Exposed to danger

PATONG: Different people held different reactions to the coup d’état that stunned the world – and, to a lesser degree, the nation – on the evening of September 19, 2006. But for some people, including many foreign tourists enjoying the nightlife in Patong, all the excitement was just another excuse to get sloppy drunk, go out and have a grope, and play darts. Once such visitor was a 28-year-old German tourist named Dennis, who lost control of his motorbike on a curve on the road from Patong to Karon and smashed into – of all vehicles – a Kathu Police 191 patrol pickup passing in the opposite direction. The bald German, dressed in a sports shirt, white trousers and tennis shoes, sustained a broken right leg and bloodied right arm. Both the police truck and the German’s metallic-gray Yamaha Mio were damaged. Although the collision occurred at just after 3 am on September 20, there was no lack of curious onlookers, including many young females who screeched with a mixture of dread and delight at the sight of victim, whose trousers were ripped open in the crash, leaving his private parts exposed for all to see. The German was rushed to Patong Hospital. There were no reports that the victim, who agreed to pay for the damage to police pickup, would be charged with any offense.