A severed engagement

PHUKET: On August 1 a man was admitted to Phuket International Hospital with an unusual injury: his penis was almost completely severed after his fiancee, suspicious that he was still seeing an ex-girlfriend, attempted to cut it off.

The incident was reported to Capt Sathit Noorit, Duty Officer at Phuket City Police Station, who led an investigation team to the hospital. When they arrived, the officers were told that the victim, Somrak Mansit, 31, was being treated in the ICU ward and was unable to make a statement.

The officers then went to K. Somrak’s home in Village 6, in Wichit, where witnesses there told them that the perpetrator was most likely K. Somrak’s fiancee “Somphon” (not her real name), a Thai traditional massage therapist aged “about 45”.

The couple, together about six months, were due to be married August 11. They recently began to argue often after Somphon found out that K. Somrak was still in contact with a former girlfriend, which was likely to be the root cause of K. Somrak’s loss, witnesses said.

Neighbors reported hearing K. Somrak scream, but said they thought nothing of it as they assumed he was just having another argument with Somphon. Moments later, Somphon rushed out of the house, telling neighbors she was going to buy a telephone refill card.

K. Somrak soon emerged from the house, calling for help. His trousers covered in blood, he told neighbors that his betrothed had used a knife to sever his penis and asked to be taken to the hospital.

In K. Somrak’s bedroom, police found the mattress soaked in blood but no other signs of struggle. They also were unable to find the weapon used to slice K. Somrak’s genitals.

Officers hypothesized that Somphon seized the opportunity to cut her sleeping partner’s penis while he had a morning erection. Police would need K. Somrak’s statement before they could come to any firm conclusions, police said.

Police are now hunting for Somphon and are likely to charge her with grievous bodily harm causing the loss of an organ.