Crime
Photo’s of Tourists Tagging a Wall Ko Lanta, Thailand Go Viral on Facebook
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PHUKET – On the weekend photo’s of a couple spraying graffiti on a wall in Ko Lanta, a sleepy island district east of Phuket went viral on Thai social Media, after they were posted on Facebook.
A man, who appears to be Caucasian, can be seen in the act of “tagging” a wall, while his seemingly female accomplice stood by as an apparent lookout for their crime. A motorcycle can be seen in the image with the registration number 9355, which could be a rental.
Reportedly taken by Patrick West on Jan. 12, the photos were shared in the Koh Lanta Info Facebook group by member Mellisa Durham on Jan. 14.
Social-media users are outraged, with one Facebook user writing, “I think everyone should know what these people have been doing to this lovely island.”
“Do that in your own urban neighborhood,” another Facebook user says. “Don’t come do it on an island with a culture you don’t understand.”
In December, Thai police arrested an American couple Bruce Baizer, 29, and Ristin Joness, 22, at a Bangkok hotel after they were caught on video tagging the streets of Bangkok.
Their vandalism was caught on camera, and the incident went viral.
https://www.facebook.com/nasanuks/videos/2037440456272895/
The Nation Thailand reports that the couple was charged a $196 fine and that they later apologized, saying that “they did it just for kicks.”