A passenger who ignored Covid-19 fears by wiping his saliva inside a lift has been jailed for 15 days.

Ekkachai Kantamala, 32, was seen on CCTV walking into the BTS sky train lift in Bangkok, central Thailand, on Friday morning (March 3). He glimpsed at the CCTV before the door opened, walking out then returning into the elevator.

Footage shows how he then licked his finger and pressed several buttons. He even scratched his genitals and wiped his fingers round the lift and licked his hand again before pressing more buttons.

The bizarre behaviour came a time when millions of people in the country were being told to use hand sanitiser and stand at least two metres away from people to stop the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China.

A BTS spokesman said they immediately began hunting the man after being made aware of the incident. They also disinfected the lift.

Ekkachai was later arrested and admitted being the person in the video. He was sentenced on March 24 to 15 days in jail after testing negative for Covid-19.

Officers said that had he been positive for the virus he would have faced a year in prison for violation of public health decrees.

Police Colonel Patikorn Sornchai said the suspect was found wandering around the area close to the station.

He said: ''The culprit admitted wiping his saliva inside the lift but he did not give any motive.''

Police said that Ekkachai underwent psychological tests but was not suffering from any mental health issues. He has been detained at the Pathum Thani Provincial Central Probation Center to complete the sentence.

The operator of the lift system said they immediately disinfected the area after the man was seen on CCTV.