Phuket ‘Beer’ Ride Ends In Surat Thani

[webfact]

Phuket ‘Beer’ ride ends in Surat Thani

REUNITED: Mazda sales rep Thitaporn Markkaew (green shirt) gets the car back.

THE DROP-OFF: Mr Beer and Mazda sales rep Thitaporn Markkaew at the scene where

he asked her to get out of the car so his boyfriend would not get jealous.

PHUKET: -- A 20-year-old man was arrested on Thursday afternoon after taking a brand-new Mazda 2 for a test drive from Phuket Town all the way to Wiangsa in Surat Thani, about 200 kilometers away.

Yutthapong “Beer” Malila, originally from Surat Thani, contacted the Anupas Mazda showroom on Ong Sim Phai Road in Phuket Town on Wednesday, asking to take a new car for a test drive, police said.

Looking forward to a prospective deal, sales representative Thitaporn Markkaew agreed and accompanied Mr Beer as he drove the Mazda 2 away from the showroom.

But when they reached Tah Chat Chai at the northernmost tip of the island – at about 11pm – Mr Beer drove into a side street next to the police station and asked Ms Thitaporn to get out of the car.

He wanted to pick up his boyfriend and didn’t want the lad to misunderstand his having a woman with him, he said.

He reassured her he would come back, said police.

Believing him, Ms Thitaporn got out of the car.

After several hours of waiting, a frustrated Ms Thitaporn walked off to Tah Chat Chai Police to report the car stolen.

After triangulating Mr Beer’s position from his mobile phone signal, police finally found him the next day. He was using his phone at a gas station in Surat Thani.

Only after arresting him did police learn there were outstanding warrants for Mr Beer’s arrest for charges of embezzlement in Lamphun, in Northern Thailand, as well as for robbery in Surat Thani.

Mr Beer denied the embezzlement charge, but confessed to breaking-and-entering theft in Surat Thani, police said.

He denied stealing the car, however.

Mr Beer is being held at Tah Chat Chai Police Station pending his arraignment.

-- Phuket Gazette 2011-03-26

[geriatrickid]

Wow. The photo pose is something. I wonder if Mr. Beer's boyfriend will remain true to him while he is incarcerated?

[madmitch]

You get some great stories in Thailand.

Where else would anyone go for a test drive at 11pm?

And the rest of the story would be unbelievable in the West but somehow seems quite normal here.

[RedBullHorn]

I was wondering the same thing...11pm~

[SantiSuk]

I love the way that the police in Thailand are so egotistical that they have to recreate the scene of the crime for the cameras. Wonder what the lady said to beer when she was reunited.

I'm surprised the police didn't throw a comedy gay boy and a police commissioner with handcuffs into the pastiche for good measure

[Boater]

when i saw ' Beer ' , i thought this was going to be some article about a Road Trip or something along those lines