Woman says cabbie tried to drug her

       Taxi services at Suvarnabhumi airport are coming under tighter scrutiny after a passenger accused a driver registered with the airport of trying to drug her.
       The passenger, who asked not to be named, said she caught a taxi from the stand at the airport on July 27 to take her to Phloenchit Road.
       She said she did not mind paying the airport taxi surcharge of 50 baht as she believed the service was safe and reliable.The driver's name and telephone number were registered with the airport.
       The woman said she noticed the driver wore dark glasses and drove slowly despite the fact there was not much traffic.
       At one point in the journey the driver blocked the air-conditioning console with his left hand and the woman said she started to feel giddy about five minutes later and her arms and legs went numb.
       She felt like she had been given an anaesthetic before an operation. She had to open the window to get some air and told the driver to drop her off.
       The woman went to a nearby hospital and had herself checked, but no toxic substances were found.
       The woman complained to the airport's public transport centre but she does not believe any action has been taken.
       A source at the Transport Ministry said other passengers had complained of similar incidents.
       Chairat Sa-nguansue, director-general of the Land Transport Department, said he would look into the matter.
       In some of the cases, complaints had turned out to be a hoax intended to destroy the reputations of taxi drivers,Mr Chairat said.
He expected problems involving airport taxis to ease now that unregistered drivers are facing higher fines.
       Witoon Naewpanich, chairman of Siam Taxi Cooperative, yesterday said there might be some criminal-minded taxi drivers but they were a small minority. Those who commit crimes tarnish the image of all drivers.
       Mr Witoon suggested that taxi operators check the backgrounds of all drivers.