A man, believed to be high on cannabis, allegedly stole an ambulance from in front of Bangkok’s Ratburana police station and drove it to a gas station. There he unsuccessfully attempted to steal a pickup truck before returning to the ambulance. He drove away and was arrested after being involved in a collision on Wednesday night.

The perpetrator, identified as 21-year-old “Jirasak”, had been taken to Ratburana police station on Tuesday by his family for temporary detention, while waiting for health officials to take him to a drug rehabilitation centre.

Jirasak is reported, by his relatives, to have worked on a cannabis farm for three months, where he became heavily addicted to the drug, to the extent that he recently suffered from hallucinations, forcing the family to send him to a rehabilitation centre.

The man slipped out of the police station last night and stole the ambulance, which had been left unattended with the ignition key still in the vehicle while the driver went into the station to file a complaint.

Jirasak drove to a gas station on Pracha Uthit Road and approached a female driver and her 5-year-old daughter in a truck. After failing to hijack the truck, he returned to the ambulance and drove away.

The ambulance later crashed into a parked car in Pracha Uthit Soi 41, before police arrived to take him back into custody.