Police entered the Bangkok house of rock star Sek Loso and eventually arrested him for firing several gunshots into the air and the ground in front of the statue of King Taksin the Great in Nakhon Si Thammarat.
At first Sek - real name Seksan Sookpimay - remained in his locked bedroom on the second floor of the house in the Nantawan housing estate in Bang Khen district. The 43-year-old spoke to a police team led by Metropolitan Police Bureau deputy commander Sompong Chingduang via Facebook Live and asked them to show a search warrant before opening the door.
He told Pol Maj Gen Sompong to wait for his lawyer. He insisted he had no illegal items in his house - but said he did have a gun, and would use it if anyone broke down the door.
In a video posted on his Facebook page, he was seen holding a gun in his locked room. A woman's voice could be heard in the room.
The rock star took to Facebook earlier on Sunday with a message calling on Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to send soldiers to his house at Nanthawan Watcharapol housing estate in Bang Khen district, claiming police were harassing him.
He wrote “PM, please send soldiers to my house. Police are bothering me. I told them I want to finish my work first. I have to pay tuition fees for my children. I will not flee. Don’t turn something trivial into a major issue - I mean the police who have come to my house.”
Sek posted a clip showing police arriving at his house to arrest him over the firing of gunshots into the air and the ground in the compound of Wat Khao Khun Phanom in Phrommakhiri district of Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Police eventually broke down the door and arrested the rock star.
The police move came after the Nakhon Si Thammarat provincial court approved a warrant for Sek’s arrest on Saturday for illegal possession of a firearm, carrying it and firing it in a public area.
Sek was shown firing nine shots into the sky and one into the ground near the statue of King Taksin in the compound of the temple in the southern province.
The incident took place a few hours after Sek’s band, Loso, had performed a charity concert nearby on Thursday night.
National police chief Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda earlier instructed police to ensure that similar incidents do not occur elswhere as they endanger the public.
Sek was brought to the Metropolitan Police Bureau for interrogation and police would have him undergo a drug test.
Later deputy national police chief Pol Gen Chalermkiat Sriworakhan said Sek was additionally charged with resisting officials' work and illegally possession a gun, that he used at home. Sek was detained at the Khannayao police station.
Video by Sek Loso