Pattaya Bar Bill Police Report

An airline captain tests positive for marijuana after a Phuket flight suddenly drops 300 ft. Thailand prepares a major shake-up of its gun laws, and could blue number plates soon be coming to electric cars. A visitor was bitten by a lion on Phuket, and in Pattaya, one Australian tourist manages to run up a staggering 32,000 baht bar bill before refusing to pay. It’s another extraordinary day in Thailand. We begin with an extraordinary development involving an Air India flight from Phuket to Delhi.

Official reports this week have confirmed that the captain of the Air India flight has tested positive for marijuana following the dramatic incident we reported last week in which the aircraft suddenly lost around 300 ft in altitude, leaving 12 passengers and crew injured. India’s aviation authorities have now suspended both flight crew members while a full investigation continues. The event itself has been formally classified as a serious incident.

The captain was tested under standard post-flight drug screening procedures along with the other flight crew member. Initial screening indicated that further laboratory testing for psychoactive substances was required.

Reuters reported on August 11th that the captain’s confirmatory test subsequently returned positive for marijuana. Investigators will now have to establish whether the positive result has any relevance whatsoever to what happened aboard the aircraft.

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Thailand Gun License Reform

Back in Thailand, and following last week’s horrific school shooting, the government is considering one of the biggest overhauls of the country’s firearms laws in decades.

Among the proposals is the introduction of fixed-term gun licenses, replacing the present system under which possession licenses generally have no expiry date. The idea is likely to resemble systems already used in a number of Western countries where licenses have to be periodically renewed and owners undergo fresh checks before being allowed to continue possessing firearms.

And Thailand has a considerable problem to overcome. Many licenses were issued long before modern computerized databases existed, meaning authorities do not currently have the kind of comprehensive real-time national firearms register that might be expected today.

Authorities want an electronic database capable of tracking firearms from the moment they’re imported into Thailand through dealers, sales, and ownership, and subsequently through any legal transfer to another person.

Background checks could also become considerably tougher with the Prime Minister indicating that assessments of an applicant’s behavior and ability to safely handle a firearm could become part of the process.

The proposals follow last week’s Nonthaburi school shooting and growing demands that Thailand’s gun laws be brought firmly into the modern era.

Thailand Electric Vehicle Blue Plates

Thailand could soon have a new way of spotting electric vehicles, blue number plates. The Ministry of Transport is considering introducing the distinctive plates for EVs before the end of this year, and it’s not simply about making electric cars look different.

Officials say being able to identify an electric vehicle immediately could help firefighters and emergency workers following a serious accident. Battery-powered vehicles can present very different risks during a fire compared with conventional petrol or diesel cars, particularly when a lithium-ion battery is damaged. Emergency teams therefore need to know exactly what they’re dealing with as quickly as possible.

Existing EV owners wouldn’t necessarily have to replace their current number plates. Instead, they could receive a special identification sticker alongside their annual vehicle tax sticker.

And electric vehicles are certainly becoming a much bigger part of Thailand’s roads. More than 119,000 battery electric vehicles were registered during the first 7 months of this year, representing around 28% of all newly registered vehicles. So, those blue plates could become a fairly common sight.

Thailand Cyber Police Data Theft Investigation

Cyber police have meanwhile raided homes in two provinces and arrested juvenile suspects as part of an investigation into the theft and sale of personal information online.

Investigators traced suspicious activity through IP addresses connected with attempts to obtain information from government systems.

Authorities say the attackers apparently didn’t directly break into the main government databases themselves. Instead, they allegedly compromised legitimate user accounts that already had permission to access those systems.

Once inside, the accounts were used to extract information with samples of stolen personal data then reportedly checked to demonstrate that the material was genuine before being offered for sale online.

Evidence seized during the raids is also believed to contain information identifying other possible members of the group.

Thailand Landslide and Flood Warning

And keep the umbrellas handy because the Department of Mineral Resources has now named nine provinces at risk from landslides and flash flooding following continued heavy rainfall.

