Legal action will be taken against the protesters who ran riot and set fire on a police vehicle near the Din Daeng intersection after marching from the Democracy Monument to the Victory Monument in protest against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Saturday afternoon, Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner Pol Maj Gen Jirasan Kaewsaeng-ek said in a press conference.
Pol Maj Gen Jirasan said about 200 protesters began to converge at the Democracy Monument on Ratchadamnoen avenue at about 2pm.
From the Democracy Monument, the protesters marched to the Victory Monument where they gathered to show their opposition to the government with Gen Prayut as prime minister.
At about 6pm, they announced the end of the protest and dispersed.
But, some of the protesters proceeded to the Din Daeng intersection. There, they looked set to proceed on foot along the Vibhavadi Rangsit highway for the Gen Prayut’s residence in the 1st Infantry Regiment, prompting crowd control police to form a line across the highway to block them from advancing. An anti-riot truck with a water canon was called to the scene.
The disgruntled protesters ran riot and set ablaze on a police vehicle parked in front of the Office of the Narcotic Control Board. They hurled flares, large firecrackers, glass balls and glass bottles at the anti-riot police.
Following intermittent clashes with the police, the protesters, some of them riding on motorcycles, dispersed at about 8.30pm.
Pol Maj Gen Jirasan said the protesters, some of them armed, had damaged government property and cause public disturbances. Police were gathering evidence to take legal against them, he added.
People who witnessed the incident can call 191 or 1599 to give information to the police, he said.
