Lopburi monkey mayhem: Biker crashes over stolen durian

A Lopburi monkey caused chaos by leaping onto a motorcycle and snatching a bag of durian, leading to the rider crashing and sustaining injuries.

The incident, captured on video, showed the monkey seizing the bag from a man riding past Phra Prang Sam Yot, resulting in the rider being bitten and requiring hospital treatment. Doctors indicated that the wounds were deep, necessitating daily injections to prevent infection.

Krissada Kamthet was identified as the injured rider. The 37 year old Thai man sustained bite wounds on his left upper arm and right knee, which were treated and bandaged by medical staff. Krissada, who works for a motor oil company, shared that he commutes past Phra Prang Sam Yot daily after work. On this particular day, he had stopped to buy a pack of durian, costing 350 baht, to enjoy with his wife at home.

Krissada narrated his ordeal, saying he had hung the durian on the left handlebar of his motorcycle. As he approached the Wisayachanchan Road intersection near the San Phra Kan shrine, traffic was congested due to an approaching train. With traffic slowing down, a large monkey from the sidewalk darted through the vehicles and jumped onto his motorcycle’s back seat.

“I knew instantly that the monkey was after the durian.”

Krissada attempted to clutch the durian bag to his chest, but the persistent monkey kept trying to snatch it even as the motorcycle moved. In the struggle, Krissada used his hand to fend off the monkey, but he was bitten on the arm, causing him to lose control and crash.

Despite the crash, the monkey successfully grabbed the durian bag and shamelessly ate it in front of Krissada.

“As a local of Lopburi, I thought I was cautious, but I still got caught off guard. I missed out on the durian and now have to deal with these injuries.”

Other mischiefs

In a related incident, the same monkey, nicknamed Ai Ouan Wisayachanchan, had recently snatched an iPhone from a secondary school student, biting and damaging it, reported KhaoSod.

The mischievous monkey struck again, targeting another female secondary school student participating in school activities. While waiting for a shared taxi, the student was reduced to tears when Ai Ouan grabbed a doll and a photo card of her favourite artist from her newly bought school bag, which cost over 500 baht, and chewed on them right in front of her.