“Mr Zhao Peuie, 25, suffered a broken shoulder but has already had an operation for that,” confirmed a nurse at Phuket International Hospital.
“But Ms Su Han, 26, needed a lot of stitches as she suffered a big flesh wound on her left leg,” she added.
“If there is no unforeseen developments, I believe Mr Zhao can go home within a week, but Ms Su may take a bit longer because she has got a large flesh wound which we are concerned might get infected.”
Patong Police believe that the couple have settled the compensation privately with the jet-ski operator, as the case has not been reported to the police.
“After I heard the news, I waited for them until nightfall, but no one had shown up and reported anything at Patong Police Station,” Pol Lt Sirinart Chertchutrakulthong of the Kathu Police said today.
“I believe that they have already negotiated and agreed to the amount to be paid for damages by themselves. Usually, if people cannot reach an agreement, they will come to the police station to settle their dispute,” Lt Sirinart said.
Nucha Petchnimol, head of the Patong Jet-Ski Association, said that the couple did not want to bring the case to the police because they were afraid they would have problems with their embassy in their handed over their official state papers.
“So they agreed to pay compensation to the jet-ski owner themselves,” Mr Nucha said.
“By law, we cannot hold their passports, so we accepted photocopies of their passports and (before renting out the jet-skis) asked them to sign the standard agreement to pay compensation for any damages that might occur,” he explained.
“At this stage, the amount of compensation is undisclosed. However, it will not be over B15,000 per person,” Mr Nucha said.
Phuket jet-ski operators have compulsory insurance policies covering accident damage to their jet-skis, Mr Nucha added.
“This covers up to B50,000 for damage per jet-ski per incident, but the insurance does not cover compensation for loss of earnings resulting from accidents. The person renting the jet-ski has to cover for that compensation by themselves,” he said.
“The standard agreement that we ask them to sign before they rent the jet-skis clearly states that the compensation for loss of earnings arising from damage to jet-skis is B3,000 per day, limited to five days maximum,” he explained.