NAKHON SI THAMMARAT: Six people have been arrested during a police raid on a house in Chawang district for gambling and violating the Covid-19 gathering ban.
Police raided the house in tambon La-ai in Chawang district on Monday evening following information that the house was operated as a gambling den and gamblers showed no fear of the Covid-19 outbreak that was spreading in the province, particularly clusters at gambling venues.
Upon seeing police, the people there tried to flee through the back door but all six of them were caught, said the arresting team. Seized from the house was a set of gambling cads, other gambling paraphernalia and some cash.
Mr Wasant Wongsawat, 57, the house owner, was among the six gamblers, five of them were women. They were charged with colluding in gambling and illegal gathering that posted a risk of spread diseases in violation of announcements under the Communicable Disease Control Act. All were held in police custody for legal action.
Nakhon Si Thammarat on Tuesday reported 49 new Covid-19 cases, raising the total infections to 1,167. Of the cases, 850 had recovered and another 299 remained at hospitals. The accumulated deaths stood at 18. Authorities said most infections were from clusters at gambling dens.
Dr Jarasphong Sukkree, chief of the provincial public health office, on Tuesday said he did not need to give orders regarding measures to tackle illegal gambling in the province because related authorities — the governor, health officials and police — were already on the provincial communicable disease control committee.