SONGKHLA: A 37-year-old man was arrested and charged with poaching and wildlife trafficking after he posted a video on TikTok showing dogs attacking a pangolin.
Supachai Nichakornpong, a native of Phatthalung province, was taken into custody at his house in tambon Padang Besar in Sadao district, Songkhla, on Thursday, Pol Maj Gen Pithak Uthaitham, commander of the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division, said.
The arrest followed a complaint from the Watchdog Thailand Foundation about a video posted on TikTok showing a wild pangolin being attacked by two dogs.
The foundation complaint said the person who recorded and posted the clip did not try to help the pangolin, and had allowed the dogs to savage it for a long time. Officials tracked down the person who posted it.
Mr Supachai admitted to recording the attack and posting the video, the police commander said.
Pol Maj Gen Pithak said Mr Supachai had a prior record of violence.
He had been jailed for six years in Songkhla for stabbing and severely injuring a subdistrict chief in Sadao district. He was released from Nathawi district prison in 2019, Pol Maj Gen Pithak said.