Mentally ill Thai man stabs woman on bus in Isaan (video)

A mentally ill Thai man stabbed a local woman he met on a coach bus in the Isaan province of Khon Kaen on February 6. The attacker’s mother revealed that her son had a mental illness but refused any treatment.

The victim, Nittaya Pimthong, was rushed to hospital with several cut wounds on her arms. She is in stable condition after receiving six stitches on her left arm and 10 stitches on her right arm. The 31 year old injured woman told Amarin TV that she always feared an attack while travelling alone and, sadly, it became a reality for her.

Nittaya explained to the police and media that she had accompanied her foreign husband to Isaan province in Nakhon Ratchasima, and subsequently opted to visit her mother in Borrabue district, Mahasarakham province after her husband departed for his home country.

On February 6, Nittaya took the Nakhon Ratchasima-Ubon Ratchathani coach bus for her return journey. While stowing her backpack in the bus storage before departure, she was approached by 24 year old Sahatsawat, who inquired about her destination.

Nittaya responded in kind before taking her seat. Sahatsawat followed suit and sat beside her, persistently staring at her and causing her discomfort. Consequently, Nittaya decided to get off the bus in the Khon Kaen province, despite not having reached her intended stop.

Once off the bus, Nittaya, along with other passengers, went to retrieve her backpack from the storage. Unexpectedly, Sahatsawat followed, kicked her until she fell to the ground, and then repeatedly attacked her with a knife.

Treatment refusal

Bus staff members came to Nittaya’s aid and managed to stop Sahatsawat from any further attacks on Nittaya. They reported the attack to officers at Phon Police Station in Khon Kaen who later arrived to arrest Sahatsawat. Police took the attacker to the hospital for a drug test but found he was clean.

Police suspected that Sahatsawat might be suffering from mental illness and detained him at the hospital for a medical examination.

Upon contacting Sahatsawat’s mother, the hospital discovered that he had a history of mental health treatment at Khonkaen Rajanagarindra Psychiatric Hospital in January. The doctor had recommended medication and follow-up treatment but Sahatsawat refused it.

The mother said Sahatsawat told her that he would go to Bangkok to find a job. She let her son go thinking his mental illness had improved.

Sahatsawat was charged with physically assaulting another person. The penalty is imprisonment of up to two years, a fine of up to 40,000 baht, or both according to Section 295 of the Criminal Law.