Samurai Sword Killing: Thai Taxi Driver Charged
Police say the Thai taxi driver chased down his US passenger and attacked him over a disputed fare.
10:26am, Monday 08 July 2013
<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/JZ8dNBKDEwM?rel=0" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>
A taxi driver in Bangkok has been charged with murder after he allegedly killed an American passenger with a samurai sword.
Thai police said Chidchai Utmacha attacked the man with the sword after an argument over a fare worth less than £1.50.
CCTV footage of the attack shows the two men fighting on the street, with one of the men brandishing a bladed weapon.
Thai police at the scene of the attack in Bangkok
Local media reported that the driver chased after Troy Lee Pilkington after he got out of the vehicle on the Thai capital's Sukhumvit Road on Saturday and refused to pay.
Police Lt Col Teerayut Maiplaeng said on Monday that the 51-year-old American worked for the machinery company Caterpillar and had lived in Thailand for at least three years.
Chidchai was also shown on video re-enacting the alleged attack.
The suspect told police that Mr Pilkington accused him of rigging the taxi's meter before storming out while they sat in traffic. He also claimed the American threw a cup of coffee at him after he demanded the money.
