Bangkok teen kills taxi driver, imitating online game Grand Theft Auto

Bangkok Post reports that a Polwat Chinno, a 19 year old Mathayom 6 (12th Grade) student stabbed a taxi driver to death in Bangkok yesterday, acting out a robbery he copied from the online game Grand Theft Auto (GTA). Police were called in by the neighbors to Soi Charan Sanitwong 77 in Bang Phlad district about 2.30 am after being woken up by a constantly blowing car horn and saw people struggling inside a pink color taxi.

Police arrived and saw the student trying to steer the taxi backwards, but the soi (street) was a dead end. The teen had locked himself in the car but was finally persuaded to get out of the cab.

The body of the taxi driver named Mr. Kuan Pohkang, 54, from Maha Sarakham, was on the back seat. He was stabbed about 10 times by two sharp knives that were found nearby. There was blood all over the vehicle.

Police said Polwat confessed to being addicted to the online game Grand Theft Auto and said killing seemed easy in the game. He imitated a scene where a criminal kills a driver for his car to escape police. The game allows people to play the role of a criminal in a big city and climb up the criminal ladder. They are given various missions to complete, such as bank robbery and assassinations.

"I needed money to play the game every day. My parents give me only 100 Baht a day, which is not enough. I am also fed up with them fighting. They are civil servants and do not make good money," he said.

"Today (Saturday) my mother gave me 500 Baht, so in the evening I went to the Lotus superstore and bought knives." He flagged down one taxi near his house on Soi Charan Sanitwong 75, but the place was crowded so he did not make a move. He tried again and was picked up by Mr. Kuan the victim, hoping the older man would not resist him.

When the taxi arrived at the destination, he pulled out a knife and held it against the driver's neck. He said he did not intend to kill him but the driver reached for a metal bar under a console and tried to hit the boy. He stabbed the driver several times, killing him, then dragged the body onto the back seat and sat behind the wheel. He could not drive, but thought it would be easy like in the game. He was still struggling with the car when police arrived.

Mr. Manon Pohkang, 25, the victim's son, said he was shocked by the sudden loss of his father, who was the family's bread winner and was trying to repay loans to a bank and some loan sharks. "He was a nice man, who harmed no one," he said.

Polwat was charged with robbery causing death and possession of knives.

Teenage kids are so addicted to online games these days that they are mixing up virtual reality with the real world. It is such a tragic incident. I hope that the government takes stricter measures to control internet cafes to avoid such an incident in future. I used to enjoy playing GTA but not on the killing part, more of the relaxed driving part with my favorite music playing in the car, and then hijacking the next car that looks cooler.