Russian man Oleg Fomenko was arrested after he went on a drunken escapade early last Wednesday morning – smashing an abbot statue at Wat Karon and using a crowbar to smash the window of a truck he tried to steal.
A protest was held at Wat Karon last weekend, with locals demanding Fomenko to apologise in the presence of the statue for his actions. Locals said if he didn’t do it within seven days, they will blockage the Karon Police Station.
As Fomenko is currently being held in custody, residents said they wanted the court to release him to be able to visit the Wat to apologise. If he wasn’t able to do so, then they called for a Russian Embassy representative to do so on his behalf.
Mr Santi told The Phuket News he had spoken to those at the Russian Embassy and he would visit Fomenko in custody on Monday.
“As a Buddhist myself, of course I’m not very pleased. It’s very disrespectful, but I’m willing to forgive, but of course I’m upset about it.
“I will let the justice system do its job. He was taken to the main Phuket jail because the police are worried this man will get beaten up by people who are still very upset about this incident. For Buddhist people it is a big deal – they consider this very disrespectful.”
The cost of the damage to the statue and the car was estimated at B310,000, Mr Santi said.