Thai police refute Malaysian man's claim that he was abducted in Songkhla

Tourist police deputy chief and spokesman Pol Maj Gen Apichart Suriboonya said the 46-year-old man in fact had escaped from the police after being nabbed for smoking baraku at a roadside in Sadao on Oct 19.

Smoking baraku (also known as hookah) is prohibited in Thailand and the man was nabbed following public tip off.

"Investigations found immigration and tourist police officers had told the man to go to the Tourist Service Centre for further investigations. However, he neither wanted to cooperate nor show his travel documents to the officers.

"Later, the man agreed to get on a police pick-up truck to go to the Tourist Service Centre," he said in a statement.

However, Apichart said the man jumped off the pick-up as it made a turn and two days later on Oct 21 he left Thailand. He re-entered the kingdom on October 24 to file a complaint that he as abducted.

As soon as the police got to know the man had returned to Thailand, Apichart said Songkhla tourist police submitted all evidence to detectives at Sadao's police station for official prosecution.