Fehr, dubbed ‘Swiss David’ by Thai media, was sentenced to one month in prison for assaulting Dr Thandao Chandam outside his luxury villa in Phuket in February 2024.
The Region 8 Court of Appeal overturned his previous acquittal and last Friday (May 23) ordered that Fehr serve the sentence without probation.
The appeal court ruled that Fehr had kicked and verbally abused Dr Thandao, who was sitting near his rented villa, accusing her of trespassing. The incident, partially caught on video, led to public outrage and calls for his deportation.
Fehr did not attend court and is believed to have fled the country, despite an outstanding arrest warrant.
Asked about Fehr’s current whereabouts, Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Pol Col Akanit Danpitaksat declined to comment. Pol Col Akanit was the senior Phuket Provincial Police officer initially assigned to the Fehr case.
Chief of Phuket Immigration Office, Pol Col Kriangkrai Ariyaying, told The Phuket News that he does not know Mr Fehr’s current whereabouts.
“I have no idea where he is,” Col Kriangkrai said, declining to comment further.
Pol Lt Col Laddawan Waenkaew, an inspector at Phuket Immigration, also confirmed that officials had no information about Fehr’s location.
“I don’t know where he is, but we will try to search for him,” she said.
Lt Col Laddawan’s involvement appears to be procedural, as no specific immigration officer has been assigned direct responsibility for Fehr’s case.
Of note, as previous stories of wanted fugitives has shown, Phuket Immigration creates a report with a photo of every person who passes through Immigration clearance at Phuket Airport, both inbound and outbound.
Meanwhile, Thalang Police Chief Pol Col Nikorn Chuathong, who was initially responsible for Fehr’s case and the area where the incident occurred also said he has no idea where Fehr is.
“I haven’t seen Fehr around the area that I have been responsible for a while. I have no idea where he is,” Pol Col Nikorn said.
Niphit Intarasombat, the victim’s lawyer, publicly stated on his Facebook post on May 23 that Fehr had already fled Thailand.
“The last time I checked with the court, I was informed that an arrest warrant had been issued. However, no authorities have been able to apprehend him because he had already left the country,’ he wrote.
“Since the appeal was [initially] filed, he has disappeared and has not returned,” Mr Niphit later told The Phuket News.
Mr Niphit this week further explained to The Phuket News that although he requested the court to restrict Fehr’s travel after the appeal was filed, the court did not grant the request.
“I knew from a court official that Fehr had already left Thailand. No one had granted the requested a travel ban during the appeal process,” he said.
Mr Niphit pointed out that Fehr fleeing exploited a loophole in the legal process.
Because no travel restrictions were imposed while the appeal was pending, Fehr was free to leave Thailand, he explained.