Violent muggings return to Rawai

RAWAI: A foreign man was shot in the leg and stabbed in the stomach in a motorbike mugging at about 4 am on Monday. His attackers made off with his wallet, containing 300 baht.

The attack was reminiscent of the spate of violent muggings that gripped the Rawai-Nai Harn area throughout the low season last year.

The man, who asked to be identified only as “Dave”, told the Gazette today that he was returning from a late night out at a Nai Harn bar when he was attacked.

“I had turned right [onto the road toward Rawai Beach] and rode about 50 meters when I came around the curve and was attacked,” he said.

“I had no time to react. I was shot in the [lower] right leg and stabbed in the side; then they robbed me,” he explained.

“I was lucky,” he added. “I got back on my bike and rode about 200 meters when I saw an ambulance already attending to another man who was also attacked, maybe just 10 minutes earlier,” he said.

Both men were taken to Bangkok Hospital Phuket, Dave said.

However, he explained that due to complications in confirming his insurance coverage, he was transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital about six hours later.

His insurance covered him for up to 500,000 baht in treatment costs for injuries sustained in an attack, he said.

“All the time I was waiting I was bleeding internally. So, by the time I was taken to Vachira they had to operate immediately,” he said.

“I am okay, now. We will have to see if there are complications. The knife ‘touched’ my liver and my intestines,” he said.

“This is stupid – crazy. Just for 300 baht,” he said.

Jikarat Wongtewan, a public relations officer at Bangkok Hospital Phuket, confirmed that “Dave” was sent to the hospital’s emergency ward by volunteers from the Phuket Ruamjai Rescue Foundation.

He was given initial emergency treatment including cleaning of his wounds, a tetanus vaccination and intravenous drip. He was also given an ultrasound and chest X-ray to determine the extent of his injuries, she said.

As David had eaten just before the attack and his condition was stable, doctors there decided to wait the standard 6 hours before surgery, she said.

He was transferred to another ward, where a supervising nurse followed standard hospital procedure by informing him of the estimated costs of the surgery and other treatment he needed.

When given the option of agreeing to pay or being transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital, he chose the latter, she said.

Dave still has an outstanding bill of about 18,953 baht at the hospital, she added.

Chalong Police Superintendent Col Samarn Chainarong told the Gazette today that, with the arrival of the low season about a month ago, he had ordered his 10 patrol officers to step up surveillance in known risk areas after midnight.

Muggers in Rawai like to use motorcycles to make a quick getaway and often commit more than one attack a night, he said.

To minimize the risk of falling victim, tourists should avoid traveling alone in known risk areas after dark, he said.