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Emelia Andersson and Kerstin Stromberg at Patong Hospital today

Phuket Knife-Slash Victim: My First-Day Nightmare

Saturday, May 8, 2010
YOUNG TOURIST Emelia Andersson was full of praise today for the people who helped after she was slashed with a knife by an attacker on the first day of her Phuket holiday.

Miss Andersson, 22, and her friend Kerstin Stromberg were walking on the beach road in Karon, opposite the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa, when the assailant struck.

''It happened so fast,'' Miss Andersson told Phuketwan today in her room at Patong Hospital. ''I didn't really know I had been hurt. It was only a bit later, after we gave chase, that I suddenly realised I was bleeding.

''Perhaps it was the adrenaline.'' Miss Andersson's loud screams about 7.30pm on Thursday alerted others to the attack. The beach road was busy and there were people all around them.

The attacker slashed the strap of her hold-all bag and took off with it, running. Perhaps, Miss Andersson said, he may not even have intended to hurt her.

But the robber's blow brought a cruel end to the friends' holiday, which had begun only that morning with their arrival on a flight from Sweden.

They'd barely had time to say ''wow'' over their private pool at the Access Resort and Villas before their break from work together at a pharmacy service in Kalmar, southern Sweden, was brought to an untimely end.

Miss Andersson said that she could only wait anxiously now for Phuket doctors to give her permission to fly, which she hopes will come within days. On Monday the two friends will report to the Swedish consulate in Phuket City and request a replacement passport, then provide the first detailed, direct account to Phuket police.

The knife-wielding robber made off with about 4000 baht in cash, credit cards, Miss Andersson's passport and an inexpensive camera.

She was full of praise today for staff from the Hilton, who helped immediately, went with her to hospital in a taxi then returned the following day to check on her welfare.

Director of Operations Richard Margo even wrapped the wound in his shirt to stem the flow of blood. Flesh and muscle were cut and about two dozen stitches were required, but fortunately no nerves were severed.

''The people here couldn't have been kinder and more helpful,'' she said. ''The staff at Access have also been very concerned for our welfare. We are amazed at the hospitality of all the people on Phuket - with the exception of one.''

The friends had been planning their escape to Phuket, a popular destination for Swedes, since January and were looking forward to their stay. Now they just want to get back to Sweden as soon as they possibly can.

''We realise that I was just unlucky, that it is the kind of thing that could happen anywhere,'' she said. ''But my boyfriend and my parents are very upset, so we just need to go.''

The pair were so intent on what had happened that they did not see the man's accomplice, waiting nearby on a motorcycle. Witnesses told police volunteers that he sped off with the knifeman riding pillion.

Senior Phuket police have warned Phuketwan that assaults by bag-snatchers wielding knives or guns are on the rise, but attacks on tourists have so far been rare.
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Comments

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And the completely useless Phuket police continue to do bugger all about it. Which is why I have given up on visiting Phuket completely after 20 years as a regular visitor.

Posted by Harry Barracuda on May 9, 2010 17:34

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One advice for expats: Phuket has become a dangerous and criminal place. Don't go there any more!

Editor: The young woman who was the victim doesn't even suggest that, Gunnar. You are over-reacting.

Posted by Gunnar on May 11, 2010 20:55

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If you're a tourist on Phuket, you are a prime target for crime, scams and rip-offs!

Posted by Wezzi on May 15, 2010 15:26

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And now the story is covered by the largest Swedish (as well as Nordic) newspaper...

Result: Less tuk-tuk customers for Phuket

http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article7129250.ab

Posted by Tim Cruise on May 15, 2010 18:32

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Dear Sir, I am not at all over-reacting. The German Federal Police : "Every year more than 100 German are killed in Thailand"! Only one Example is Wolf Kesselheim in Rawai!
Regards
Gunnar

Editor: Many expats die in Thailand enjoying their freedom too much: riding motorcycles without helmets, taking drugs, drinking more heavily than usual, etc. They do not die sitting on couches, watching television. Crime here is rarely the cause.

Posted by Gunnar on May 18, 2010 16:34

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so much bullshit, i go manny time to phuket, i have never probs, bether then other lands !!

Posted by facebreaker on August 9, 2010 04:20

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where are all the video cameras that were installed and that were touted a few months ago?

Posted by mikey on September 27, 2010 22:23


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