An Italian man has been arrested in Patong after he was found to be driving while intoxicated.
The 50 year old, named in a Phuket News report as Claudio Tomaselli, was arrested by Patong Police at around 4am yesterday, March 31. He was detained near Loma Circle, at the northern end of Patong Beach, after a breathalyser test found him to be twice the legal alcohol limit.
The Italian was taken to Patong Police Station and charged with driving while intoxicated, an offence that carries a fine of between 5,000 and 20,000 baht and/or a year in prison for a first-time offence.
A second offence, committed within 2 years of the first, carries a fine of between 50,000 and 100,000 baht and/or a prison term of up to 2 years.
Phuket’s night-time road fatality figures are significantly higher than the rest of the country, according to data from the Thai Road Safety Foundation.
The province recorded 52 road deaths during the first quarter of this year, a 57.6% increase on the same period last year. Of those, 30 (57.7%) were the result of accidents that happened between the hours of 10.01pm and 6.59am. The nationwide percentage during the same time period is just 29.7%.
Phuket also reported more than 7,155 hospitalisations from road traffic accidents, a 20.5% increase on last year. The Phuket News points out that those statistics do not include minor injuries.
SOURCE: The Phuket News
