Newlyweds in hostage drama

PATONG: Police from Kathu Police Station were called to the Jaranya Guesthouse on Rat-U-Thit Rd on Tuesday to find a honeymooning Briton standing in his wrecked hotel room, holding a broken beer bottle to his bride’s throat. Pol Capt Ampolwat Sangruang told the Gazette that his officers rushed the man, Mark Francis O’Reilly, 36, and managed to free his 18-year-old bride, Sudjai Mingsaeng, though she sustained cuts to her throat that required eight stitches. When police reached the hotel car park with O’Reilly, he leapt up on top of their pick-up truck and jumped up and down until the roof started to cave in. He was again subdued, placed in the back of the pick-up and handcuffed to it. He then repeatedly hit his head against the side of the vehicle. The resultant cuts required 40 stitches. Later, at the police station, after having a beer with police officers, O’Reilly quietly walked up to the roof of the two-story building and jumped off. He was taken to Patong hospital with a broken ankle. Police have ruled out drugs as a possible explanation of the incident, after K. Sudjai emphatically denied that her new husband had taken any. Capt Ampolwat said police believe Mr O’Reilly may have lost control in a fit of depression. “He will have to pay for the broken furniture in the room and the damage to the pick-up truck,” said Capt Ampolwat, “but he will not face any charges, as his wife has not filed a complaint against him.”

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