Patong Police bust Frenchman for hit-and-run that seriously injured woman

Patong police busted a Frenchman for a hit and run after a Thai pedestrian was seriously injured last week. The culprit, Naji Sami Bouakkz, hit a woman, 54 year old Maliwan Sarnrat, with his motorbike on Friday, February 10. The incident happened on Soi Sai Namyen. Bouakkz did not stop his motorbike after hitting Maliwan.

Officers and rescuers rushed Maliwan to Patong Hospital, but she was soon transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital due to the nature of her injuries, The Phuket News reported.

Police used CCTV footage to track down the motorbike, which was returned to a rental shop on Pracha Nukroa Road in Patong on February 14. Police went to the shop to speak to the rental operator. The rental operator said he noticed some scratches on the motorbike, which had been fixed. Bouakkaz was matched with the motorbike that hit the pedestrian in CCTV footage.

The shop owner called Bouakkz to return to the shop, and the police arrested him. Bouakkz now faces charges of hit-and-run causing severe injuries, as well as reckless driving at high speed, The Phuket Express reported.

This news comes after another recent hit-and-run incident in Thailand. A 20 year old Englishwoman is seriously injured and awaiting surgery after she was struck and abandoned after a hit-and-run crash on Koh Phi Phi island in southern Thailand last week.

Ruby Spry, from Penzance in Cornwall, was driving a motorbike through the small island last Wednesday when a motorbike coming the other way drove on the wrong side of the road to overtake someone and hurled into her.

The driver didn’t stop, leaving Ruby unconscious and seriously injured on the roadside. Ruby sustained a broken collarbone, a broken wrist, four broken bones in her hand, and a broken bone protruding from her right arm in the crash.

Pedestrian safety is a major concern in Thailand, with a high number of accidents involving pedestrians reported every year. In many cases, drivers or riders involved in these accidents flee the scene, making it difficult to hold them accountable for their actions.