710 people caught violating curfew in one night, most in Phuket

The Royal Thai Police Operations Centre has revealed that there were 710 arrests made on Thursday night for violators of the national curfew. Officials searched 27,011 individuals and 20,568 vehicles with a final arrest number of 710, on last Thursday night alone.

The arrests consisted of…

• 612 suspects left their homes during the curfew with no valid reasoning, out of this number
  • 104 were out for a nighttime drive
  • 137 were on their way back home
  • 208 were out to run an errand
  • 234 had “other reasons”
• 98 suspects were arrested for group gatherings, out of this number…
  • 41 were drinking
  • 35 were taking illicit drugs
  • 6 were gambling
  • 16 were out for “other reasons”

Phuket had the highest number of arrests set at 57, followed by Pathumthani with 50 arrests, Bangkok was third with 28 arrests. All curfew violators without a clear excuse or evidence could face 2 years jail, or a penalty up to 40,000 baht, or both, according to the emergency decree.

SOURCE: Thai Residents