A traffic cop said he was only doing his job when he stopped and breathalyzed a woman driving a 4-million-baht sports coup in Pattaya after a video of the traffic stop went viral.
Pol. Col. Siraphudej Chamnankit explained to reporters April 5 that the woman driving the BMW Z4 convertible sports coupe who he stopped on Beach Road near Walking Street two days earlier had been drinking before driving.
Her blood-alcohol level, however, at 0.039 percent, below the legal limit of 0.5 percent. She was released, but not before giving the officer an earful of grief.
“This is nonsense, I just wanted to go out and eat rice soup. This country has many problems. Police are too serious. I drank very little. If you want no one to drink, why are pubs and bars allowed to open in Pattaya?” The presumably wealthy woman said.
In the video, Siraphudej is heard calmly explaining the reasons for alcohol checkpoints and laws prohibiting driving while intoxicated.
The video clip garnered plenty of comments from online users, most of them criticizing the “hi-so” driver in her 4-million-baht car for thinking she was better than others and exempt from the law.
Siraphudej told reporters he wanted to tell his side of the story, saying police must be vigilant against drunk driving, particularly around Songkran, and that officers try to act calmly and politely to even rude drivers.
