British man injured in assault by Thai taxi driver, or was it a fence?

What looked to be another blight on Thailand’s treatment of foreigners ended up instead as a blight on foreigners in Thailand as a British man who claimed to have been attacked by a taxi driver in Chiang Mai confessed that he had actually injured himself on a fence. The man suffered cuts in the palm of his hand and on his fingers, claiming they were sustained when a Thai taxi driver stabbed him just before 2am last Tuesday.

The 30 year old British man claimed that he had left an entertainment establishment in Mueang District on Ratchawithi Road late in the evening and on his way home was attacked by the driver of his taxi who he also suggested had stolen his mobile phone. He was transported to a hospital in Chiang Mai for the cuts he sustained and tourist police questioned him as he confirmed his story.

But police weren’t buying his account of the evening, especially when he was unable to answer basic questions about what had occurred. The British man couldn’t describe the taxi or the driver or say where he has entered or exited the taxi. CCTV footage in the area where the man had been found with his injuries did not show any taxi.

But soon the truth came to light when yesterday police confirmed they had spoken with a coffee shop owner whose relative had witnessed what happened to the British man.

The owner reported that a relative was in the shop late at night and heard a noise coming from the concrete fence outside the cafe. When they investigated, they saw what they said was a very drunk man falling from the fence before rushing to the other side of the property and attempting to escape by climbing another fence, this one made of zinc. In his attempt to flee, part of the fence collapsed causing damage to both the man and the fence, with blood reportedly still visible on the fence.

After he reached the next yard, he was startled by a barking dog and quickly climbed the third fence into another property. The witness said that he was not being chased by anybody and did not appear to have been under attack by a taxi driver or anyone else. The fence hopping appeared to just be drunken antics.

And the missing cell phone? It had fallen out of his pocket while he was climbing and was found on the ground nearby the fence. A pair of sneakers assumedly belonging to the British man were also found and handed over to the police.

The British man who lied to the police about the taxi attack could face legal charges for filing a false report or even trespassing after the truth was revealed, but the Chiang Mai police have not confirmed if they plan on prosecuting. The man has not made any public statement about the incident, but the police say that his story of an innocent foreigner being attacked by a crazed Thai person is damaging to tourism in Thailand and the image of Chiang Mai.

SOURCE: The Pattaya News