A video clip of a damaged car, posted on the Facebook page of a man who has admitted that he had deliberately smashed the vehicle’s windscreen because it was parked in the zone reserved for disabled people, has triggered widespread debate online over whether his actions were justified.
The perpetrator, who identified himself as Mr. Peerapong Amornpich, said he was fed up with able bodied drivers constantly parking in spaces reserved for disabled people adding, however, that he is willing to pay for repairs to the damage caused.
A complaint has been filed with the Muang district police and the management of the shopping mall in Chiang Rai.
Mr. Peerapong said wrote in his post that he jotted down the vehicle’s registration number and asked the public relations official of the store to have the car towed from the disabled driver parking zone.
When no one showed up to move the car, he said that he used a tool from his own car to smash the offending vehicle’s front windshield. He then waited at the spot until an official from the premises arrived, whereupon he reported incident and said that he will compensate the car’s owner.
Mr. Peerapong claimed that he smashed the car in order to remind able bodied motorists not to park in spaces clearly marked as reserved for disabled drivers.
The matter was settled after Peerapong agreed to pay 10,000 baht to the car’s owner for the repairs.
Commenting on the incident Mr. Manin Inpim, a campaigner for the rights of disabled people, said that he disagreed with any form of violence, but asked all shopping malls and department stores to ensure that their parking regulations are strictly enforced.
