Chonburi lad atones for sacred temple parkour by going monk 3 days

Wat Maha Tat in Ayutthaya province. Photo: Yakuzakorat via Wikimedia Commons
Wat Maha Tat in Ayutthaya province. Photo: Yakuzakorat via Wikimedia Commons

A teen boy turned himself in to the police Thursday after he became the subject of a manhunt for his free-running stunt atop a historic temple in Ayutthaya province. 

Though we can only hope he’s learned now that parkour is not cool, the unnamed teen may deserve a break since he jumped around the six-centuries-old temple to show off to his mom, who filmed it. They both arrived at the Ayutthaya Police Station to face the music for running, jumping and flipping atop Wat Maha Tat, a 600-year-old Buddhist temple dubbed “The Temple of the Great Relic.”

The teen’s mother told police that she and her son had traveled from Chonburi to see Ayutthaya’s temples. She said her son asked to be filmed. 

As a minor, the boy was let go with a THB500 fine and some stern warnings from the authorities. To complete his contrition, the boy will ordain as a monk for three whole days.

Earlier this week, the Fine Arts Department filed a complaint after footage of the boy (seriously, he looks about 40 on tape) stunt-running around the temple compound spread online. Police said he was liable for violating national park rules which forbid visitors from climbing structures.

Related:

Man wanted for free-running on 600-year-old Ayutthaya temple




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