A British man has been arrested after he apparently threatened a temple abbot with a machete in Chiang Mai.
Clive George Davidson has now been charged with numerous crimes after police say he confronted Abbot Phra Khajonsak of Wat E-Ranthawan in the city’s outskirts.
A police spokesman said that Davidson was observed on camera approaching the monk with a machete on Sunday.
The monk ran into the temple and locked himself in before calling police.
Maj. Yongyuth Kulathon of Hang Dong district police said that the 50-year-old Briton has not provided a motive for the attempted attack and has, so far, said very little.
Although he has admitted to being the man in the CCTV footage, but claims he only wanted to speak with the abbot.
Officers also claim they found a small amount of marijuana in Davidson’s car.
Davidson was arrested after a tip-off led them to a rented house in Hang Dong where, police say, Davidson locked himself inside and began frantically shouting in English.
After four hours, officers left to seek an arrest warrant.
Police said that prior to the alleged incident he had been causing a disturbance at a neighbour’s house before heading to the temple.
The police also pointed out that Davidson’s visa has expired.
He has been charged with possession and use of an illicit substance, trespassing, criminal mischief and overstaying his visa.
Luckily, for the monk, the charges are not more serious than that, for now.
