A least one person was seriously injured after a senior military official allegedly drunkenly swerved through the streets of Phnom Penh on Saturday afternoon.

The official, identified as a lieutenant colonel in the elite Brigade 911 unit, was driving a Land Cruiser along Russian Boulevard in a “terribly drunken” state, said Por Sen Chey district’s deputy traffic police chief Pheuk Heng.

Once past the airport, the official collided into a car, which began pursuing him.

After a 15- to 20-minute chase, the colonel hit a motorbike, breaking the right leg of its rider, and then careened into a streetside food cart.

The car – now with a broken windshield and flat tire – was immobilised, allowing authorities to arrest its driver, but not before locals gathered and punched the man.

Heng declined to disclose the official’s name.

He was allowed to go home “temporarily” after agreeing to pay $200 to $250 in compensation to the victims of his bender, save for the wounded moto driver, who was hospitalised and has not yet asked for compensation or for charges to be pressed.