Chinese man arrested for spray-painting pharmacy in Chiang Mai
Police yesterday arrested a Chinese man for spray-painting on the roller shutter doors of two pharmacies in the northern province of Chiang Mai.
The pharmacist, who owns a shop on Bamrung Buri Road in Chiang Mai, caught the 33 year old Chinese man, He Ma, red-handed yesterday, February 6, while he was spray-painting the store’s roller shutter door.
The pharmacist intervened and recorded a video of the act before calling officers from Mueang Chiang Mai Police Station to the scene.
In the CCTV footage, the Chinese man can be seen pulling a spray paint bottle from his trouser pocket before spraying messages in Chinese and drawing a cartoon character of his own design. The messages in Chinese translated to…
“Come back here tomorrow. See you again.”
Ma also took a picture of his work but was unable to leave before the pharmacist arrived. Police immediately arrested him, seized three bottles of spray paint, and took him to the police station for questioning.
Ma claimed that he was an artist visiting Chiang Mai on holiday. He said he saw spray-painted graffiti on various doors and walls around the city centre and assumed his actions were not illegal.
He admitted to painting on the roller shutter doors of two pharmacies in the province, one on Bamrung Buri Road and another on Rat Chiang Saen Road.
Ma was charged under Section 358 of the Criminal Law for damaging another person’s property. The penalty is up to three years in prison, a fine of up to 60,000 baht, or both.
Another incident of illegal spray painting was reported yesterday in Phuket. A video shared on Channel 8 showed a building owner failing to catch a foreign man who had spray-painted her building. In the footage, the man can be seen writing the word “HAND!” on the wall before running away.
Last year, two foreign nationals in Phuket were condemned by locals for spray-painting words on footpaths and traffic signs in the province. There have been no further reports on their arrests.
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