A man whose vicious attack on his girlfriend was broadcast live on his Facebook page on Sunday evening was high on methamphetamine pills, or yaba, at the time, according to police.
Deputy police chief Wirachai Songmetta said he questioned Chaichana Sirichart at Bung Kum police station, where he was being held, on Sunday night.
The 26-year-old man had tested positive for methamphetamione use and was still unable to give a coherent statement to police due to the effects of the drug, Pol Gen Wirachai said.
Police pressed charges of causing injury, illegal detention, importing images to shame others into a computer system, and Type 1 drug use against Mr Chaichana, the deputy police chief said.
Mr Chaichana’s girlfriend, Kuldara Yeesaman, 21, suffered injuries to her face, head and right hand, but was still able to give her account of the attack, police said.
The attack occurred in a room at an apartment building in Bung Kum district. The assault was broadcast live on Facebook and seen by several viewers, who reported it to police.
In the 11-minute live video, the man kept accusing the woman of dishonesty and said how patient he had been. The woman appeared to be severely injured, with blood on her swollen face and arms that held a blanket covering her body.
The man boasted that he was smart enough to conceal their whereabouts, despite the video streaming live on Facebook.
Deputy police spokesman Krissana Pattanacharoen said Mr Chaichana used a broom and a facial massager to hit his girlfriend. He had forced Ms Kuldara to use his mobile phone to stream the attack via his Facebook page.
After being informed of the attack, Bung Kum police went to the apartment building and apprehended Mr Chaichana at the scene, Pol Col Krissana said.
He was taken to Bung Kum police station and his mobile phone seized for examination.
National police chief Chakthip Chaijinda thanked netizens for alerting police to the assault, which led to officers arriving quickly at the scene, the deputy spokesman said.
Pol Maj Gen Teerapong Wongratpitak, commander of the Metropolitan Police Division 4, said Mr Chaichana confessed to attacking his girlfriend, saying she was cheating on him.
Mr Chaichana is an administrator of the Global Fx Investment Facebook Page.
Asked about rumours that Ms Kuldara had secretly transferred 40 million baht worth of stocks out of his account, Pol Maj Gen Teerapong said there was no clear evidence of this. The investigation was continuing.
According to police sources, Mr Chaichana offered a course teaching people how to trade forex, and many people applied to join. Each paid 15,000 baht but they never received any training, prompting the applicants to pressure him to return the money.
Police let Mr Chaichana speak briefly to reporters around noon on Monday.
He said he was so angry with his girlfriend that he just had to attack her, but he still loved her. He admitted to taking methamphetamine.