CityNews – 7th December 2019, over the past few months have been video clips, photos and incidents shared on social media of a foreigner who has been behaving very strangely; using racist, aggressive and nasty language at strangers, spitting at passers-by, damaging properties and generously making a public nuisance of himself.
The latest incident happened at a public mailbox across from Maejo University, which he had allegedly kicked over. The superintendent of Maejo police station and inspector from tourist police Chiang Mai together with their officers, were called to the scene but didn’t find the man. They did go to his rented house in Maejo but he wasn’t there, but then again, they later found him returned to the scene of the incident.
The man was arrested and later his name was revealed by the police as James Franchowiak, 46 years old, from USA. Police have found several CCTV footages of him in the Maejo area, destroying public properties. He was on 3-month tourist visa and confessed that he got drunk after drinking beer and could not control himself so he pushed and broke the public mailbox.
Head of Maejo post office said that letters and postal mails in the public mailbox were not damaged but the mailbox itself was damaged and the post office was in a process of installing a new mailbox. The crime of damaging public property is a non-compoundable offence. Proof would be forwarded to the attorney to be processed in Chiang Mai provincial court.
The tourist police have also confirmed that the same man has been accused of damaging private and public properties in several other areas in Chiang Mai and is currently in the process of probation awaiting court judgement.
After the cases are prosecuted, immigration police will extradite him out of the country.