Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has been fined, after being pictured during a meeting without wearing a mask to ward off Covid-19, in a breach of current restrictions.
On Monday, Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang revealed on Facebook that the PM had been slapped with a fine of 6,000 baht ($190) for his “violation” of coronavirus rules.
“Myself, together with the metro police commander and officers from Dusit Police Station, went to the Government House, and the prime minister assented to being fined,” Aswin said, according to the news platform Khaosod English.
The fine came after a photo of a government vaccination meeting was posted to the prime minister’s Facebook page on Monday morning, revealing him to be the only person at the table without a mask on.
Prayuth’s decision to not wear a mask was made at a bad time, given the governor of Bangkok’s mandatory mask order was rolled out for the first time on Monday.
Those who run afoul of Thai face mask rules can receive fines of up to 20,000 baht ($640).
Thailand has recorded more than 57,000 cases of Covid-19 and 148 deaths.
The PM made global headlines last month, after he was filmed spraying reporters at a press conference with hand sanitizer – an incident that some media outlets claimed was an attempt to dodge questions.
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