AN EXPAT resident of Phuket has told how she was pulled from her bicycle and dragged along the road by a motorcycle attacker who returned again and again to try to snatch her bag.
The woman, dazed and bleeding, screaming hysterically for help, but the residents of nearby houses showed no sign of intervening in the daylight assault on Monday.
A teacher who lives on a boat, the victim now also wants to warn all yachties about security on Phuket. Just 10 days ago, raiders boarded her yacht off Chalong and stole 127,000 baht, as well as equipment.
''I had to borrow 5000 baht after the theft on the yacht to get by until payday, so I wasn't going to let my bag get stolen, even though the guy tried to take it three times,'' the woman, aged 58, told Phuketwan.
The woman, an Australian, prefers to remain anonymous, and is concerned because she believes the thief on the motorcycle probably monitored her movements before the attack.
About 8.15am on Monday, as she cycled to work at a local kindergarten in Rawai, the man rode up alongside her and said: ''Good morning, madam.'' Then he grabbed her bag in the basket on the bicycle, and accelerated.
''He didn't realise that I had wrapped the strap of the bag around the handlebars,'' she said. ''So he pulled the bicycle over, and dragged me with it, along the road.''
The pushbike became a pullbike. She said she was dragged over the gravelly road surface and had the bicycle on top of her when the would-be thief came to a halt after 25 metres.
''He came at me three times,'' she said. ''But because I had my passport in the bag, along with the money I'd borrowed, there was no way I was going to let go.''
She screamed repeatedly but nobody came to help from the nearby houses, which she says is the reason why the attacker was able to stop his motorcycle, dismount, then walk back to try to relieve her of the bag twice after the initial attack.
When the man eventually rode off, she hobbled to the front door of a nearby house. An expat man answered the door. When he saw her, she says, standing bleeding, he turned and went back inside.
''I headed down the road about half a kilometre to the house where I knew a tourist policeman lived. I teach his son. He raised the alarm.''
An ambulance came and the woman declined a trip to hospital, preferring to be patched up on the spot then going on to work, despite her bandages and weeping sores.
Police came to investigate but the woman is not confident of an arrest resulting from either theft. She and her retired husband have been at anchor off Phuket for two years.
''We had the large amount of money on the yacht because it is about to be refitted in a slipway,'' she said. ''Someone must have watched us leave the boat - we were babysitting that evening - and only when we got back at 1am did we discover we'd been raided.''
Later, additional bits of equipment were discovered missing, so she returned to Chalong Police Station and was carrying her passport because its details are required as part of the police reporting process.
''I've ridden my bicycle all over Thailand and we've never had this kind of problem before,'' she said. ''I guess it's just one of those things. I don't plan to let it interfere with the way I choose to live my life.
''Other yachties who are planning to come to Phuket need to know, though, that it pays to take precautions.''
The expat in the doorway later told the woman that he was intending to help, but he had turned back into the house to tell his wife he was going out.
All the victim was able to tell police was that the attacker wore jeans and a green top and a motorcycle helmet. His English was good enough for him to be able to say: ''Good morning, madam.''
Phuket Warning Signs for a 'Pattaya Future'The woman, dazed and bleeding, screaming hysterically for help, but the residents of nearby houses showed no sign of intervening in the daylight assault on Monday.
A teacher who lives on a boat, the victim now also wants to warn all yachties about security on Phuket. Just 10 days ago, raiders boarded her yacht off Chalong and stole 127,000 baht, as well as equipment.
''I had to borrow 5000 baht after the theft on the yacht to get by until payday, so I wasn't going to let my bag get stolen, even though the guy tried to take it three times,'' the woman, aged 58, told Phuketwan.
The woman, an Australian, prefers to remain anonymous, and is concerned because she believes the thief on the motorcycle probably monitored her movements before the attack.
About 8.15am on Monday, as she cycled to work at a local kindergarten in Rawai, the man rode up alongside her and said: ''Good morning, madam.'' Then he grabbed her bag in the basket on the bicycle, and accelerated.
''He didn't realise that I had wrapped the strap of the bag around the handlebars,'' she said. ''So he pulled the bicycle over, and dragged me with it, along the road.''
The pushbike became a pullbike. She said she was dragged over the gravelly road surface and had the bicycle on top of her when the would-be thief came to a halt after 25 metres.
''He came at me three times,'' she said. ''But because I had my passport in the bag, along with the money I'd borrowed, there was no way I was going to let go.''
She screamed repeatedly but nobody came to help from the nearby houses, which she says is the reason why the attacker was able to stop his motorcycle, dismount, then walk back to try to relieve her of the bag twice after the initial attack.
When the man eventually rode off, she hobbled to the front door of a nearby house. An expat man answered the door. When he saw her, she says, standing bleeding, he turned and went back inside.
''I headed down the road about half a kilometre to the house where I knew a tourist policeman lived. I teach his son. He raised the alarm.''
An ambulance came and the woman declined a trip to hospital, preferring to be patched up on the spot then going on to work, despite her bandages and weeping sores.
Police came to investigate but the woman is not confident of an arrest resulting from either theft. She and her retired husband have been at anchor off Phuket for two years.
''We had the large amount of money on the yacht because it is about to be refitted in a slipway,'' she said. ''Someone must have watched us leave the boat - we were babysitting that evening - and only when we got back at 1am did we discover we'd been raided.''
Later, additional bits of equipment were discovered missing, so she returned to Chalong Police Station and was carrying her passport because its details are required as part of the police reporting process.
''I've ridden my bicycle all over Thailand and we've never had this kind of problem before,'' she said. ''I guess it's just one of those things. I don't plan to let it interfere with the way I choose to live my life.
''Other yachties who are planning to come to Phuket need to know, though, that it pays to take precautions.''
The expat in the doorway later told the woman that he was intending to help, but he had turned back into the house to tell his wife he was going out.
All the victim was able to tell police was that the attacker wore jeans and a green top and a motorcycle helmet. His English was good enough for him to be able to say: ''Good morning, madam.''
Phuket Insight The view from Australia is that Phuket has new competitors and some problems that could cause a major tourism breakdown unless the government steps in soon.
Phuket Warning Signs for a 'Pattaya Future'
Phuket Man's Plea to Bar: 'Let My Children Sleep'
Closing Hours The issue of law enforcement and ''24 hour opening'' on Phuket has been raised by a man who says his children cannot sleep because a neighboring bar stays open until 6am each day.
Phuket Man's Plea to Bar: 'Let My Children Sleep'
DSI to Probe Land Ownership on Racha Island
Latest A surprise telephone call from Bangkok alerts a parliamentary committee on corruption to a DSI probe into land ownership on Racha Island, off Phuket.
DSI to Probe Land Ownership on Racha Island
Phuket Bid for 150 More Tuk-Tuks, 25 More Taxis
Latest Requests are being considered for an increase on Phuket of 150 tuk tuks and 25 metered taxis, with a special committee told that a new, official approval code may be needed.
Phuket Bid for 150 More Tuk-Tuks, 25 More Taxis
I hope the Farang is proud of himself today, went inside to tell his wife he was going out, ya right, why didn't he say anything to that poor lady, shame on you
Posted by southbound on September 30, 2010 17:55