NAKHON SI THAMMARAT: A senior officer of the Tourism Police Bureau has been transferred to headquarters pending investigation after landing his helicopter inside the compound of a famous temple.
The Tourism Police chief moved Pol Maj Gen Krissak Songmoolnak, chief of the Tourist Police Division 3 based in Phuket, to the Bangkok head office.
The transfer was made to clear the way for an investigation into his decision to allow a helicopter carrying himself and other passengers to land at Wat Chedi in Sichol district on Friday.
The temple is revered by worshippers and he should have found a better landing place and then continued to the temple by car, the order said.
A photo of the helicopter parked on the ground inside the temple was posted on the Watchdog Facebook account. The poster said linked it to Pol Maj Gen Krissak's arrival to make an offering to the statue of Ai Khai.
Ai Khai is a statue of a boy respected by visitors to the temple.
The temple responded on its Facebook account, saying Pol Maj Gen Krissak was at the temple to monitor safety measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Tourist Police Division 3 posted a Facebook message asking that its boss be treated fairly.
