November 1, 2006
BANGKOK (AFP) - A 60-year-old taxi driver who rammed his car into a parked tank in anger over Thailand's coup has hanged himself in an apparent protest against the military takeover, police said.
The driver, Nuamthong Praiwan, is the only person to die in connection with the bloodless coup that ousted twice-elected prime minister Thaksin Shinwatra on September 19.
He hanged himself off a pedestrian bridge in Bangkok early Wednesday, police said, and in a suicide note wrote: "I am a taxi driver who has sacrificed himself for democracy."
The new military-installed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said he was saddened by the death but doubted there would be any copycat suicide bids.
"We can talk to find ways to solve our problem and explain the reasons" for the coup, he told reporters.
On September 30, Nuamthong spray-painted his purple taxi with the words "Destroy the country" and "Suicide" before slamming his vehicle into a tank at the Royal Plaza in central Bangkok.
He suffered broken ribs and injuries to his chin and his eye, but later told the press he was disappointed with the coup.
"I did it intentionally to protest the junta that has destroyed our country," he said at the time.
Taxi drivers are among the staunchest supporters of Thaksin, who broke up the mafia that had controlled large segments of the business.