An inter-province bus conductor was fired and the bus firm was fined Bt5,000 after he allegedly molested a transgender passenger on-board a bus to Nong Bua Lamphu, a senior official of the Land Transport Department said on Tuesday.
Chanasuek Phusopha, an official of the Nong Bua Lamphu’s Land Transport Office, said the bus company, which he declined to name, was fined Bt5,000 by his office for providing substandard bus services.
Chanasuek said the conductor, Chokchai Laoweerapong, 52, was fired by the firm after he was fined Bt500 by the Suwan Khuha police station.
The land transport office took action after the transgender, O (not her real name), 25, made a Facebook post to recount what happened while she was riding the air-conditioned bus to her home district of Suwan Khuha.
O recounted that she took the bus alone and it left Bangkok at 8.40pm.
She said Chokchai fetched her a blanket sheet and touched her arm and she thought the bus conductor was just teasing her.
A moment later the bus conductor touched her arm again and she sensed that something was wrong but did not say anything.
She said she fell asleep and was woken up when she felt something was rubbing her arm. She woke up to see that the bus conductor was rubbing his organ on her arm, she wrote. He then grabbed her hand to kiss and then kissed her cheek so she shouted, “What are you doing?” and he walked away.
O said when the bus reached Nong Bua Lamphu, there were only three passengers left and two of them later got down in Na Klang district, leaving her on the bus alone.
O said the bus conductor then walked to sit beside her and started chatting with her while molesting her. She fended him off by filming a video clip with her phone and telling him it’s not right to have sex on a bus.
O said when the bus reached its destination in front of the district police station, she called her relative to pick her up and also filed a complaint with police against the conductor.
