Right now, that front door has a problem.

Right now, that front door has a problem.

Reviews and social media posts about Phuket taxi confrontations spread quickly. Governments including India have issued formal advisories warning their nationals about scams and extortion in Thai tourist areas. The reputation cost is real and measurable.

But for the family of Sikharin Phromcharoen — a former soldier who spent his off-hours driving elderly passengers, pregnant women, and people with disabilities for free — the cost is something else entirely.

He spent his life helping people get where they needed to go.

He was killed for it.

Reporting based on Thai PBS, MGR Online, Khaosod, Daily News, The Phuket News, and The Thailand Life.

The story How Thailand’s transport gap created the Taxi Mafia as seen on Thaiger News.