Bike gang terrorizes Kalim motorists

KALIM-KAMALA: Kathu Police Station Superintendent Pol Col Teerapol Thipjaroen has warned motorists using the Kalim-Kamala road at night to take extra caution after one woman was dragged off her bike and nearly held at gunpoint and another woman had the rear window of her car smashed by a motorbike gang.

Vanessa Temple reported that she was attacked while riding her motorbike alone along the road at about 8 pm on June 2. “I was riding my motorcycle from Rawai to Kamala when two young men on a motorcycle came alongside mine and tried to pull my handbag from my shoulder,” she told the Gazette.

“I was unaware of them before they grabbed my bag, as there are no street lights on this particular stretch of road and they had their lights turned off.

“They pulled so hard that I was dragged from my motorcycle. I fell to the ground and rolled down the hill about 10 meters, and my motorcycle slid about 100 meters on its side to the bottom of the hill.

“The two men continued down the hill on their bike, still with no lights on. After getting to my feet, I saw them turn their bike around and drive towards me, shouting.

“As they came closer I could see that the passenger had a gun in his hand, and was pointing it at me. I was terrified. Fortunately, a car came round the corner at this time and the men drove off,” she said.

Another woman, who spoke to the Gazette on condition of anonymity, had her car’s rear window smashed by a motorbike gang after she was involved in an accident on the same stretch of road.

The woman explained that she was driving from Patong to her home in Kamala at about 1 am when she was involved in a minor collision with a pickup truck that pulled out into the road in front of her.

“After the accident, I saw a gang on more than 10 motorbikes approaching and one of them threw a rock at my car,” she said. The rock flew through the back window, ricocheted off the steering wheel and cracked the windshield.

“Luckily, I am not hurt and I lost none of my belongings,” she said. “But I will not drive along this road alone again because I am scared.”

Col Teerapol said, “We have heard many similar reports recently. We have contacted the Highways Department but they cannot install street lights along the road between Kalim and Kamala because they currently do not have the budget.

“We know of a teenage bike gang in Kamala, and I have assigned a team of officers to hunt them down,” he said, adding that he believes the two men who attacked Ms Temple were members of the same gang.

Col Teerapol explained that every night, beginning last year, Kathu Police and Kamala Police have set up a checkpoint on the road between Patong and Kamala. “I often inspect this checkpoint myself,” he said.

“Twice a month we meet with parents in Kamala and urge them to a take a greater interest in what their children are doing, and to try and influence the children not to commit crimes,” Col Teerapol said.

“Any person who was been robbed or victimized should report it to police immediately. If not, we have no information about the criminals, which makes it very difficult to protect against the problem,” he added.