The incident came to light when the man, who so far remains unidentified, was caught on CCTV footage posted on Facebook showing him picking up the phone from the scene, at the entrance to Soi Palai on Chao Fa East Rd.
PSU student Potsathorn Chaijaroensup, 19, and Panitcha Mingkanitkul, an 18-year-old enrolled to begin her studies at PSU Trang Campus, were both killed in the horrific accident. (See story here.)
Staff at Prince of Songkla University Phuket campus, where one of the students killed was studying, confirmed that the phone, belonging to Ms Panitcha, was returned at 11:40am.
“He said that he picked up the phone because he was afraid that it might be crushed by vehicles on the road,” PSU staff posted on the Phuket Campus official Facebook page earlier today.
“He said police and rescue workers were very busy and he did not know who to hand it to, so he came here today to hand it to us. He was sincere,” the post said.
The PSU staff said they would hand the phone back to the victim’s relatives.
“The Prince of Songkla University Phuket Campus and our students are all deeply saddened by the accident,” the PSU Facebook post read.
Lt Col Parinya Tansuwan of the Chalong Police noted that the man, who remains unidentified, stood to face charges of theft if the phone was not returned.