The man reportedly became frustrated when the gates did not open after he slammed his passport on the reader
2-MIN READ2-MIN1 ListenSCMP’s Asia deskPublished: 5:45pm, 15 May 2026A Chinese tourist has been barred from returning to Thailand for life after he allegedly kicked and damaged automated passport control gates at Bangkok’s main airport, in a case that comes amid a wider Thai crackdown on foreign visitors accused of disorderly behaviour.The 30-year-old man, identified by Thai media as Zheng Liwei, was accused of damaging two automatic gates at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Wednesday afternoon while trying to pass through passport control for a flight to China.
The reports said Zheng became frustrated after failing to use the automated system correctly. Video footage appears to show him slamming his travel document on a reader before kicking the barriers and forcing his way through.
Immigration officers intervened after Zheng allegedly passed the checkpoint without clearance, police told The Nation.
He then allegedly shouted abuse at officers in Chinese, including an insult that translates to “your mother is dead”, before pointing at them and trying to move towards them until his wife pulled him back, the newspaper reported.
Immigration officers filed complaints accusing Zheng of damaging government property, which they valued at about 480,000 baht (US$15,000), insulting officers on duty and passing through the checkpoint without authorisation.
