The young man and woman showed signs of having been intoxicated. Both tourists are in custody and have been charged with vandalizing registered ancient artifacts, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a million baht or $40,000 fine, Col. Teerasak Sriprasert, chief of the Chiang Mai police, said. Lee, who is from Liverpool, admitted that he wrote “Scouser Lee” on the wall while Brittney told police that she wrote the letter “B” underneath it. “She never did a bad thing in her life,” Brittney’s mother declared. She said she is overwhelmed by the charges against her daughter.
Security camera image at the scene
The 13th century Tha Pae Gate is part of an ancient wall that forms a square around Chiang Mai’s inner city. Even if they will be released Monday, after paying the bail – 149,000 Thai baht, which is $6,000 Canadian – the two people won’t be able to leave the country. “When people visit somewhere they should know not to (leave) graffiti,” Police Major Anon Cherdchutrakulthong concluded tomedia.
