Pattaya’s police chief told people not to believe everything they see on Facebook as he set the record straight about a misleading viral video.
Pol. Col. Apichai Kroppech told reporters April 4 that the video showing a traffic officer stop a foreign motorcyclist was much ado about nothing. No charges were filed. No tickets were written and the only controversy was caused by misinformed keyboard warriors.
The video shows the officer stopping two foreigners driving their motorbikes the wrong way on Thepprasit Road. Stopped over the line at an intersection, the officer approaches them and speaks to them sternly, but politely.
Apichai said the officer suspected the two had been drinking. As they were violating a couple of traffic laws, he asked them to pull to the side of the road and reached in to turn off one bike.
Facebook crusaders accused the officer of taking the driver’s keys, claiming police aren’t allowed to do such things. Others wildly accused Pattaya police of only targeting foreigners, despite the fact the overwhelming majority of news stories about motorbike law enforcement involves Thais. Finally, critics pointed out the officer didn’t even have a breathalyzer.
The police chief said the officer didn’t take any keys, followed correct procedure, wasn’t rude to the foreigners and was only doing his job. The video, he said, didn’t show the entire incident and people should stop drawing conclusions from manipulated content on Facebook.
