A baht bus driver found and returned a wallet to an Uzbekistan man assaulted by fellow drivers earlier in Pattaya, but allegedly without most the money in it.
Turev Kamol, 21, was attacked and robbed near the Bamboo Bar at Walking Street around 4 a.m. Feb. 13 and claimed his wallet containing US$1,000 was stolen.
Around 6:30 a.m., Pranod Khethong, 41, Chaiyo Khansagnuan, 45, and Tawut Ratchamat, 18, went to see Pol. Col. Sukthat Pumpunmuang, chief of Pattaya Police, to return the wallet.
The three claimed to have found it lying in the street.
Left in the wallet was 2,000 baht, $116 and his passport.
Tawut said he works with the baht bus association but didn’t witness the melee earlier in the morning.
Uzbekistani Turev Kamol (right) reclaims his wallet, which had been turned in by baht bus drivers (background), but said that money was missing.
Pranod said he witnessed what happened, asserting that Kamol and a friend were both drunk when they were chased out of Walking Street by Berm, a baht bus driver and another unidentified driver.
He didn’t know why they were fighting, but went to break up the brawl. The two drivers involved fled the scene.
Kamol complained that about $900 was missing and asserted Pranod was one of the many drivers that beat him up earlier.
Sukthat said the baht bus drivers came to police on their own to return the wallet and that he also believed their claims they were not involved in the violence.
However, police will continue questioning the group and other witnesses to get to the bottom of things before coming to a conclusion of who was wrong.
