A Thai taxi driver used a machete to hack his passenger to death. See the brutal video below (scroll down to watch).

The Thai cabbie, Chidchai Utmacha, 32 was charged in Bangkok with murder for stabbing and slashing an American passenger to death.

 The American, Lee Pilkington, was killed when the Thai taxi driver used the machete in a scuffle over less than $2.

Utmacha said he had indeed pulled a 12-inch machete from the trunk of his cab. He used the machete he hacked at Troy...but did so in self-defense after the American tourist "charged at him" on Saturday night in Bangkok.

The incident was caught on camera and shows the cabbie stabbing Pilkington.

Allegedly Pilkington got out of the taxi, refusing to pay a a 51 baht fare, whih lead to his death. 51 baht is the equivalent of $1.60.

Police Lt. Col. Teerayut Maiplaeng said that Pilkington spoke fluent Thai. He had been living in Thailand for at least three years and worked as a higher-up at Caterpillar Inc.

 Utmacha allegedly picked up the American from a department store, then began driving him home. Pilkington said the meter was rigged and left the cab while it idled in a traffic jam.

The footage shows the fight on Sukhumvit Road, a busy Thai road. The driver of the cab grips a machete and the American flails and tries to grab him. The two get out of the frame and the driver reappears, running through it seconds later.

Utmacha also claimed Pilkington threw coffee on him after the cabbie demanded the fare. He then threatened him with the blade from the trunk-but he claims Pilkington ran at him.

He was identified from video footage and arrested at his home for stabbing to death a U.S. expatriate in Bangkok in public. The machete was found in a nearby canal.

The cabbie said he didn't think his passenger would die...but he did, due to multiple stab wounds from the machete.

Watch video of the incident below: