A man who climbed the King Rama I statue in Bangkok's Phra Nakhon district early on Monday morning has been sent to a hospital for a mental health check after it took police two hours to persuade him to come down.
Pol Col Rungsan Lomkking, an officer on duty at Phra Ratchawang police station, reported that a man was found sitting on the figure's lap at 4.15am.
Phra Ratchawang police called firefighters and rescue workers to send a firefighting crane and a rescue air cushion to the scene while they attempted to talk him back down.
Police said it took until 6.40am to persuade the man, identified only as Rin, 30, from Suphan Buri, to climb onto the firefighting crane platform.
He looked exhausted, drunk and mentally disturbed, they said.
The man was later sent to Somdet Chaopraya Institute of Psychiatry for a mental health check.
The statue is located at the entrance to the Memorial Bridge near Pak Klong Talad in Phra Nakhon district.
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