Ladyboy survivor sole link to lethal Phuket motorbike crash mystery

PHUKET: Police have released the name of the man who died in a motorbike accident near Chalong Circle just after midnight on Wednesday as 51-year-old American tourist Theodore Paul Roe.

Chalong Police Capt Thada Sodarak told the Phuket Gazette that he was notified of the accident, near the base of the hill near Friendship Beach, at 12:30am.

“Mr Roe was dead at the scene. About four meters away, lying in the middle of the road, were two seriously injured Thai men: Saknarin Wilap and Kanlayakorn Chukratok,” Capt Thaada said, adding that Mr Kanlayakorn is a katoey (“ladyboy”)

“The two injured men were rushed to Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town. However, Mr Saknarin was pronounced dead on arrival,” Capt Thada said.

“We have questioned staff at a karaoke bar near the scene of the accident, but no one can tell exactly in which direction the two motorcycles were coming from,” he said.

“At this stage, we have to collect more evidence and question more witnesses before we can charge anyone over the incident,” he added.

Capt Thada explained that Mr Kanlayakorn suffered serous head injuries and is unable to communicate.

Despite his current condition, hospital staff said Mr Kanlayakorn was likely to recover from his injuries, Capt Thada added.

— Orawin Narabal