Muk Dahan provincial police have defended  the fining of a truck driver for wearing a pair of slippers 400 baht while he was behind the wheel as not being excessive but well within the framework of the law.

The police action has become a hot topic of intense debates in the social media after the truck driver, Sooksant Kiewkaew, posted an audio-visual clip showing his arguments with a Muk Dahan policeman after he was slapped with a 400 baht fine for wearing slippers while driving on September 10.

In the clip, Sooksant claimed he wore a pair of shoes while driving, but when he was told to see the police at a road checkpoint, he changed to slippers, but police rejected his claim.

Pol Col Chaiporn Pongsak, the police superintendent, said that the truck driver did not wear shoes  when he was stopped by the police for checks.  Wearing slippers, he explained, could risk causing an accident.

According to the ministerial regulation on dress code for drivers of public transport, drivers must wear pants, long-sleeve or short-sleeve shirts and must wear shoes.  Failure to dress properly is liable to a maximum fine of 5,000 baht.