Confirmation of the settlement came via a report by Karon Police, reporting that the agreement came on the condition that the Chinese tourist, Han Bintong, 26, “will not be tempted to take legal action, both civil and criminal, against Mr Kronchit Thamsuea [the parasail operator] again”.
Further cofirmation of the agreement came via a report by Phuket marine Chief Natchapong Pranit, who investigated the incident yesterday.
The Chinese woman, whose name was confirmed by Karon Police as Miss Han Bitong, described her experience ‒ and subsequent treatment by the parasail operator after the accident ‒ in a video posted via the Douyin app, the original version of TikTok available inside China.
Within hours the video was viewed millions of times and shared by more than 500,000 people, all inside Mainland China.
Kronchit agreed and gave B140,000 to Miss Han Bitong and her partner Mr Gou Xinrui, with whom she travelled to Phuket, Karon Police explained.
The remaining B260,000 will be paid later in three installments.
The agreement was reached yesterday (Feb 28), through the assistance of local lawyer Sutee Theeranuthanakul, Karon Police noted.
Yesterday was a special day for Phuket officials, as they leapt into action after learning about how widely seen Ms Han’s video posted online
Before intervention by officials, and as described in Ms Han’s video, the parasail operator, Kronchit, had refused to pay any damages, and even challenged Ms Han to report the incident to authorities.
Karon Police noted in their report that “incidentally” the Ministry of Tourism and Sports was considering paying the medical expenses for Ms Han’s surgery, amounting to B150,000, through the ministry’s fund for providing relief to foreign tourists who have suffered accidents in Thailand.
Karon Police reported that that accident occurred at Karon Beach at about 6pm last Friday (Feb 24).
Mr Guo and Ms Han paid B3,500 for both of them to enjoy a tandem parasail ride together. The pair were joined on the ride by an employee to help guide the chute.
A strong gust of wind blew in as they were returning to the beach, affecting the chute, and dumping the pair onto the beach from a height of about two metres.
Mr Gou was at the front and hit the sand first. Ms Han was behind, and suffered a broken shin bone when Mr Gou fell hard on his backside with her leg underneath.
The parasail operator rushed to provide assistance, and both were taken to Chalong Hospital, said the report, not noting the two-hour delay for an ambulance to arrive due to traffic.
Chalong Hospital then sent Ms Han to continue her treatment at Mission Hospital, the report noted.
The next day (Feb 25), Mr Guo arrived at Karon Police Station to seek assistance in holding the parasail operator take responsibility for medical expenses. Karon Police tracked down the operator, Kronchit, and have him visit Ms Han in hospital, the report noted.
The report marked no further action until Karon Police investigators went to question Mr Guo and Ms Han at Phuket airport yesterday.