Militant Monk

[Guest]

Breaking news from the CNN website:

 

 

 

 

 

BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- A man dressed as a Buddhist monk and wielding an AK-47 assault rifle was arrested after he took 30 hostages at a security checkpoint on the grounds of Thailand's parliament building in Bangkok.

 

 

 

The man, wearing his orange robes fired one shot into the air after taking over the checkpoint at about 8 a.m. (0100 GMT), demanding to see Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. No one was injured, and he never got into the parliament chamber itself.

 

 

 

A short time later, the man, identified as Sayant and believed to be about 30 years old, was rushed by six plainclothes police officers as he spoke with the press. He was disarmed and taken into custody, where he was charged with weapons violations.

 

 

 

He told reporters that he had been abused and tortured by police, but he did not say when or where. He said he was from the city of Chantaburi, about 225 km (140 miles) east of Bangkok.

 

 

 

The parliament convened as planned with lawmakers set to debate a no confidence vote against the government.