A couple of Australians found themselves in trouble after they vandalized Wat Dok Euang — a 400+-year-old temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand — while they were out for a late night. What started as a relaxed night, ended up being investigated by the authorities.
Before we go into detail about the arrests, it’s important to know why Wat Dok Euang is important. Wat Dok Euang isn’t just a cool location for pictures, but rather an important spiritual location. The temple has many aged murals, intricate carvings, and many stories of the history and traditions of the Buddhist religion. Generally, visitors come to Wat Dok Euang to find peace and tranquillity and have a cultural experience.
CCTV footage captured the couple vandalizing the exterior of the temple by spraying graffiti. This wasn’t the first time that the temple had been vandalized; the temple has spent tens of thousands of baht in repaints due to the repeat vandalism.
Due to the repeated vandalism, the abbot of the temple, Phra Kru Palad Preeda Jaiboon, reported the vandalism to the local police and provided them with copies of the CCTV security footage.
The movements of the couple were traced by investigators after they had checked into a hotel near Chaiyaphum Road, and investigators were able to determine that they traveled to Pai district in Mae Hong Son. Their travels did not stop at Pai district; investigators later discovered that they intended to return to Chiang Mai.
On Friday, law enforcement located their vehicle using an electronic tracking device and was able to intercept the vehicle, which was parked under a bridge in San Phisuea. The suspects identified in the case are Joshua (32) and Gabrielle (27).
Both suspects admitted spraying paint on the temple walls when they were questioned by authorities. Both suspects now face $$$ under the Public Cleanliness Act in Thailand, an act created to protect cultural and public spaces from vandalism and destruction.
It is ironic that the couple chose to paint graffiti on this temple since this temple is known by all to be a peaceful, relaxing environment filled with trees and gardens planted around it and large shaded areas to sit in, while many of the temple’s murals tell the history of the region, and the very reason people come to this temple is to relax and not to create acts of vandalism.
This incident serves as a larger lesson or reminder to all travelers that cultural sites are not meant to be used or treated as canvases or painting surfaces and that acting as a “tourist” does not give someone the freedom to act inappropriately; this is very dangerous, as “fun” in the moment may cause great harm (financially, culturally, and/or legally) to the individual or individuals participating in this act.
This temple will continue to be a place of history and spiritualism; the graffiti will only serve as a reminder of the need for respect to be shown for a community’s history.
