The unnamed 34-year-old Ukrainian woman presented herself to Wichit Police today (Apr 7) after having been tracked down using CCTV and summoned by the officials, the Public Relations Office of Phuket (PR Phuket) reported today.
The investigation was launched after a series of complaints by local residents, who informed officials about spraypainted slogans on the rocks and in a roadside pavilion near Ao Yon Beach in Wichit.
One of the photos provided by PR Phuket shows graffiti saying “Russia is a terrorist state”. Another picture shows just “#Russia”. Thre other picture show a woman in a pink t-shirt near seaside rocks and on a scooter with Samut Sakhon license plates.
Wichit Police Chief Col Chatri Chukaew said that the woman entered Thailand as a tourist around three months ago and is planning to return to Ukraine on Apr 10.
The woman said she just wanted to express her feelings about Russia’s aggression towards her country and did not mean to “destroy the image of Phuket in any way”.
Following the incident, Wichit Police reminded that illegal spraypainting in public places is an offense and warned people against doing so.
The PR Phuket report doesn’t say if the unnamed Ukrainian tourist has been fined for her actions.
The incident in Wichit is the second of its kind in Phuket since the beginning of this year. On Feb 9, anti-Putin and anti-war slogans were found on a rock near Nai Thon Beach. The case was reported to Sakhu Police and Sirinath National Park, as the rock is within the national park boundaries.
The graffiti was quickly removed, but officials did not report if they were successful in tracking down the person who spraypainted the rock in the national park which Thailand aims to see among UNESCO heritage sites.