Police on Wednesday fined online prankster Nathan Bartling, 24, and his friend 5,000 baht each for their stunt of placing coins on rail tracks for trains to run over - and a much higher fine for alleged cruelty to animals may follow.
At the Prawet station, police fined the American and his Thai friend Nat Veerothai, 22, for breaking the traffic law by placing obstructions on a transportation route in an unsafe or inconvenient manner, and violating the Railway and Highway Act by trespassing on the State Railway of Thailand's land and damaging its property.
At the station, Mr Bartling again apologised for their actions, saying he would continue to make video clips for his YouTube channel "My Mate Nate" -- but they would no longer "affect the feelings of Thai people".
Regarding his video clip of a cat fighting a scorpion, he said he bought the scorpion from a man who ate such animals on Khao San Road. He happened to notice the scorpion fighting the cat, he claimed, and just recorded them.
The scorpion's sting had been removed, and he brought the cat to a veterinarian, who pronounced it healthy, Mr Bartling said.
Pol Col Alongkorn Sirisongkhram, chief of the Prawet police station, said that police imposed the highest fine allowed by law for the three offences, and had another 20 days to finish their investigation on the cat-and-scorpion act.
The American denied he abused the animals, said Pol Col Alongkorn, and the police would consult experienced veterinarians about animal behaviour before concluding the case.
An offence concerning cruelty to animals was liable to a jail term of up to two years and/or a fine of up to 40,000 baht, he said.
My Mate Nate has turned a part-time gig of making videos for social media into a job, already earning handsome profits at YouTube alone.
He has 3.3 million followers on the Google-owned service, and his videos attract up to 10 million viewers each. Viewing a video one time triggers up to 17 adverts - each resulting in a small payment to Mr Bartling. If a viewer clicks on an advertisement, it's a much bigger payoff.
Thai law requires internet-based workers to have a work permit, which he has never had. He said he is seeking a work permit to work at My Mate Nate Studio and expects to get it soon.
But in addition to his apparently illegal online work, Mr Bartling also runs a "souvenir" business from his various websites including YouTube, where he advertises and sells "My Mate Nate merchandise" such as caps (400 baht) T-shirts (350 baht) and, weirdly, a branded drone model that has his cartoon image on the top. It costs 1,990 baht.
Mr Bartling admits he has never had a work permit. But, merchandise sales aside, he has a non-trivial income from his online activities.