3 foreigners caught in Phuket for illegal motorcycle modifications
Officers from Karon Police Station stopped three foreigners at a checkpoint on a road in Phuket due to illegal modifications to their motorcycles.
Karon Police set up a checkpoint outside the Holiday Inn Resort Phuket to monitor both Thai and foreign motorists violating traffic laws.
At approximately 3.30pm, Monday, February 3, officers stopped a suspicious Frenchman, 29 year old Mehdi Lamine Chidekh, and inspected his Yamaha TMAX motorcycle.
Chidekh’s motorcycle was found to have illegal accessories installed, along with a modified exhaust pipe that produced excessive engine noise. No further illegal items were discovered in his possession.
Two other foreign motorcyclists were stopped at the checkpoint at around 8pm. They were identified as 23 year old Russian national Degtiarev Egor and 27 year old Russian national Kosin Denis.
Egor was riding a Honda CB650R, while Denis was on a Kawasaki Z1000. Both motorcycles were found to violate the same laws as Chidekh’s.
All three foreign nationals, along with their motorcycles, were taken to the police station for further legal proceedings. However, details regarding the charges and penalties were not disclosed in the report.
Following a previous case, the three may face two charges:
- Section 14 of the Land Transport Act: altering any parts of a vehicle to differ from its registered specifications with the Land Transport Department. The penalty carries a fine of up to 2,000 baht.
- Section 370 of the Criminal Law: modifying an exhaust pipe to produce noise exceeding 95 decibels. The penalty carries a fine of up to 1,000 baht.
In a related incident last month, Thai police arrested five French nationals for evading a police checkpoint operated by Kamala Police Station.
Dashcam footage from a Thai motorist captured the foreign riders refusing to stop despite police intervention, instead speeding away from the scene.
Their motorcycles were confiscated as evidence, but all of them were found to belong to a local rental shop rather than the foreigners themselves.
One of the motorcycles was valued at over 400,000 baht. However, police did not clarify whether these motorcycles had any illegal modifications.
Latest Thailand News
