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A 22-year-old Canadian tourist facing 10 years in a Thai prison has managed to avoid actually serving any jail time.
In October, Grande Prairie resident Brittney Schneider, along with a British tourist, were arrested in Chang Mai, Thailand after admitting to scrawling graffiti on the city’s historic Tha Phae Gate.
They were charged with vandalizing an ancient artifact and faced a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine equivalent to about $40,000 in Canadian funds.
According to Schneider, a Thai judge has now ordered her to pay a $4,000 fine, but has ruled against the Canadian having to serve actual jail time.
The tourists admitted to being "ridiculously drunk” while walking back to their hostel when they found a discarded spray paint can then used by the British tourist decided to write “Scouser Lee” on the wall, followed by Schneider who wrote the letter “B” underneath it.
Unfortunately for the pair, the wall is part of a 13th-century structure that forms a square around Chiang Mai’s inner city.
Following the arrest and a night in prison, Schneider said she was “terrified” for her life and was “so sorry” for what she did.
“Honestly I’m so relieved, I’m so happy and I am beyond thankful that the judge showed so much compassion for us,” Schneider said.
“Actually a lot of people I’ve met in Thailand showed a lot of compassion even though it was their wall I vandalized. They still were so nice to me and were so worried about me.”
With files from The Canadian Press