A taxi driver was arrested on Thursday for stealing a cab from a colleague to try to raise money because he was sitting on a pile of debt.
Apichart Saensapa was captured by police at Soi Lasalle 51 with the taxi stolen from Soonthorn Charoensom on Wednesday night, Pol Lt Col Bunyarit Thaimanotham, deputy traffic police chief of Bang Na police station, said.
Bang Na police were looking for a stolen vehicle after being alerted on the police radio network that the green Toyota taxi from the Suvarnabhumi Taxi Union was on the inbound Bang Na-Trat road.
They found the target on Lasalle road and followed it until they decided to stop the car and make an arrest.
Mr Apichart said he rode in the taxi driven by Mr Soonthorn from the southern bus terminal in Taling Chan to Buddha Monthon Sai 2 on Wednesday night.
Along the way he told the driver that he could not remember the exact location of where he was to get off and convinced the driver to leave the car to ask for directions from people on the roadside.
After Mr Soonthorn left the taxi, Mr Apichart said he climbed into the driver's seat and drove off. He made about five trips with fare-paying passengers before he was captured.
Mr Soonthorn told police that he was a taxi driver and had to steal the car because he had no money left and owned the owner of a taxi rental firm 5,000 baht.
Pol Lt Col Bunyarit said investigators did not accept his story and charged him with theft.