Hundreds of people across Thailand continue to defy the nationwide curfew as police announce 710 arrests on a particularly busy night between 10 pm on Tuesday, May 6th and 4 am on Wednesday, May 7th.
On Monday night to Tuesday morning, 690 people were arrested for violating the curfew. However, the following night, that figure has risen further still.
A total of 27,011 individuals and 20,568 vehicles were stopped and questioned during the Tuesday night curfew hours across the nation.
Of those stopped the majority had valid reasons to be out during curfew hours including delivery and transport drivers, emergency personnel, and other exceptions that may travel during those hours.
However, there were also many violators with 612 people providing no valid reason for being out during the curfew. Some of the excuses used included going out for a nighttime drive, going back home, and running errands.
In addition to the 612 arrested for being out without a valid reason, a further 98 people were arrested for group gatherings during curfew hours.
These include people arrested for drinking parties, drug gatherings, gambling, and other related activities taking the total number of arrests up to 710 for the night.
The worst offending provinces are Phuket that had 57 arrests, Pathum Thani with 50 arrests, and Bangkok with 28 arrests. All offenders will face a fine up to 40,000 baht and/or up to two years in prison.
There were only nine provinces nationwide without a single arrest on Tuesday night. They are Mukdahan, Sukhothai, Narathiwat, Lampang, Nakhon Phanom, Mae Hong Son, Nong Khai, Nakhon Nayok, and Nong Bua Lamphu.
A further 71 people who broke the curfew were allowed to go home with a warning.
Source: Thai Residents
