
A Japanese tourist has been fined 3,000 baht for disobeying a police order after he was stopped from releasing a hot-air lantern because of a fire risk during the New Year Countdown in Chiang Mai.
A video of the incident showed the man, later identified as Hirano, 31, trying to release the lantern in a crowded area in front of the Tha Phae Gate at about 30 minutes after midnight on Wednesday. An officer who gave his name as Thaweesak walked up behind the tourist and went to pull the lantern down.