SONGKHLA - A Thai police officer targeted by a Malaysian biker who called on followers to boycott Thailand after he and his friends were pulled over and ticketed for a range of offences in Hat Yai has defended his actions, insisting he was only doing his legal duty.
Pol Sgt Maj Third Class Weerasak Phansalaeman told reporters he was duty-bound to take action against the group of Malaysian riders. Some of their motorbikes were illegally modified under Thai law.
He had ordered 17 motorcycles ridden by the Malaysian tourists to pull over for checks and issued tickets to nine of them for a variety of offences. These included illegal modifications and being overly loud, and driving without an international driving licence issued by Malaysia.
The fines for the nine offenders totalled 12,000 baht and were processed at Hat Yai police station, in their presence, he said.
Pol Sgt Maj Third Class Weerasak came out to speak after one of the riders, a social media influencer using the name Tok Singa, reported the incident on his Facebook page and called for a boycott on visiting Thailand.
"After this BOYCOTT. Don't go to Thailand anymore!! !! !!," the translation of his Facebook post in Bahasia Malaysia screamed.
The New Straits Times on Monday quoted Tok Singa as saying: "We accept and respect the laws of our neighbouring country, but we were dissatisfied as only one officer was handling the matter, causing us to spend almost three hours there."
Pol Sgt Maj Third Class Weerasak posted video on Facebook on Monday under the name Sgt We Hat Yai showing him ordering the Malaysian riders to stop, and their subsequent conversation, which was not argumentative. Some in the riders were even laughing.
The content also showed the visitors and the officer posed for group photos and video before they all dispersed.
Tok Singa posted a response on Tuesday, saying it was acceptable for Thais to defend Pol Sgt Maj Third Class Weerasak, but he was unhappy with some Malaysians joining the bandwagon.
"I'm okay with it if Thai people defend the police because it's their right, but what's sad is that there are some Malaysian riders who pretend to be the most Thai riders, defending the Thai police and insulting me to the point of cursing me...," he wrote.
Malaysian visiors are second only to Chinese. About 2.6 million of them visited Thailand in the first half of this year, compared to 3 million Chinese, Tourism and Sports Ministry data shows.
Pol Sgt Maj Third Class Weerasak said he realised the importance of tourism to Thailand but did not believe the issue would have any affect on the tourism sector in Hat Yai because most tourists respect Thai law.
"Although I was a bit worried about possible consequences for tourism, I have to honour the truth and the dignity of the law," he said.
