American tourist, 64, is arrested after wiping his saliva on a banknote and leaving it on an ATM in Cambodia amid coronavirus crisis

An American tourist was arrested after causing a coronavirus scare by wiping saliva on a banknote and leaving it on an ATM in Cambodia. 

CCTV caught the man rummaging in his pocket, licking his finger then pulling out the $10 note and leaving it on top of the cash machine. 

Staff who found the banknote later alerted police and medics after watching the surveillance footage in Phnom Penh.  

Cambodian police identified the man as 64-year-old US national Lewis Jeffrey Cook.  

Cook was arrested, and his banknote - defaced with a message about Jesus - proved to be a fake, although he later tested negative for Covid-19.  

+7

An American visitor in Cambodia licks his finger while searching in his pocket for a banknote, which he then left on the ATM in front of him in Phnom Penh

+7

The tourist was searching in his pocket for the money, which proved to be fake and was later discovered by staff in Phnom Penh 

+7

This picture released by Cambodian police showed the banknote in question, defaced with the words 'I am alive via Jesus Christ'

The CCTV footage showed the American licking his finger while he searched in his trouser pocket for the money. 

He then placed the cash behind a sign on top of the ATM, checked his surroundings and walked out. Why he did any of this is unclear. 

The counterfeit $10 note had been defaced with the words: 'I am alive via Jesus Christ'. 

The cash was later found by staff, who subsequently checked the CCTV to see how the money had got there. 

In the climate of the current pandemic, the footage of him wiping saliva sparked a panic, and medics were summoned to disinfect the area over virus fears.   

Cook was later arrested and detained by police. He tested negative for Covid-19. 

+7

Cook put his money behind a sign on top of the ATM. It was defaced with the words: 'I am alive via Jesus Christ'

+7

The American then checked his surroundings and walked out. He was later arrested after the footage sparked coronavirus fears 

+7

The 64-year-old, identified as Lewis Jeffrey Cook, was arrested by Cambodian police who checked him for coronavirus and drugs. The tests came back negative

+7

Cook - wearing his face mask down - poses for a picture with uniformed Cambodian police officers after he was arrested 

The Commissariat of Phnom Penh said: 'A foreigner who spat on counterfeit money and left it on an ATM near the National University of Management was arrested.

'He was taken to hospital to be tested for the Covid-19 virus and for drug testing. He tested negative and was detained for legal processing.'

Police said Cook had no passport with him, but had come to the country 'many times in January 2020' via Phnom Penh International Airport. 

A translated statement appeared to indicate that he had gone to multiple ATMs in Phnom Penh. 

Cambodia has discovered at least 107 cases of the virus and reported four deaths, according to the World Health Organisation. 

The country's prime minister has ordered all casinos to shut down, after a man who worked in one near the border with Thailand was found to be infected. 

Last week his government ordered restaurants and bars to close and limited entry visas for foreigners in a bid to stop the contagion.