Russian with knife incident ends with hugs

Maj Gen Sermphan Sirikong was unaware of the incident until a video of the officers playing along, pretending to have the Russian man under arrest, was posted on TikTok.

Maj Gen Sermphan yesterday (Jan 4) summoned the two patrol officers in question, Maj Hattaporn Thongkhao Bua and Maj Suwit Chatri, to clarify the incident.

The officers explained that Karon Police Station received a call from a local clinic at  6:12pm on Tuesday (Jan 3). Staff were concerned for their safety as a Russian man who had been drinking heavily had arrived at the clinic carrying a knife.

The officers arrived at the clinic to find out that a doctor had spoken with the Russian man, and that no people were in danger, Maj Gen Sermphan explained.

The man had presented himself as he had experienced irregular heartbeat. The man said that he had been drinking heavily. 

The man was also in some distress because he had done nothing for his daughter’s birthday ‒ she was turning 2 years old that day ‒ and his omission had caused problems with his wife, Maj Gen Sermphan continued.

Alarmed by the knife the man was carrying, the doctor asked why the man was carrying it. The man said he had the knife only to peel fruit for his daughter, who was turning 2 years old that day. 

After talking with the man, the two patrol officers agreed that the man had calmed down and was to be taken back to his hotel room. 

The man said he wanted to surprise his wife and daughter at their hotel room, and the two officers agreed to play along.

When they arrived at the hotel room, the wife opened the door to find her husband marched into the room with his arm held behind his back by one officer, on the pretense that her husband had been placed under arrest.

What the wife did not know was that the second officer was carrying a birthday cake with candles for the daughter.

When the cake was presented, all three men started singing, ‘Happy Birthday’.

After kissing his daughter, the Russian man turned around and hugged the officers to say thank you.

“Police did not file a charge against the man, but they did confiscate his pocket knife,” Maj Gen Sermphan said.

The man had also returned to the clinic to ask the doctor for treatment about his drinking condition. The man had been advised to consult a specialist at a hospital, Maj Gen Sermphan concluded.