A woman has been arrested in Thailand after her pet lion was seen being taken for a ride on a public road in the back of a convertible Bentley.
Clips of the young lion sitting with its front paws over the side of the top-down car went viral this week. Authorities say the luxury vehicle was being driven by a man from Sri Lanka—believed to be a friend of the owner—who has since left Thailand.
The lion’s owner, Sawangjit Kosoongnern, told authorities she’d bought the animal from a Thai man who facilitated the animal’s delivery to Pattaya, the eastern city where it was spotted, according to the BBC. While it’s not illegal to own a lion in Thailand, they have to be officially registered, and the seller allegedly failed to have his facilities properly inspected before making the transfer, making both the sale and the ownership illegal.
The owner is consequently facing up to a year in prison and a maximum fine of almost $3,000 on a charge of possessing a controlled wild animal without permission. The seller is also facing charges of moving an animal without permission, while the driver of the car was reportedly the subject of his own police inquiry but won’t be charged as he’s no longer in Thailand.
Lions reportedly sell for around $14,000 in the country, according to The Bangkok Post.
