The incident occurred around 6am yesterday (Feb 18) when Rames Bharatphan was cycling his usual route within the park with around 10 friends.
Mr Rames, 41, said he is a keen cyclist that has been riding the route for many years. As he neared the skateboard training area within the park yesterday, he noticed that his front wheel had ridden over two of the tacks. After he and his colleagues stopped, it emerged that a further seven of the bikes had also been damaged in a similar way.
Luckily nobody was injured in the incident although the damage endured by the bicycles was significant, Mr Rames told The Phuket News.
“Myself and my colleagues are all serious cyclists who ride this route regularly,” he said.
“The bikes we use are serious pieces of equipment that range in price from B100,000 to B300,000. The tyres are not the type that can be easily patched and the cost to fix the damage is over B2,000 per time,” he added.
Mr Rames said he was unaware how the sharp tacks had been so irresponsibly disposed of or by whom but that similar incidents had occurred in the past. He consequently urged Phuket municipality to check on the condition of the CCTV cameras in the park to determine whether they are working and, if so, use the footage to try and identify the perpetrators.
He also recommended that the area be closed off to road traffic in the early morning and evening when most people tend to exercise, citing several examples of heated quarrels in the past where motorists have clashed with pedestrians and cyclists.
There were no officials available for comment but the park caretaker confirmed he had been informed that there is no CCTV camera at the specific site of the incident involving Mr Rames and his friends yesterday. He added that it was not known whether responsibility for the cameras throughout the park lay with Phuket Municipality or Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO).