CORRECTION: Turkish national Alper Polat is not "Mr Hush" as incorrectly stated in the original story below. His incident was entirely separate where he illegally parked his motorbike in a prohibited area in front of Saengtham Shrine on Phang Nga Rd on Monday (Apr 29). However, the charges he faces remain the same as stated below.
For the update on "Mr Hush" being arrested, click here.
Our sincere apologies for the confusion!
ORIGINAL STORY:
in front of Saengtham Shrine, Phang Nga Rd
The incident occurred last Friday (Apr 26), and became public through a video posted online over the weekend.
The man was seen returning to his motorbike, a blue Yamaha N-Max, parked in a no-parking zone near the Kasikornbank on Phang Nga Rd, to find a police chain had been locked onto the bike to prevent it from being removed.
The man left the scene and returned with a pair of pliers that he used to remove the chain so he could take the motorbike and leave.
While being videoed, the man then turned to the eyewitness and gestured with his index finger to his lips in the manner of a “hush” sign before riding off on his bike.
The audacity of the man was lambasted in comments posted online.
Phuket City Police confirmed yesterday (Apr 29) that they had tracked down and found the man, whom they identified as Turkish national Alper Polat, 35.
Mr Polat now faces a charge of “attempting to damage, destroy, depreciate or render useless the vehicle’s control equipment," as stipulated under Section 59, of the Traffic Act, police confirmed yesterday.
He also faces a charge of “attempting to commit an offence” under Section 80 of the Criminal Code.
Police did not mention the parking ticket issued for the traffic violation, and did not confirm the extent on the penalties to be imposed for the other two offences.