Woman hijacks rescue truck in Bangkok, sparks police chase

In a bizarre incident this morning, a Japanese woman seized a rescue pickup truck in front of the Lumpini Police Station while the vehicle was assisting an injured foreign man. The woman, whose identity is yet to be determined, drove off with the vehicle at approximately 8.10am, leading authorities on a chase that concluded near the large roundabout in the Bang Yi Ruea area of Thonburi, Bangkok.

The incident began when Pisut Chukleang, a volunteer with the Ruamkatanyu Foundation, reported the theft. He was attending to a foreign man who had been injured near the Lumpini Police Station around 7.55am. The rescue vehicle had been left running and unlocked in front of the station. Upon completing the first aid procedures, the volunteers discovered the vehicle had been stolen. The police were immediately alerted to the theft.

Following the report, Police Lieutenant Colonel Wathanyu Boonnoon, who is in charge of the Lumpini Police Station, ordered patrols to broadcast an alert throughout the surrounding Lumpini Park area to intercept the stolen vehicle. The pursuit led officers and the victimised party towards the Taksin intersection, where the woman was eventually apprehended near the Bang Yi Ruea roundabout, reported KhaoSod.

Upon capture, the woman communicated in Japanese, necessitating the need for an interpreter to assist with her interrogation. The authorities transported her back to the Lumpini Police Station to further evaluate whether she was suffering from any mental health issues, as her responses to questioning were erratic and inconclusive.

The woman is now in custody at the Lumpini Police Station, where further assessments will determine her mental state and any subsequent legal proceedings.

In related news, a Japanese fugitive escaped police custody in a daring car chase. He was initially detained at the Immigration Bureau in Suan Phlu on September 9 last year, before managing to commandeer a police vehicle and flee the scene. The Japanese man, Yuki Yanagi, who was later discovered to have abandoned the vehicle and taken a taxi, remains at large.