The operator of Chiang Mai zip-line adventure ride where a Chinese tourist was killed was arrested was arrested after authorities determined the attraction was encroaching on national forest reserve.
Santi Pitikarm, 55 was taken into custody by Mae Rim district police and officials from the Forest Prevention and Resevation Unit following an Oct. 21 inspection.
Inspectors checked 23 points on the Pong Khrai village park’s borders with GPS markers and determined it invaded the Mae Rim National Reserve Forest.
District officials also said the tourist attraction was operating without a permit.
The inspection came after Wang Qi, 32, fell to her death Oct. 11. Park executives initially told police the Chinese tourist had died of a heart attack. But an autopsy confirmed a fall that broke her neck and shoulders.
The accident also broke scrutiny from the government, with Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul and Chao Siewlieng, consul for the Chinese consulate in Chaing Mai participating in Oct. 21 public hearing on safety at northern tourist attractions.
Chiang Mai has 14 zip-line rides in five districts, several of which are believed to be encroaching on forest reserve.
Kobkarn said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is worried about the safety regulations in the tourism industry and ordered a crackdown by her ministry as well as the Interior Ministry.
She said all zip lines and adventure rides in the country will now undergo an inspection with strict equipment checks.
The government agreed to pay compensation to the family of the the deceased tourist, she said.
Chao also noted the government will pay for relatives to fly to Thailand to handle their return of their loved one’s body to China. The incident has gone viral on the Internet, he noted, and has become a hot topic among Chinese travelers.
