PHUKET: Two Australian expats accused of firing a handgun in a busy Phuket street and wounding two German tourists are now free, Phuketwan has learned.
The men were sentenced to six months and 15 days in jail on April 11 but the prison terms were suspended on condition the pair be of good behavior for two years.
John Edward Cohen, 33, and Adam Lewis Shea, 26, had been held in overcrowded Phuket Prison since being arrested for the January 22 shooting.
On that night, the two men went looking in the west coast resort of Patong for a Danish man, Dennis Knudsen, 24, in dispute with the Aussie pair over an unpaid loan.
When the Australians saw a man who looked like Knudsen ride a motorcycle down Soi Sansabai, a popular tourist spot not far from Soi Bangla, they opened fire.
Shots missed the rider but instead winged two German tourists, Johann Baschenegger, 41, and Joseph Woerner, 71, as they walked down the street enjoying their holiday. Bystanders treated the tourists for their wounds.
Cohen and Shea, who run a tattoo business in Patong, fled but were quickly arrested.
Ironically, while the Australians were in Phuket Prison awaiting trial, Knudsen was also apprehended.
For a time he shared the jail - built to house 750 but currently crowded with more than 2000 inmates - with the men who wanted to shoot him.
The two German tourists are believed to have recovered quickly.
The men were sentenced to six months and 15 days in jail on April 11 but the prison terms were suspended on condition the pair be of good behavior for two years.
John Edward Cohen, 33, and Adam Lewis Shea, 26, had been held in overcrowded Phuket Prison since being arrested for the January 22 shooting.
On that night, the two men went looking in the west coast resort of Patong for a Danish man, Dennis Knudsen, 24, in dispute with the Aussie pair over an unpaid loan.
When the Australians saw a man who looked like Knudsen ride a motorcycle down Soi Sansabai, a popular tourist spot not far from Soi Bangla, they opened fire.
Shots missed the rider but instead winged two German tourists, Johann Baschenegger, 41, and Joseph Woerner, 71, as they walked down the street enjoying their holiday. Bystanders treated the tourists for their wounds.
Cohen and Shea, who run a tattoo business in Patong, fled but were quickly arrested.
Ironically, while the Australians were in Phuket Prison awaiting trial, Knudsen was also apprehended.
For a time he shared the jail - built to house 750 but currently crowded with more than 2000 inmates - with the men who wanted to shoot him.
The two German tourists are believed to have recovered quickly.
Only in Thailand.......
Posted by stu on May 3, 2013 11:00