Suvarnabhumi Airport trespasser slapped with 7 charges
A Thai man, 34, who was arrested after riding a motorcycle into a restricted Suvarnabhumi Airport zone on Tuesday and using an axe to destroy glass doors after he was prevented from trying to board an empty plane will face seven charges, airport police station chief Pol Colonel Jirawat Piampinset said on Wednesday.
Airport officials reported on Tuesday that at around 11.50am the man had ridden from parking lot number 3 into a restricted area and tried to enter an empty Bangkok Airways plane at Control Post 3, prompting security guards to quickly shut the glass doors. He then used an axe to smash the doors in an attempt to escape but was apprehended.
Apart from the iron axe, security officers also found a custom-made pistol, a pair of scissors and an amphetamine tablet on him.
A security guard received minor injuries during the incident. Flight schedules were not affected.
Jirawat said investigation officers have filed the following charges against the trespasser:
1. Using a weapon or other material to cause serious damage to a plane or airport facility.
2. Trespassing into other people’s property by force.
3. Damaging property.
4. Carrying a weapon (axe) into a public venue without proper cause.
5. Possessing type I narcotics (amphetamine).
6. Consuming type I narcotics.
7. Scaring others by threatening to use lethal force.
The first charge carries the stiffest punishment under the 1978 Act on Certain Offences Against Air Navigation, in which an offender could face a maximum punishment of death or a life sentence, and a fine of up to THB800,000.
“The suspect was under the influence of a substance when he was arrested and could not give a statement, while a preliminary urine test found traces of a drug,” said Jirawat.
“This morning he started to sober up. He said he lived in Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli area and had been arrested twice on drug related charges in 2014.”
Police will take the man to court on Thursday.
