Cool ride, hot water: Fake licence plate lands young Thai man in prison

A young Thai man faces five years in prison after he was arrested by Ubon Ratchathani Highway Police for using a fake red licence plate. The suspect had a genuine plate but claimed he used the fraudulent one to make his vehicle look cool. The police suspect he was trying to evade traffic tickets.

Forging government documents, such as licence plates, can lead to a five-year prison sentence.

The arrest was made today, under the command of Police Lieutenant Colonel Charoenkiat Pankaew, the Provincial Police Region, and several other officers of high rank.

Narong Somsen, Deputy 4th Highway Police Substation, 6th Highway Police Station, along with police officers from the 4th Highway Police Substation, 6th Highway Police Station, set up a checkpoint at kilometre 352 on Highway 24, Thung Theing Sub-district, Det Udom District, Ubon Ratchathani Province, to arrest criminal offenders within their jurisdiction, reported KhaoSod.

While at the checkpoint, a suspicious Chevrolet Colorado was spotted. The grey vehicle, heading from Kantharalak District, Sisaket Province to Det Udom District, Ubon Ratchathani Province, appeared to have been used for a long time, but it had a red plate attached.

The police stopped the vehicle for inspection and found the driver to be Ekkachai.

Fake registration plate

Upon checking the vehicle’s registration, it was found to be registered as a Chevrolet Colorado with the licence plate number งต2937 Nakhon Ratchasima, which did not match the red licence plate number ร2115 Bangkok.

A further inspection revealed that the red licence plate was a counterfeit. It is believed that Ekkachai intended to deceive others into thinking that his vehicle was new and eligible for the special red licence plate.

Ekkachai admitted to attaching the counterfeit red plate to his vehicle. He claimed to have taken it from another vehicle he owned and had been using it for about three to four months to make his vehicle appear new. However, the police did not believe his explanation and suspected that he wanted to avoid traffic tickets or other offences.

Officers informed Ekkachai that he was being charged with using a forged government document under Section 2680 and took him to Det Udom Police Station for further legal proceedings.

Ubon Ratchathani Highway Police warned the public that using a fake licence plate is a criminal offence and can lead to a prison sentence of up to five years.

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