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Published on August 6, 2007

The woman was sacked after it was claimed she sold a passenger an expired ticket.

The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority said it had investigated the case and asked people to listen to its side of the story.

Thawatchai Fieungpanicharoen, 44, a BMTA driver, appealed through a Thai-language newspaper for his wife's reputation.

Somsakul, 44, committed suicide by drinking poison on April 10 after being fired for selling an old Bt22 ticket to a passenger.

Somsakul said the authority had humiliated his wife by announcing the action at bus stations and service stations.

He said the treatment was unfair and dismissal was "too harsh", arguing that a warning or salary cut would have been more appropriate.

Others have made the same mistake and not been dismissed, he added.

Somsakul maintained her innocence.

"I'm calling for justice and I'm not afraid to be fired over this. I believe I will be bullied and pressured to resign. But, I'll fight on. My wife and I never had financial problems or debts, so why would she cheat for Bt22 - it's not worth it. I bet my head on it that she would never do such a thing," the driver said.

Thawatchai said that although no labour organisation has offered help, colleagues had been supportive. They deplore an authority comment that some employees were "not good".

Thawatchai and Somsakul have worked for the authority for more than a decade - on the same route. They were married 30 years and had one son, from Somsakul's previous marriage.

Somsakul earned Bt14,000 a month.

On January 31, Somsakul was accused by a female passenger via the authority's hotline of having resold a used ticket.

Meanwhile, the BMTA Area 5 director, Thawatchai Tassanataen, said a fact-finding committee had found that the complainant, a teacher, was not known to and had had no previous dispute with Somsakul. The committee found Somsakul at fault and was forced to dismiss her.

He added that the employee could have appealed to the BMTA, but she committed suicide before any such channels could be explored. The authority later upheld the original decision.

He asked the public not to see the authority as an organisation unfair to its employees. It was merely following regulations.

Thawatchai asked disgruntled passengers to continue lodging complaints about unsatisfactory service and employees.

The announcement of Somsakul's dismissal was advertised at its headquarters "to discourage" others from committing similar offences, not to humiliate the conductor, he added.

He said the route manager who posted the announcements at stations was also punished.

The BMTA refused to divulge the name and address of the complainant to Somsakul's husband. This is standard procedure for a state agency, the Area 5 director said.

BMTA director Pinet Puapatanakul is willing to talk to Somsakul's husband, he added.

Mayuree  Sukyingcharoenwong

The Nation