Sommit Pungtaetua, 58, a temple staffer, told The Phuket News this morning (May 8) that the incident happened at about 7am and was recorded by CCTV.
“From the CCTV footage we learned that the woman was meditating on the ground floor of the temple, when a man walked up to her acting suspiciously,” the staffer said.
“The woman relocated upstairs and continued her meditation, but the man followed her and tried to steal the woman’s wallet that she placed next to her. The woman noticed that and grabbed her wallet back. Then the man used scissors that he was carrying to stab her several times and knocked her head on the floor,” the staffer continued.
Finally, the suspect grabbed the wallet and fled the scene while the woman stood up and walked to call for help.
“She asked a monk to call police and medical workers. An ambulance came from Vahira Phuket Hospital and rushed her for treatment. From initial examination, she had wounds on her chest, right arm and elbow. Her head was bleeding from the knocking, and the bone of her right ring finger was broken,” the staffer said.
According to the victim, her wallet contained only a mobile phone valued at about B3,000,”
The temple has already informed Phuket City Police about the incident and provided officers with relevant CCTV footages so they can track down and arrest the suspect.
“Normally we have many people coming in and out the temple all the time. We have measures to take care of safety ourselves, plus police always comes to check in the morning. This is the first incident of this kind in our temple, but I remember having seen the man around two or three days before,” the staffer said.
The Phuket News contacted Phuket City Police for comments, but no information was provided.