Phuket expat Divan Mydeen, an Indian national who assists Tourist Police with patrols on Patong’s Bangla Rd, was attacked and hit on the head from behind while off duty last Friday (Oct 2).
“I was at Tazmania Pool Lounge [on Bangla Rd] and a man who looked like a security guard came up to me and asked if I was Tourist Police officer,” Mr Mydeen told The Phuket News.
“After I said ‘yes’, he started walking away, but then he suddenly turned around and hit me on the back of my head.”
The force of the blow felled Mr Mydeen to the floor, and the motive for the attack remains unknown.
“All I can think of is that he hates police for some reason, because I didn’t have any argument with him at all,” Mr Mydeen said.
Mr Mydeen immediately reported the attack to police on duty in the area, but his attacker had already fled.
The attack was reported to Kathu Police Deputy Commander Akanit Danpitaksat, and Pol Lt Narwee Singsom has taken up the task up tracking down the assailant.
The man was known to work as a security guard in the area.
“We believe that he is hiding somewhere because no one had seen him lately,” Lt Narwee said. “At first, we believed that he worked around there, but no witness could tell us where worked. We don’t have any picture of him. Only Mr Mydeen can identify the man who hit him.”
However, since the attack on the two Australian tourists on Wednesday, it is now suspected that one of the five security guards involved in that attack also attacked Mr Mydeen.
Kathu Police Deputy Superintendent Col Akanit has so far declined to name the five security guards involved in that attack, but a senior Tourist Police volunteer told The Phuket News today, “It seems one of the five men in the attack is the man who attacked Divan [Mydeen]. We are going tonight in uniform with the Royal Thai Police to secure a copy of the guys’ Thai ID cards.”
Mr Mydeen will also have CCTV footage provided to refer to, the volunteer said.
“We are also really pushing for a meeting with the Patong Entertainment Business Association, security guards, bar managers, the commander of the Kathu Police and the police volunteers to warn of jail time for assaults on customers by security,” he added.
Long-standing Region 8 Royal Thai Police Volunteer leader Wal Brown will be taking up the issue with the Kathu Police Commander, Lt Col Pongpichan Chayanonpiriya.
“Divan [Mydeen] is okay now, but this behaviour is unacceptable,” Mr Brown told The Phuket News. “You can’t have people attacking volunteers and just walking away. It sets a standard that no one wants to see on the streets, and then no one will want to help as a police volunteer.
“I will be raising this with, Lt Col Pongpichan, who coordinates Region 8 Police volunteers operating in Patong,” he said.
Capt Ekachai Siri, Deputy Inspector of the Patong Police Tourist, supported Mr Brown’s call for better protection for police volunteers.
“We are doing our best to find the who hit Mr Mydeen,” he said. “I feel very sorry for him and of course we are working with the Kathu Police to find the suspect. We will try our best to bring this case to justice.”
Bangla thugs
Lt Col Pongphichan earlier this year noted that expat police volunteers have no law-enforcement rights whatsoever unless a regular officer on duty is with them, which is often the case.
But also assured that anyone who assaulted a volunteer would face the law.
Lt Col Pongphichan publicly voiced his support for expat volunteers after a gang of thugs drinking on the steps right in front of the police box at the beach end of Bangla Rd in July threatened expat police volunteers on patrol, and in doing so exposed the lack of police protection on Phuket’s main party street. (See story here.)
The thugs, all employees of Bangkok-based ASEFA Public Co.,Ltd, were let off with a formal apology by company representative Chokanan Phoraksa. (See story here.)
“The company is so sorry about the incident, and we realise that we should train and teach our staff better,” Said Mr Chokanan. “If the threats of violence by our staff are true then we apologise sincerely to the police volunteers.”
However, the employees were not called on to at least make their own apologies in person.