A video surfaced showing a foreign tourist paying a Thai food delivery rider to navigate through a police checkpoint on a rental motorcycle in Phuket, sparking online debate about his intentions. The incident was initially posted by the delivery rider on social media and later shared by the Shadow Phuket Facebook page, drawing significant attention. This encounter reportedly took place near a convenience store on Siriraj Road in Patong. In the video, the tourist communicated with the rider using a translation app. The rider recounted that the tourist requested to ride the rental motorcycle through the checkpoint, to which he consented. After parking his own motorcycle outside the store, the rider took the tourist’s vehicle, with the man’s wife as a passenger, and successfully passed through the police checkpoint without being stopped. After clearing the checkpoint, the rider dropped off the woman before returning to pick up the tourist. He later revealed that he received 150 baht for this service, which he intended to use for drinks for his colleagues. The Shadow Phuket page questioned the tourist’s decision to avoid passing through the checkpoint himself and prompted followers to consider various reasons for this. Some speculated the tourist may not have had a valid driving license or could have been intoxicated. Others raised more serious concerns, suggesting the motorcycle might have contained illegal items or that the tourist could have a criminal history. Several commenters criticized the delivery rider for his actions, cautioning that he could face legal issues if prohibited items were discovered. The page’s administrator remarked that while assisting tourists is commendable, such assistance must remain lawful. As of now, police have not made any statements regarding the incident or whether an investigation will be initiated. A similar incident occurred in February when a foreign TikTok user faced backlash for advising viewers to wear ride-hailing jackets in Thailand to bypass police checkpoints, even offering tips to evade police scrutiny and making derogatory comments about Thai traffic police’s motivations.
Source: The Thaiger
