A British man has been charged after allowing his nine-year-old son to drive a car on a public road in Phuket, with a concerned passerby capturing the incident on video and reporting it to police.
On Thursday, Pol Col Somsak Thongkliang, superintendent of Vichit Police Station, ordered investigators to track down the foreign man seen in the footage, which was recorded on Tuesday near My Front Yard Community Mall on Chao Fa West Road, Muang district, Phuket.
The video showed a pre-adolescent boy sitting on the man's lap and steering the vehicle while travelling along the road. The car was seen swerving from side to side and braking abruptly, creating a potential danger to other road users.
Following an investigation, police located the suspect, identified only as Grant, a British national, along with the Honda City seen in the footage, at his residence in Chalong subdistrict, Muang district.
During questioning, Grant admitted that he was the driver shown in the video and acknowledged that he had allowed his son to operate the vehicle despite the child not having a driving licence.
Police subsequently seized the car and transferred the case to investigators at Vichit Police Station for legal action.
Grant is facing charges of reckless driving that endangers public safety, permitting an unlicensed person to operate a vehicle and encouraging or allowing a child to engage in inappropriate behaviour that could negatively affect the child's conduct. The charges fall under the Land Traffic Act, the Motor Vehicle Act B.E. 2522 (1979), and the Child Protection Act B.E. 2546 (2003).
Legal proceedings are ongoing.
