Back on 24 February this year a 48-year-old Thai male taxi driver was brutally assaulted at a remote location in Sattahip by three teenagers and his taxi stolen. The man had earlier driven down from Bangkok and dropped a fare in south Pattaya when he was hired by the three teenagers to take them to Sattahip.
A reward of 50,000 baht was offered for information leading to the recovery of the taxi and on Thursday morning it resulted in a phone call telling police the taxi was in the Wat Chaimongkol parking lot in south Pattaya.
Police dusted the vehicle for prints before releasing it to the relieved owner/driver. Based on the fact he had been originally hired in south Pattaya and the taxi had subsequently been recovered in the same area, police have come to the natural conclusion the offenders probably live close by. After checking their increasingly bulging criminal files the police have narrowed the search down to nine persons who fit the profile they are working under and hope to make an arrest soon.