Taxi driver Supachoke Singkhon, 36, tells his side of the story about the 1,800-baht ride he gave two out-of-towners at the Pak Khlong Rangsit police station in Pathum Thani. (Screen capture from Workpoint News TV)

A taxi driver who charged two young first-time visitors to Bangkok 1,800 baht for a trip from the Mor Chit bus terminal to Rangsit in Pathum Thani said his passengers paid willingly but he feels guilty about it now.

Supachoke Singkhon, 36, acknowledged charges of failing to use his fare meter and overcharging at the Pak Khlong Rangsit police station in Muang district of Pathum Thani on Friday.

He turned himself in after a relative of Chayangkhul Dam-o and Ratchanont Noonkaeo, both 18 from Songkhla, filed a complaint with the station about the high cost of their ride on Thursday morning. The young men were in Bangkok for the first time to take an examination.

Mr Supachoke said he told the passengers that he would charge them 900 baht for the trip but they paid 900 baht each so he received 1,800 baht. Even 900 baht is far more than it would cost for a metered ride between the two points.

“The young men did not complain … so I offered to pay the expressway toll for them and they agreed,” the driver said.

He admitted he usually quoted his own fares without using his meter at the Mor Chit terminal, saying he needed money for the medical treatment of his father who is suffering from partial paralysis.

He apologised for his action, which he said had caused his 63-year-old father to come to the police station with him.

The relative of the young men earlier wrote in an online post that the first-time visitors to Bangkok had no idea how far it was between Mor Chit and Rangsit and were thus too innocent to know that they were being cheated.

The Department of Land Transport on Friday fined Mr Supachoke 1,000 baht for failing to use his meter, 2,000 baht for driving with an expired licence and 1,000 baht for failing to submit his driver’s records.