German man in Pattaya freaks out as officers move in to arrest him for overstaying

A German couple in Pattaya was arrested yesterday for overstaying their visa. Arresting officers at the scene discovered that the man wasn’t going to go without a fight.

Officers from Bang Lamung Police Station were answering a routine nuisance neighbour call at Soi Panya Nimit in Nongprue, but when they arrived on the scene they discovered the couple had overstayed their welcome so tried to arrest them.

Officers moved in but the occupier, 47 year old German man Tomas Veit, resisted arrest and went berserk.

He screamed abuse at the police, set fire to a cooking gas canister, yanked aggressively at high-voltage overhead cables causing one to fall, held a knife to his throat and even set his dogs, two Rottweilers and an English Mastiff, on the arresting officers in a bizarre one-hour standoff.

Veit was out of control during the standoff. He also destroyed his furniture, climbed onto the roof, and sulked for a few moments before hurling bottles at officers outside his house.

Officers had to spray water onto the house to control the raging fire.

Veit continued to behave erratically while his dogs ran amok. In the end, officers had to use a dart gun to tranquillise the dogs to get inside the house. It was at this stage Veit held a knife to his throat.

Officers managed to call Veit’s 35 year old wife, who was not at home, and asked if she could calm her husband. She was successful and officers managed to force their way into the couple’s home and arrest the angry man who continued to be aggressive. He also refused to answer questions regarding his unruly behaviour.

Neighbours revealed the angry German often set his dogs on residents, adding they would puncture the wheels of vehicles in the area as well as scare passing children.

The German couple was initially charged with overstaying, which is a fine of 500-baht per day but not exceeding 20,000 baht.

Anyone who is arrested for overstaying could be banned from entering Thailand for five to 10 years depending on the overstaying period of each person. The couple’s overstaying period has not been reported.

Veit remains in custody and is facing multiple charges on top of his overstay. He will face those charges in a Thai court, and then he will be deported and blacklisted according to Bang Lamung Police Chief Colonel Nawin Sinturat.