CHON BURI - A naked foreign man, thought to be a Russian, was overpowered after using a sharp, pointed knife and a screwdriver to destroy goods and terrorise people in Pattaya in the early hours of Thursday.
The man was running amok in shops at Mae Wilai market in the Pattaya Klang area of Bang Lamung district when police arrived around 12.30am, said Pol Maj Pwatchai Sudsakhon, deputy crime suppression chief at Pattaya police station.
The crazed man, who was aged between 25 and 30, did not cease his wild antics upon seeing the police. The officers followed him down the street and finally overpowered him about 20 minutes later with the help of passersby. He was taken to Pattaya police station.
Thongyib Chomdee, 52, a vendor, said the man threated people with the knife and screwdriver and destroyed goods being sold at the market. When the man saw her, he walked straight towards her shop. Terrified, she immediately locked the door to keep him out, she said.
The naked man shook the door violently, trying to enter the shop. This was shortly before police arrived, the frightened vendor said.
A video of the incident on Facebook showed the police following him and eventually catching him, and the naked man babbling on in heavily accented English, at one time mentioning "many gangs" in Pattaya.