A Malaysian man recently tried to lodge a complaint with Thai authorities that he was abducted in Songkhla. Is this true?
Verdict:
FALSE
According to Thai police, the 46-year-old man had in fact escaped police custody after being nabbed for smoking baraku at a roadside in Sadao, Songkhla on Oct 19.
Smoking baraku (also known as hookah) is prohibited in Thailand and the man was nabbed following a public tip-off.
"Investigations found that immigration and tourist police officers had told the man to go to the Tourist Service Centre for further investigations. However, he neither wanted to cooperate nor show his travel documents to the officers.
"Later, the man agreed to get on a police pick-up truck to go to the centre,” said Thai tourist police deputy chief and spokesman Pol Maj Gen Apichart Suriboonya.
However, Apichart said the man jumped off the pick-up as it made a turn and two days later on Oct 21, he left Thailand.
He re-entered the kingdom on Oct 24 to file a complaint that he was abducted.
As soon as the police got to know the man had returned to Thailand, Apichart said Songkhla tourist police submitted all evidence to detectives at Sadao police station for official prosecution.
