passengers,” because he was about to lose his job unless he paid THB3,000 to his taxi garage for insurance. As if that wasn’t enough, he also told them he had to pay his disabled wife’s medical bills, and support his twin daughters.

But Wannipa found at least two more people that had been told the same story after a quick Google search. Several more Thais commented on her Facebook post that they had also been the driver’s “last passengers.”

“He was talking and weeping. I felt so sorry for him. He talked like he had gone through such a tough life,” Wannipa wrote.

“I looked at Pop [my husband]. We both felt sorry for him. When Pop helps someone, he does the best he can, and this time I went along with him.”

Wannipa said people like this cabbie make her think twice about helping someone. Another netizen said that he had also tipped the same driver THB1,000 after hearing the story.

Guess overcharging passengers doesn’t pay enough?

Coconuts

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