Police officer faces scrutiny after flying helicopter onto temple grounds

A high-ranking tourist police officer landed the department’s helicopter at a famous Buddhist temple in Southern Thailand. The senior regional officer for the Tourism Police Bureau parked the helicopter inside the compound of the Wat Chedi in Sichon, a district in Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Why a car wouldn’t have been a sufficient means of transportation has not been addressed by officials at this stage.

The Bangkok Post says the officer is going to transferred to Tourist Police HQ after photos of the helicopter parked at the temple were posted on Facebook by an account known as “Watchdog.” The Watchdog account says police were there was also a truck full of 3 million firecrackers that were going to be an offering to the Ai Khai statue at the temple by a group of South Korean business people.

The Post says the temple responded, saying the police officer was there to monitor safety and coronavirus prevention measures. It’s unclear why he needed a helicopter for that.

The temple is highly revered by local people in the area.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post