PHUKET: Australian tourist Bryn Murfet didn't know what hit him. One second he was on the back of a motorcycle, being driven back to his resort in Karon.
The next second he was flying through the air, then slamming into the ground, hard. The motorcycle rider was also down.
Bryn had left his resort to get early morning supplies from a local 7-Eleven. He didn't make it back to the resort.
Today at Bangkok Hospital Phuket in Phuket City he will be hoping that more feeling returns to his legs. Eight days after the crash, he still cannot move them.
The rider, Sirinya Yiamchaiyaphum, 32, has just been released after treatment for arm and back injuries at Vachira Phuket Hospital.
But big questions remain over the cause of the crash and the failure of Phuket police to charge the tuk-tuk driver involved. He hit the motorcycle from behind, at speed.
Officers at Karon Police Station attended the scene and took photographs, but those photographs now cannot be found. Nor can the photographs taken by paramedics.
The crashed motorcycle and the tuk-tuk have been quickly repaired, thanks to relatives of the tuk-tuk driver, who volunteered to pay to have the bike fixed.
The police report on the crash spoke of a vehicle but failed to mention that a tuk-tuk was involved. When a Phuketwan reporter called the investigating officer to ask about the case, he said: ''Oh, the buffalo ladyboy.''
This was a reference to the rider, Khun Sirinya, who is a transgender person. The lack of professionalism by the investigating officer shocked the Phuketwan reporter.
Police have yet to interview Bryn Murfet or Khun Sirinya about the crash, a breach of standard behavior. The tuk-tuk driver, Sophon Wandee, 33, has not been charged.
He also has not visited either of the crash victims. However, his wife has been to see Mr Murfet twice, and been in tears both times. Her husband, she says, is ''still in shock.''
Soon after Khun Sirinya was discharged from hospital, ''more than 10 members'' of the tuk-tuk driver's family visited her small apartment in Patong. They urged her to sign a document accepting 20,000 baht in compensation.
''They were very abusive and threatening,'' Khun Sirinya said. ''I really need much more than that because I will not be able to work for at least three months. But judging from what the family told me, 20,000 baht could be all I get.''
Bryn Murfet, 28, and his girlfriend Carley Hickman, 24, had been on Phuket for six days when the crash ruined their holiday. The couple come from Warrnambool in Victoria and Bryn works as an occupational health and safety officer at a local firm.
The couple thought about hiring a motorcycle while they were on Phuket, but decided it was not safe.
There is no time frame yet for Bryn's recovery. As well as damaging his spine, the crash split open his liver. His mother and sister have flown from Australia to be by his side.
The Australians are grateful for being insured, but puzzled that the outcome from the crash seems so harsh on another of the victims.
A few days before the crash, the Chief Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, General Adul Saengsingkaew, visited Phuket and spoke of the need for an improvement in the professionalism of Phuket's police.
An annual evaluation of all officers - beginning in October - would mean that police who did not behave professionally would be tranferred out, he said.
Phuketwan believes this case deserves closer inspection immediately, either by the Chief Commissioner or by the Department of Special Investigation.
The next second he was flying through the air, then slamming into the ground, hard. The motorcycle rider was also down.
Bryn had left his resort to get early morning supplies from a local 7-Eleven. He didn't make it back to the resort.
Today at Bangkok Hospital Phuket in Phuket City he will be hoping that more feeling returns to his legs. Eight days after the crash, he still cannot move them.
The rider, Sirinya Yiamchaiyaphum, 32, has just been released after treatment for arm and back injuries at Vachira Phuket Hospital.
But big questions remain over the cause of the crash and the failure of Phuket police to charge the tuk-tuk driver involved. He hit the motorcycle from behind, at speed.
Officers at Karon Police Station attended the scene and took photographs, but those photographs now cannot be found. Nor can the photographs taken by paramedics.
The crashed motorcycle and the tuk-tuk have been quickly repaired, thanks to relatives of the tuk-tuk driver, who volunteered to pay to have the bike fixed.
The police report on the crash spoke of a vehicle but failed to mention that a tuk-tuk was involved. When a Phuketwan reporter called the investigating officer to ask about the case, he said: ''Oh, the buffalo ladyboy.''
This was a reference to the rider, Khun Sirinya, who is a transgender person. The lack of professionalism by the investigating officer shocked the Phuketwan reporter.
Police have yet to interview Bryn Murfet or Khun Sirinya about the crash, a breach of standard behavior. The tuk-tuk driver, Sophon Wandee, 33, has not been charged.
He also has not visited either of the crash victims. However, his wife has been to see Mr Murfet twice, and been in tears both times. Her husband, she says, is ''still in shock.''
Soon after Khun Sirinya was discharged from hospital, ''more than 10 members'' of the tuk-tuk driver's family visited her small apartment in Patong. They urged her to sign a document accepting 20,000 baht in compensation.
''They were very abusive and threatening,'' Khun Sirinya said. ''I really need much more than that because I will not be able to work for at least three months. But judging from what the family told me, 20,000 baht could be all I get.''
Bryn Murfet, 28, and his girlfriend Carley Hickman, 24, had been on Phuket for six days when the crash ruined their holiday. The couple come from Warrnambool in Victoria and Bryn works as an occupational health and safety officer at a local firm.
The couple thought about hiring a motorcycle while they were on Phuket, but decided it was not safe.
There is no time frame yet for Bryn's recovery. As well as damaging his spine, the crash split open his liver. His mother and sister have flown from Australia to be by his side.
The Australians are grateful for being insured, but puzzled that the outcome from the crash seems so harsh on another of the victims.
A few days before the crash, the Chief Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, General Adul Saengsingkaew, visited Phuket and spoke of the need for an improvement in the professionalism of Phuket's police.
An annual evaluation of all officers - beginning in October - would mean that police who did not behave professionally would be tranferred out, he said.
Phuketwan believes this case deserves closer inspection immediately, either by the Chief Commissioner or by the Department of Special Investigation.
Australian tourist Bryn Murfet should lodge an official complaint at DSI to get a fair investigation about the responsibility of the tuk-tuk driver.
Then Phuketians will know if DSI is capable to provide justice for all without fear about "Local Mafias" which are driving Phuket to an unruly province.
Today not so much is happening from DSI side.
Posted by Whistle-Blower on August 19, 2013 09:51