The Phang Nga traffic police called over a car on the side of the road to discover 2 drunk monks inside the car. The incident occurred in Takua Pah district, Phang Nga province at the Pom Khao Luk district checkpoint. Police Major Onnpon Kutchtamnon and other police officers stopped a suspicious black Chevrolet truck.
When the car stopped at the checkpoint the police saw two monks sitting in the front seat. The officers couldn’t understand what they were trying to say as they made no sense and appeared extremely drunk. The police then requested both monks to come down from the car. They discovered that the driver is Monk Prah Satayu Yodchatoh and the other monk is named Monk Prah Numchiew Panyateepoh.
The police then administered a breathalyzer test to both of the monks and found out that the driver was extremely intoxicated with 293mg% of alcohol in his system. The other monk had a test result of 192mg% of alcohol in his system. Both had alcohol levels that are over the legal limit at 50mg%.
According to the law, this is punishable with a fine of 10k to 20k THB or Imprisonment up to 1 year or both. The court can order a suspension of the drivers’ license for at least 6 months up to a lifetime suspension of the drivers’ license. The vehicle that the drunk driver was driving at the time can be seized for no more than 7 days.
To give you a better picture, a glass of 40% alcohol whisky with an average of 30 ml., one cup of 12% alcohol wine with an average of 100 ml., and 1 small pint of 5% alcohol beer with an average of 330 ml. is approximately what you can drink to pass the legal limit of 50mg%.
The monk who was driving the car stated that he was a monk at a famous temple in Phang Nga. He was drinking with Prah Numchiew and finished a bottle of whiskey. When both became drunk they decided to borrow a car belonging to their friend at the temple to go visit some family relatives in Khao Lak district. The trip came to an end before he could reach his relatives as the police called him over at the Khao Luk checkpoint.
The police brought some normal clothes for both of the monks to change into and will be prosecuting both of them with the law just like any other DUI drivers.
