Guide climbing Ayutthaya park wall with tourists face charges

Guide climbing Ayutthaya park wall with tourists face charges

Pradchayathorn Chanthayanon (left) has a word with a tourist police on Friday after he was found taking Chinese tourists to climb the wall of Wat Phra Si Sanphet in Ayutthaya on Friday. (Photo captured from video clip by Sunthorn Pongpao)
Pradchayathorn Chanthayanon (left) has a word with a tourist police on Friday after he was found taking Chinese tourists to climb the wall of Wat Phra Si Sanphet in Ayutthaya on Friday. (Photo captured from video clip by Sunthorn Pongpao)

AYUTTHAYA - A guide who set a bad example for Chinese tourists visiting the historic site by climbing a wall has been urged to meet police to hear charges.

Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya police charged Pradchayathorn Chanthayanon in absentia on Tuesday for violating rules governing tourist guides after a complaint lodged at the police station by representatives of the tourist police unit, and tourism and sports provincial office.

Police station chief Pol Col Surapong Thammapitak said a summons for him will be issued soon and the guide will face an arrest warrant if he ignores the second.

"This is a criminal case," he said.

Mr Pradchayathorn led about 20 Chinese tourists to climb the wall of Wat Phra Si Sanphet in the World Heritage site of the old capital on Friday so that they would not have to pay a 50-baht entry ticket to the historic park.

A tourist police patrolling the park on a bicycle caught him red-handed and told him that it was against the law.

"As a guide, you should set a good example for foreigners. But you led them to climb the wall," the police said. "The entrance is just 100 metres away."

Mr Pradchayathorn ignored the warning, saying: "I don't think it's such a big deal."

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