The Egyptian tourist, Makmoud Amr Mahmoud Abbas, 29, suffered a cleaver knife wound to the neck when he was attacked by roti vendor Surachai Raksub, 32, in front of a Family Mart store on Soi Ta-iad in Chalong last Friday night (July 19).
Mr Abbas was rushed to a local hospital with a seven-centimetre gash in his neck. (See story here.)
Posts on Thai social media sites online reported that Mr Abbas was the son of the Egyptian Ambassador to Uruguay. (See here.)
An official at the Egyptian embassy told The Phuket News this afternoon (July 25) that the embassy was aware of the incident, but had not yet taken any action on it.
“We saw it in the news, but have not yet been formally notified of the incident,” the official said.
The official declined to comment on whether Mr Abbas was the son of Egyptian Ambassador to Uruguay Amr Mahmoud Abbas Abdelhadi, or related in any way to any member of the Egyptian diplomatic corps.
Meanwhile, Chalong Police today confirmed that roti vendor Surachai is facing three charges.
“Surachai Raksub, 32 years old, has been charged with carrying a weapon in a public place and using a weapon to injure another person. He has also been charged attempted murder,” confirmed Capt Somkiet Sarasin of the Chalong Police.
“We presented him to Phuket Provincial Court in the morning on July 20 (Saturday), and he was handed over to court custody,” he said.
“Surachai was arraigned and I insisted that he be denied bail,” Capt Somkiet said.
However, Capt Somkiet admitted that he did not know whether the court upheld his request. Asked where is Surachai is now, he said, “I am not sure.”
Mr Abbas is recovering well from his injury, Capt Somkiet added.
“I went to visit and talk with Mr Abbas at Bangkok Hospital Phuket today. He is getting better. The wound looks better,” he said.
“He told me that doctors would allow him to leave hospital this weekend,” he added.
Capt Somkiet said that he did not believe that Mr Abbas was the son of an Egyptian Ambassador.
“I don’t think he is. I have not seen any documents to indicate that he is the son of a diplomat,” Capt Somkiet said.
Explaining what prompted the attack, Capt Somkiet told The Phuket News, “Four Egyptian men walked up to the roti salaeng (a three-wheeled motorbike with a pancake cooking grill fitted to the sidecar), and one of them, Mr Abbas, was trying to be funny, making jokes using the F-word.
“The roti vendor (Surachai) thought he was being insulted. Angry, he already had the knife in his hand and he struck out and hit Mr Abbas with it,” he said.
Capt Somkiet noted that Surachai was alone, and that his wife was not the person being offended, as explained in some online reports.