Two foreign divers arrested
published : 3 Sep 2020 at 12:20
writer: Gary Boyle
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: Supapong Chaolan
Two foreigners have been arrested after posting a video on Facebook of themselves diving in a protected area off Koh Phangan island.
The video show the two men tickling marine creatures with a selfie stick and taking photos with them.
The clip went viral and drew criticism on social media.
Sophon Thongdee, director-general of marine and coastal resources, said the men had been named as Attila Ott, a diving instructor and owner of the Pink Panther Scuba Dive Club and Bar, and Francesco Simonetti, a chef at Il Barracuda Restaurant&BBQ, Koh Phangan. He has a speed boat and often takes his customers out diving.
Mr Sophon said the men had been held by Koh Phangan police and had admitted taking the video in an area off Salat beach, Koh Phangan, and posting it on YouTube.
Police charged the men with intruding in an area designated for environmental protection, an offence which carries a maximum fine of 100,000 baht and/or one year in prison.
Their licences as diving instructors and other documents were being examined.
Vocabulary
- admitted (verb): agreed that something is true, especially when you are unhappy, sorry or surprised about it - ยอมรับ
- creature: anything that lives except plants - สิ่งมีชีวิต (คน, สัตว์)
- criticism: comments that show that you think something is wrong or bad - การวิจารณ์
- diver: a person who works underwater, usually with special equipment - นักดำน้ำ
- diving: the activity of going underwater, usually with special equipment - นักดำน้ำ
- environmental: involving the place in which people live and work, including all the physical conditions that affect them - เกี่ยวกับสภาพแวดล้อม, สิ่งแวดล้อม
- intrude: to go into a place or situation where you are not allowed, wanted or expected to be - บุกรุก, ล่วงล้ำ
- protection: the act of protecting somebody/something; the state of being protected - การอารักขา, การปกป้อง
- tickle: to produce a slightly uncomfortable feeling in a sensitive part of the body; to have a feeling like this; to move your fingers on a sensitive part of somebody's body in a way that makes them laugh - ทำให้จั๊กจี้
