Pattaya police arrest 2 Myanmar suspects for ‘terrorist video clip’
Two Myanmar nationals were arrested by Pattaya police on Wednesday for allegedly terrorising a group of Middle Eastern tourists on a hilltop viewpoint in the resort town.
The suspects, however, said the tourists asked them to make a video of a terrorist incident that was staged for the tourists’ entertainment.
A video of the staged hostage taking – which took place on Sor Thor Ro 5 hill viewpoint – went viral on social media this morning, sparking alarm.
The clip showed a young man dressed in black forcing a group of more than 10 Middle Eastern tourists to kneel or sit down in a row. It also showed him pointing a “pistol” at the head of one male tourist while the others were ordered to sit or kneel.
The pistol, however, was just a cigarette lighter. Police confiscated it as evidence after arresting the two suspects, aged 22 and 25, at a convenience store in Pattaya.
The 25-year-old suspect said that he and his friend had been asked by Middle Eastern tourists to stage and film a hostage-taking situation.
The suspects were asked to pretend to be members of a Thai gang that terrorised tourists to extort money from them, police said.
The 22-year-old suspect used a smartphone belonging to one of the tourists to film the enactment.
Still, police said the two young men face jail for causing public panic and publicising false information on the internet.
The suspects said the tourists did not pay them to enact and film the incident. They were just being friendly, they said.
Police also told video makers to carefully consider the content of videos made in Thailand. Uploading violent videos can lead to jail, they warned.
