UPDATE: Patong Polcec Chief Col Anotai Jindamanee has confirmed that the sixth suspect presented himself at the police station on Friday afternoon (Mar 29) to be charged.
Patong Police Chief Col Anotai Jindamanee confirmed to The Phuket News that five of the six people wanted for the attacked are in custody at Patong Police Station.
“We are waiting for one more person to present himself to be charged for the incident,” Col Anotai said.
The five in custody have already been charged with affray causing bodily harm, Col Anotai confirmed.
“Additional charges might be added later after we have concluded our investigation,” he said.
The fight broke out in front of the Malin Plaza on Pracha Nukroh Rd at about 11pm.
Parts of the vicious beating were recorded by a bystander. The footage recorded showed the tuk-tuk drivers and at least one motorbike taxi driver beating two men in the middle of Pracha Nukroh Rd.
The tourists were beaten to the ground, with several of their attackers kicking both men repeatedly while they were still down.
In the video recording a woman’s voice can be heard screaming for the attackers to stop. Her pleas were ignored.
The tourists were later identified as Khalil Humaid Obid Ali Al Alkaabi, 38, and Abdulla Humaid Obid Ali Al Kaabi, 35, both from the United Arab Emirates.
“I don’t know who started the fight first. We are still questioning the people involved now, but the tourists also fought back,” Col Anotai explained.
“The tourists – two men, a woman and a child – were walking along the road while shopping. They hailed a tuk-tuk in front of Marlin Plaza and asked the tuk-tuk driver to take them back to their hotel in Patong,” Col Anotai said.
“After they had settled on a price, the tourists put their shopping inside the tuk-tuk and walked away to look at other things at the plaza,” he added.
“The tuk-tuk driver then decided to not take them because it he said it was a waste of his time waiting for them and he told them to get another tuk-tuk when they were ready.
“That’s when the argument started, and the fight broke out – and other drivers around there came and joined in.
Col Anotai said both tourists escaped without sustaining serious injuries.
“One of the tourists was taken to Patong Hospital. Doctors told me that he has a bruised eye. The other man did not need any hospital treatment. He will get better in about a week,” he said.
Additional reporting by Eakkapop Thongtub