Pictures of a man carrying and drinking beer at a Chiang Mai temple during a visit by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha have caused a stir online.

The pictures show an Asian man holding an open can of beer, along with two more in a clear plastic bag, just metres away from the premier’s security team at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. Others show him clearly drinking from the cans on the grounds of the temple.

Prayut had travelled to the temple to pay his respects during his tour of the northern province.

Social media users asked how someone had managed to carry alcoholic drinks onto temple grounds as doing so is illegal. They also asked why the prime minister’s guards seemed uninterested in the violation.