A female Thai doctor was allegedly kicked by a Swiss man while she was sitting on the luxurious seaside villa’s concrete steps, which were later found to encroach on the public beach.
The doctor said the property tenants, the foreigner and his Thai wife claimed she was trespassing on the spot where she sat on the concrete step with her feet on the sandy beach. The man used many swear words and she was also insulted by his Thai wife, who claimed to have connections with the senior police officer to get her arrested.
Thandao Chandam, 26 a doctor at a private hospital in Phuket, along with her lawyer yesterday gave her statement to the police at Thalang police station. She filed a complaint about a foreign man assaulting her while she was resting on the steps of the concrete stairway leading to a luxurious villa on Yamu Beach.
This incident caused her injuries, and she provided medical examination reports as evidence to the investigators for further legal proceedings.
The doctor said that she intends to pursue the case to the fullest extent and no other Thai individual should face similar incidents.
“Nobody deserves to be discriminated against. He is a foreigners residing and earn a living in Thailand. We should live together peacefully and avoid discrimination,” she said.
The Swiss man runs an elephant camp in Phuket.
Regarding law enforcement, Pol. Col. Phatsakorn Sontikul, Deputy Provincial Police Commander of Phuket, stated that the case will be dealt with justly for all parties involved. Investigations revealed that the area where the incident occurred was public land, hence making the claim of trespass unlikely.
Local authorities inspected the incident site and found that the last few steps of the villa encroached on public land and ordered its demolition.
Yamu Beach is open to the public. Therefore, the property project owner allows normal access to the beach through an arched bamboo walkway.
Meanwhile, the Swiss man spoke to local media, denying allegations of intentionally kicking the doctor. He claimed it was an accidental stumble, expressing regret for the unfortunate event. He said he had a video clip showing the actual stumble, indicating no malicious intent.
In the latest development, the couple apologized to the doctor on Friday afternoon. The man denied kicking her, saying a group of foreign tourists earlier trespassed into the villa’s pool area and they as the tenants did not know the concrete steps encroaching on the public land. (TNA)
