PHUKET – A fight broke out between a foreigner and a group of Thai teenagers in Soi Bangla Street, a famous entertainment area in Patong, Kathu District, Phuket. A British man who tried to intervene was injured by a knife on his left rib.
The incident took place on the roadside, close to a convenience store where the injured person, Mr. Charlie, a British national, ran to seek help. Good Samaritans and another foreigner who happened to be at the scene provided initial first aid. Afterward, officials transported him to Patong Hospital.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Chanan Mekchai, an investigative inspector at Patong Police Station, examined CCTV footage. At 04:32 AM on May 18, a foreigner wearing a white shirt and pants was seen with his Thai girlfriend engaging in a fistfight with a group of Thais on Soi Bangla Street. The altercation escalated, and they pushed each other into a small alley that locals call Soi Lao. The fight continued again on the roadside.
One minute later, Mr. Charlie, wearing a black t-shirt and black shorts, walked in, saw the incident, and tried to stop the groups. At that moment, there was a commotion as they pushed out of Soi Lao.
The injured person was then stabbed and went to ask for help at the convenience store, where he collapsed and was bleeding. Both Thai and foreign good Samaritans who witnessed the incident quickly provided first aid and notified the authorities for assistance before rescue workers took him to the hospital.
A convenience store employee present at the scene said that the injured British man ran into the store and collapsed in front of the counter in a pool of blood. At that time, he couldn’t speak but was coughing up blood. When his black t-shirt was removed, a small puncture wound, seemingly from a sharpened metal object, was found on his left rib cage. His head also appeared to have been hit with a glass bottle.
The Thai girlfriend who came with him said that her British boyfriend was not involved in the brawl but was an unintended victim.
Police Colonel Chalermchai Hernsawat, Superintendent of Patong Police Station in Phuket, revealed that they now know the identities of the perpetrators, believed to be a group of Thais. The investigative team is urgently tracking them down for questioning.
