Chaiyon Chaodon (white
t-shirt) denies the charges; nonetheless, police confiscated the handgun
(lower right) that witnesses claimed he brandished in a fit of road rage.
Boonlua Chatree
A drunk Pattaya city municipal officer who flew into a fit of road
rage was arrested for harassing Russian tourists and brandishing a gun.
Chaiyon Chaodon, 41, was apprehended April 1 after the 10 p.m. incident near
the Pattaya Floating Market. A loaded 38-caliber handgun was confiscated
from the glove compartment of his Mazda pickup truck.
The arrest came after tourist minibus driver Bunliang Aphaiyasith, 46,
called for help from police and the media when Chaiyon allegedly began
honking and screaming at him as he drove toward the Ambassador City Hotel
with a full load of Russian tourists. The regulatory-enforcement officer
apparently was angered that the minibus was going too slowly and that he
could not pass him.
Chaiyon then waved a gun, Bunliang claimed, and he pulled the bus over
fearing harm would come to himself or the tourists.
Police said Chaiyon denied threatening anyone and simply had been in a hurry
to see his wife after a round of drinking. The city officer was transferred
to the Nongprue Police Station for further investigation.
