A Buddhist monk was arrested after allegedly crashing and killing two teenagers while drunk driving.
Noppadon Naononthong, 52, was returning from a pharmacy when he began overtaking a car in Khon Kaen, north-eastern Thailand on Monday (January 6) afternoon.
He allegedly sped up in the opposite lane for oncoming traffic while trying to pass a vehicle before smashing into the two teenagers who were driving towards him.
The teenagers Wikanda Resathan, 18, and her boyfriend Thanakorn Puensan, 19, were flung 60ft away from the crash and died at the scene. The Buddhist monk then allegedly fled the scene.
Police checked CCTV and later arrested him at a nearby temple. Officers allegedly found 196 milligrams per decilitre of alcohol in his blood - almost four times the legal limit of 50 Mg/dL.
Police Major General Pairoj Traitham said the monk claimed he was not drunk but officers noticed the ''strong smell'' of alcohol on his breath.
He said: "Arriving at the parsonage we were immediately hit by the string smell of alcohol from the monk.
"We made him do a blood alcohol concentration test and we found his blood contained 196 milligrams per deciliter.
"He told us that he did not drink any liquor, but said it was a tonic and he said he did not know it was made of alcohol.
"He has been banished from the monkhood and he will remanded in custody while we prepare the case against him.''
The police chief said the least serious charges the monk faced were drunk driving and leaving the scene without waiting to show identity to the officer.
However, they will also gather evidence for him to be charged with causing death by reckless and drunk driving.
The police chief added: "We traced the shop and also found that they did not have any license to sell the tonic so we will charged them as well."
The dead teenage girl's grieving father, Uthit Resathan, said he had been away from his daughter for several months because of work but was ''excited about seeing her again'' when he was told the devastating news.
He said: "I was working as a sugar cane gatherer and was waiting to go home to see her soon.
She had almost finished her college and wanted to go to university. Now that's all gone and she's dead because of a drunkard."
