A Russian couple have been arrested for public indecency and fined THB500 each as a video of them seemingly having sex in the back of a Phuket tuk-tuk went viral after being posted online Friday night.
Video: A Russian couple was filmed in a sexual position in a vehicle Bangkokians would call a “songthaew,” but Phuket locals call a “tuk-tuk.”
The grainy 28-second clip was recorded by the dashcam of a car following behind the tuk-tuk. The video was initially posted on the Facebook page of user Sornchai Uadsree with the message, “Can’t they wait until they arrive at a hotel? Really, can’t they wait to do this?”
In the video, the woman can be seen straddling her male companion and leaning back across the tuk-tuk cab, and moving rhythmically while supported by her arms.
Karon Police on Saturday morning said they were unaware of the incident, and by Saturday morning the Facebook page where the video was first posted had been deleted.
However, Lt. Col. Naruewat Puttawiro, of the Phuket Tourist Police, said today that police had tracked down the tuk-tuk and the couple.
“From the video, we could tell that the tuk-tuk was traveling along the beachfront (during the incident),” he said.
“We tracked down the tuk-tuk driver through the license plate, and he led police to where the couple were staying in Phuket Town,” he added.
“We found them early Sunday evening. They are Russian tourists,” Col. Naruewat confirmed, but declined to name the amorous couple.
“We brought them to Karon Police Station, where a volunteer (acting as translator) explained to them for an hour why they had been brought in for questioning. Both denied that they were having sex, but they both admitted they had removed items of clothing. They said that they did not know that this broke the law,” Col. Naruewat added.
However, their actions were deemed illegal.
“We explained to them that in Thai culture even just taking off a shirt in public is inappropriate, so they were both charged with public indecency and fined THB500 each,” Col. Naruewat confirmed.
“We would like to thank the public for their help in bringing this to our attention,” he added.
Story: The Phuket News
