Phuket Swiss man fined for road rage

Ambulance driver Wibul Horbut, left, receives a bouquet from Urs Fehr, second left, at Thalang police station in Phuket on Thursday following an incident of road rage in December. (Photo supplied)
Ambulance driver Wibul Horbut, left, receives a bouquet from Urs Fehr, second left, at Thalang police station in Phuket on Thursday following an incident of road rage in December. (Photo supplied)

A Swiss man who recently made headlines by allegedly kicking a woman on a Phuket beach was fined on Thursday over an incident of road rage against an ambulance driver in December 2023.

Urs Fehr aka David, 45, was fined 1,000 baht for defamation and 4,000 baht for reckless and dangerous driving at Thalang police station. The ambulance driver was also fined 1,000 baht for defamation.

On the occasion, Mr Fehr apologised and gave a bouquet to the ambulance driver.

The road rage happened on Dec 25, 2023, when Mr Fehr – reportedly while driving his brand-new Audi – cut off the ambulance, lowered his window, raised his middle finger and cursed.

The ambulance driver cursed back and posted a video clip of the incident online. On Dec 29, he learned that the Swiss man had filed a computer crime complaint about the post at Choeng Thalay police station. The complaint was withdrawn recently.

After being fined, Mr Fehr was brought by immigration police to undergo a process to revoke his business visa that was set to expire on March 13.

The Immigration Bureau decided to revoke the visa after Mr Fehr was charged with physical assault against a woman doctor. He allegedly kicked the woman while she and a friend were sitting on beach steps in front of his rented villa on Feb 24 – steps he believed belonged to him, but that have since been demolished because they were built on public land.

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Vocabulary

  • assault (noun): a sudden, violent attack - การทำร้าย
  • bouquet: a collection of flowers, cut and tied together in an attractive way - ช่อดอกไม้
  • complaint: when someone says that something is wrong or not satisfactory - การบ่น, ข้อที่ไม่พอใจ
  • curse: to say angry words to someone because you are mad at them -
  • cut off: to suddenly drive in front of another car or vehicle -
  • defamation: the offence of writing or saying something bad about someone that is not true and makes people have a bad opinion of them - การใส่ร้าย
  • demolish: to completely destroy a building, especially in order to use the land for something else - รื้อ (สิ่งก่อสร้าง), ทำลาย
  • reckless (adj): doing something dangerous and not worrying about the risks and the possible results - ชะล่าใจ, เสี่ยง, ไม่ยั้งคิด
  • revoke: to officially say that something is no longer legal - เพิกถอน
  • road rage (noun): a situation in which a driver becomes extremely angry at something that has happened, especially another driver, and which often results in a violent action -
  • withdraw: to take away; to stop taking part in something - ถอนตัว
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