Man charged after tourist bitten on nose by snake

A python that bite a Chinese tourist on the nose during a “snake kiss” souvenir photo at the Phuket Biotechnology office in Muang district, was seized Tuesday after officials found that its owner did not have a permit to keep it.

Conservation Area Management Office 5 (Nakhon Si Thammarat) wildlife protection official Thongchai Thongboonyang said yesterday that Phuket Biotechnology, which draws tourists with a snake show and products derived from snakes, had permits to keep 85 snakes since 2014 - but only 53 snakes remained.

The python which bit the tourist actually belonged to Pairoj Thiprod, an independent performer who got it from a Bangkok snake farm a few days before the incident and had no permit to keep it. So, officials seized the snake and Pairoj was charged with possessing a protected animal without permission - a crime punishable by up to four years in jail and/or a fine up to Bt40,000. The company will face a charge of failing to apply for permission to have a snake show. The local administrative body will take action against them.


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