Police detained 35 protesters and seized 20 motorcycles and some weapons, including a gun and explosives, during violent protests in the Din Daeng area of Bangkok on Sunday.
Pol Maj-Gen Piya Tavichai, deputy commissioner of Metropolitan Police Bureau, told the media Sunday night that, since July, police have issued 118 summonses for protest leaders and some of their followers to acknowledge charges ranging from arson and illegal possession of firearms to illegal public assembly and causing unrest.
He said that police will also ask the court to confiscate the motorcycles and weapons seized.
The anti-government “Talufah” group initially gathered at the Khok Wua intersection at about 2.45pm yesterday, before moving to the Democracy Monument, where the protesters held a sports event, causing traffic gridlock and inconvenience to many motorists and bus passengers, said Pol Maj-Gen Piya.
Samranrat police did ask the protesters to disperse, informing them that they were breaking the law, but they ignored the warning until, at about 7.30pm, their leader announced an end to the rally.
Separately, at Din Daeng intersection, the deputy commissioner of police said that another group of mostly hard core protesters, calling themselves the “Talugas” group, fought against the police using bricks, slingshots, and firecrackers, adding that two police officers were injured and some property, belonging to the state and private individuals, were damaged.
Demonstrators hold a Thai flag whilst riding on motorbikes during a protest calling for the resignation of prime minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha over the Thai governments handling of the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis, in Bangkok on August 22, 2021. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
As “Talu” means to break through something, “Talugas” refers to how the group is fighting through the police’s teargas.
