A rider in Phuket came under fire online after allegedly asking a foreign tourist for 5,000 baht to return a lost mobile phone, with an audio clip of the conversation spreading across social media.
According to a story shared by Phuket Times yesterday, June 13, the tourist reportedly lost the phone before a rider found it.
When a Thai representative helping the tourist contacted the rider to retrieve the phone, he allegedly demanded 5,000 baht in exchange for its return.
An audio clip shared online recorded the negotiation between the tourist’s representative and the man who claimed to have found the phone.
In the audio clip, the rider first allegedly asked for 5,000 baht to return the phone. The tourist’s representative negotiated the amount down to 2,000 baht, and later to 1,500 baht.
The tourist’s representative also asked where the phone could be collected if no payment was made. The rider allegedly replied that he would leave it there and the owner could search for it themselves.
When asked where exactly the phone would be left, he said he did not know and that it would be wherever he left it.
The rider said he had travelled from Thalang and wanted fuel money or a gesture of thanks. He also insisted that he had not stolen the phone, adding that throwing it away would leave him with nothing.
Khaosod reported that after the clip spread online, many commenters criticised the rider. Some said returning lost property should not come with a fixed payment condition.
Others said a finder could reasonably receive travel costs or a token of appreciation if they made an effort to return an item, but argued that it should not be demanded as a condition.
The story remained widely discussed online, with calls for the facts to be checked and for fairness to all parties involved.
In a separate incident, a Thai motorcycle taxi rider has been arrested for refusing to return a smartphone to a Russian tourist who dropped it on a South Pattaya road.
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