Singaporean arrested in Pattaya for flying drone despite nationwide ban
According to Thai media outlet Thaiger, the man was spotted operating the device along Pattaya's famous Walking Street at about 12.19am on Thursday (Aug 7).
Local police quickly moved in and detained the man, who reportedly told officers that he was a drone enthusiast and avid traveller and claimed he was unaware that drones were prohibited in the area.
The man was unable to produce the required flight permit for the drone. Under Section 78 of Thailand's Aviation Act 1954, operating a drone without authorisation is a criminal offence.
Police seized the drone, which came with lithium batteries, two spare batteries, a black remote control, red-and-black headband drone control glasses, and a black shoulder bag.
The Singaporean has since been formally charged. Investigations are ongoing.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand implemented the drone ban on July 30 as part of heightened national security measures following recent tensions with Cambodia. The restriction will remain in place until Aug 15.
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Singaporean arrested in Pattaya for flying drone despite nationwide ban
SINGAPORE: A 44-year-old Singaporean tourist has been arrested in Pattaya for allegedly flying a drone in violation of Thailand's nationwide drone ban. According to Thai media outlet Thaiger, the man was spotted operating the device along Pattaya's famous Walking Street at about 12.19am on Thursday (Aug 7). Local police quickly moved in and detained the man, who reportedly told officers that he was a drone enthusiast and avid traveller and claimed he was unaware that drones were prohibited in the area. The man was unable to produce the required flight permit for the drone. Under Section 78 of Thailand's Aviation Act 1954, operating a drone without authorisation is a criminal offence. Police seized the drone, which came with lithium batteries, two spare batteries, a black remote control, red-and-black headband drone control glasses, and a black shoulder bag. The Singaporean has since been formally charged. Investigations are ongoing. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand implemented the drone ban on July 30 as part of heightened national security measures following recent tensions with Cambodia. The restriction will remain in place until Aug 15.
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Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Muhammad Sabri Rifaie Zul was sentenced to three years and 14 weeks' jail on Aug 11. SINGAPORE - A man who did not have a valid passport decided to leave Singapore illegally in late 2022 while he was on bail over an incident where he injured another man with a knife. Singaporean Muhammad Sabri Rifaie Zul climbed into the rear compartment of a Malaysia-registered lorry while the driver was away, hid among some baskets of produce and slipped unnoticed across the Causeway into Johor. Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) prosecutor Kelvin Teo told the court that Malaysian authorities sent Sabri back to Singapore in October 2024, and he was arrested soon after. He was sentenced to three years and 14 weeks' jail on Aug 11 after he pleaded guilty to leaving Singapore without presenting his passport to the authorities, assault and drug-related offences. Court documents stated that Sabri, 31, is a repeat drug abuser. He was ordered to spend a year in a drug rehabilitation centre in December 2020 for consuming methamphetamine and morphine, before he was placed on drug supervision for five years in June 2022. He failed to turn up for a urine test on Nov 3, 2022 as required under a supervision order. Later that same month, Sabri was at a Serangoon Road restaurant when he used a dining knife to injure a man who confronted him over a staring incident, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Kester Tan. The victim was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital where he was found with injuries including superficial lacerations to his abdomen and right thigh. Sabri was arrested on Nov 19, 2022, and released on bail after being charged in court over the incident. The ICA prosecutor said that within a week of being on bail, Sabri had a tiff with his family and decided to leave Singapore illegally. 'He knew that there were many Malaysian lorries parked at a road alongside a... petrol station near Woodlands Checkpoint,' said Assistant Superintendent Teo. 'There was a line of lorries parked alongside the petrol station, and he decided to board the last lorry in the line... He climbed onto the cargo area of the lorry from the back and hid between baskets of food produce.' Sabri managed to enter Malaysia before he was sent back to Singapore in late 2024.
