CHON BURI: A mango seller brandished a "samurai" sword when a city official tried to arrest him for vending without a licence in Pattaya resort city on Tuesday.
Describing the one-metre long knife as a Japanese weapon, Kwanchai Klaisombun, an inspector for Pattaya City Hall, said he quickly backed off.
The unidentified man, who was selling mangoes from a pickup truck on Chom Thian Sai 2, was shepherded away by a woman and they quickly left in the truck, the 37-year-old thetsakit later told police.
Mr Kwanchai had approached the man intending to collar him under a public cleanliness law.
The seller's defiance was recorded and the video clip later posted on Mr Kwanchai's Facebook account.
"It's a risky job. Just ourselves, nobody else can help. Always staying alert is for the best," Mr Kwanchai wrote.