One man was arrested and police are searching for another for allegedly setting fire to tires in front of a Central Road bank.
Chalermpol Saentat, 35, was taken into custody at the Boy laundry on Soi VC March 15. Wearing only a towel, Chalermpol denied involvement in any crime, but officers found a yellow shirt smelling of gasoline at the laundry and had tracked a suspect’s motorbike to his soi.
The investigation began around 1 a.m. when police were alerted to stacks of burning tires at the Siam Commercial Bank opposite Soi Town in Town. Passers-by had extinguished the fire before officials arrived and reported they’d seen two men dressed in yellow shirts deposit the motorcycle tires, douse them in gas and torch them.
Scorch marks are seen on the pavement outside the Siam Commercial Bank on Central Road.
A security guard provided a description of the men and their blue-gray Honda bike to police.
Later that night police saw two men carrying tires on a Honda near the X-Zyte nightclub on Third Road. When pursued, they dropped the tires and sped off around Soi Bongkot.
The burning-tire incident was the second reported this week, the first coming a day before in front of Pattaya City Hall. Police are unsure of the motive behind the crime, but are detaining Chalermpol until they understand.
Police discover the motorcycle belonging to Chalermpol Saentat, one of the alleged culprits.