Local volunteer monitoring networks have been told to watch conditions closely, while residents in identified risk areas are being advised to follow official warnings and be prepared to move quickly should conditions deteriorate.

On Phuket, authorities have been inspecting a rather unusual tourist attraction after reports circulated online that a Chinese visitor had been bitten by a lion. Yes, a lion. The tourist assistance center visited the so-called lion cafe following the social media reports. Staff at the venue confirmed that an incident did occur, although it wasn’t recent. The visitor apparently suffered only a minor abrasion and received first aid at the venue. Staff say the animal involved was a small lion cub named Caesar and insist that all lions kept at the cafe have been vaccinated. Unfortunately, CCTV footage of the incident is apparently no longer available because the recording has since been overwritten or deleted, which leaves a rather obvious question being asked online. How exactly does a cafe containing tourists and lions operate legally in the first place? Other authorities are reportedly now taking an interest, too. So, Caesar and company may be receiving a few more official visitors.

And finally, closer to home, Pattaya police had what can only be described as an odd one this week. Staff at a local beer bar called police after an Australian customer allegedly began drinking at around 8:00 in the morning and continued until roughly 9:00 that night. 13 hours later, his bar bill had reportedly reached the rather impressive figure of 32,540 baht. According to staff, he wasn’t drinking entirely alone, either. Throughout the day, he bought drinks for bar employees and repeatedly rang the bell for those fortunate enough to be within earshot. The bar says he was actually a regular customer who had always paid his bills previously, so there hadn’t initially been any concern. But apparently, the evening didn’t finish quite as he’d hoped. According to reports, his chosen companion declined his invitation to be bar friend and accompany him elsewhere. And from that point onwards, relations between customer and establishment appear to have deteriorated somewhat. After attempts at negotiation failed, staff escorted him, reportedly in a somewhat less than perfectly straight line, to Pattaya police station. The Australian gentleman insisted he’d certainly had drinks, just nowhere near 32,540 baht’s worth. Police initially encouraged both sides to negotiate, but with agreement apparently difficult, while at least one participant had enjoyed a particularly long day’s refreshment, officers recorded the complaint. They’ll investigate further once everyone concerned is rather more capable of remembering precisely what happened. And your weather for today, keep something waterproof nearby because rain is possible throughout the day. We’re looking at highs of around 31°, falling to 27° tonight, with plenty of cloud and the usual high humidity making it feel considerably warmer

Phuket Lion Cafe Investigation

On Phuket, authorities have been inspecting a rather unusual tourist attraction after reports circulated online that a Chinese visitor had been bitten by a lion. Yes, a lion.

The tourist assistance center visited the so-called lion cafe following the social media reports.

Staff at the venue confirmed that an incident did occur, although it wasn’t recent. The visitor apparently suffered only a minor abrasion and received first aid at the venue. Staff say the animal involved was a small lion cub named Caesar and insist that all lions kept at the cafe have been vaccinated.

Unfortunately, CCTV footage of the incident is apparently no longer available because the recording has since been overwritten or deleted, which leaves a rather obvious question being asked online. How exactly does a cafe containing tourists and lions operate legally in the first place?

Other authorities are reportedly now taking an interest, too. So, Caesar and company may be receiving a few more official visitors.

Throughout the day, he bought drinks for bar employees and repeatedly rang the bell for those fortunate enough to be within earshot.

The bar says he was actually a regular customer who had always paid his bills previously, so there hadn’t initially been any concern.

But apparently, the evening didn’t finish quite as he’d hoped. According to reports, his chosen companion declined his invitation to be bar friend and accompany him elsewhere. And from that point onwards, relations between customer and establishment appear to have deteriorated somewhat.

After attempts at negotiation failed, staff escorted him, reportedly in a somewhat less than perfectly straight line, to Pattaya police station. The Australian gentleman insisted he’d certainly had drinks, just nowhere near 32,540 baht’s worth.

Police initially encouraged both sides to negotiate, but with agreement apparently difficult, while at least one participant had enjoyed a particularly long day’s refreshment, officers recorded the complaint. They’ll investigate further once everyone concerned is rather more capable of remembering precisely what happened.