PHUKET, Thailand – A tuk-tuk driver claims an Israeli family tried to attack him with a concrete block after he refused to let them share a ride with Australian tourists.
The driver says no actual blow was struck. The family had demanded to join a ride to Bangla, but he turned them away.
Driver claims concrete block attack
According to the driver, a family member tried to lift a concrete block lying by the roadside to use against him. The man could not lift it because it was too heavy.
I intervened after the family tried to prevent the Australian passengers from taking the ride. During the argument, a family member spat on the road.
said the driver, who has not been named.
Dispute over shared ride
The family first asked the driver for a price to take them in his tuk-tuk. Both sides could not agree on a fare, so the driver waited for other passengers.
Later an Australian couple booked a ride to the Bangla area. After they boarded, the Israeli family returned and wanted to join. The driver refused and pointed them to another tuk-tuk nearby.
Video spreads on social media
The driver posted footage of the confrontation online. The Phuket Times later reposted the video on its Facebook page, where it gained huge attention.
The clip shows five family members standing next to a tuk-tuk on the roadside. One uses offensive language repeatedly while the driver says he does not want passengers with such behaviour before leaving the scene.
No police report yet; separate Bangkok incident
Social media users criticised the family’s behaviour. But the story relies entirely on the driver’s account – no public response from the family is known.
The driver has not said whether he will call police or a tourism authority. In a separate case in Bangkok, a Thai bodybuilder and his wife reported on August 9 that Israeli tourists banged on their hotel door repeatedly and made noise around 4am.
The couple condemned the behaviour and called on Israeli tourists to act appropriately. The bodybuilder said several of his followers told him about similar negative experiences with Israeli nationals.