Beach blues: Thai woman assaulted by Swiss man in Phuket

A female doctor in Thailand is seeking justice after being attacked by a Swiss man for sitting on the staircase of his beachfront villa in Phuket. The foreign man is reported to be the owner of an elephant sanctuary with alleged connections with the high-ranking Thai police.

The father of the victim, Chaiyachot Uttamang, took to Facebook to share the story of his daughter who is a doctor at Bangkok Hospital Phuket. Chaiyachot said his daughter was physically assaulted by a 45 year old Swiss man, whose identity remained undisclosed, on the beach at the Yamu Cape in the Thalang district of Phuket at 7.30pm on February 24.

According to Chaiyachot, the female doctor and her colleague had dinner at a Taste Yamu restaurant and enjoyed the beach after the meal. They encountered a security guard on the beach who permitted them to relax at the spot, leading them to believe it was a public beach.

The doctor sat on the steps connecting luxury villa number 23 to the beach, thinking it was a public staircase. Unexpectedly, she was attacked from behind. When she turned around she found the attacker was a foreign man weighing over 100 kilogrammes.

The foreign man, later identified as a Swiss national, recorded a video while assaulting her and kept shouting vulgarities at her and her friend.

They rushed to seek help from the security guard, who came to the incident scene with them. Upon their return, they met the Swiss man’s Thai wife and hoped the situation would improve.

Saves elephants, hurts women

However, the doctor’s hope was shattered when the Thai woman shouted abuse at them.

“Hey, bi*ches. Don’t you know that you shouldn’t sit outside my home? I can shoot you two right away, and no one could arrest me because my son is a police officer. I know the police chief, and I will put you in jail. I will call the chief now!”

The Swiss man also shouted at the doctor and her friend.

“Are you local? Are you Thai? You know, I am not paying a million baht a month to rent this villa for you to sit, OK?”

Two police officers arrived 15 minutes later, stating that both parties violated the law. The doctor trespassed on the foreigner’s property and he physically assaulted her. The officers urged the doctor not to file a complaint and asked her to resolve the issue on the spot.

Police said the penalty for the trespassing charge was a lot harsher. It can result in four years in jail while the foreign man could pay compensation to end the physical assault charge.

According to the doctor, she offered three options to the foreigner and his wife: apologise mutually and end the matter, separate without an apology, or proceed with legal proceedings.

The foreigner rejected the agreement and ordered the doctor to apologise to him. He insisted that he would never apologise for the assault and would file a complaint to the police to ensure the doctor went to jail.

The doctor decided to file a complaint against the foreign man at Thalang Police Station. She discovered he was the owner of an elephant sanctuary in Phuket, prompting her to question his behaviour.

“This man promises to protect elephants but hurts a woman?”

Concerned that their complaint might be ignored due to the Swiss man’s influence and connections, the doctor and her father shared their story publicly, hoping to garner support for justice.