PHATTHALUNG, THAILAND – An 18-year-old man in southern Thailand was left with a serious head wound after he was unable to file a robbery complaint at one police station and was then shot while riding to another.
Robbery report dispute under scrutiny
Police said the young man, known as “Phu”, was taken to Phatthalung Hospital in the early hours of 7 February with a gunshot wound to the head after friends drove him there while he was losing a large amount of blood. Duty investigator Pol. Capt. Soros Chana-phan confirmed he had suffered a grazing head injury and was admitted as an emergency case shortly after 5:20 a.m. Investigators were examining possible failures in how officers handled his attempt to report the initial robbery, as well as any link between that crime and the later shooting.
Early-morning street robbery on main road
According to friends, Phu had finished his shift at a logistics company shortly after midnight and first rested at a friend’s place in Lam Pam subdistrict. Around 4:00 a.m. he headed home on a green Honda Giorno scooter without a licence plate when a group of youths on motorcycles stopped him on Aphai-Borirak Road near Ban Hua Khuan. The group allegedly pointed a firearm at him and forced him to hand over a branded jacket and cash.
Turned away over jurisdiction at city station
After the robbery, Phu returned to his friends, and a group of six people on two motorcycles rode to Phatthalung city police station at about 4:30 a.m. to lodge a complaint. Officers there reportedly refused to take the report, telling them the incident fell under the jurisdiction of Lam Pam police station and instructing them to go there instead. Before they left, the youths noticed several suspicious young motorcyclists repeatedly riding past the city station and then disappearing, which raised their suspicion that it might be the same group involved in the roadside robbery.
Ambush near gas station on the way to second station
As the group set off towards Lam Pam police station, they were attacked again on Aphai-Borirak Road near a PTT gas station, according to witness accounts given to investigators. Three motorcycles approached from the opposite direction, and the attackers fired three shots, with one projectile striking the 18-year-old in the head. An older friend riding behind Phu on the motorcycle took control of the vehicle after the shot and rushed the seriously injured victim at high speed to Phatthalung Hospital.
Evidence search and unclear motives
Later, officers found bloodstains on the victim’s scooter, supporting the group’s description of how the attack unfolded. Friends told investigators that Phu had no known disputes or enemies and believed the shooters were the same group blamed for the earlier robbery. None of the suspected assailants were personally known to the victim or his companions, which police said made solving the case more difficult.
Forensic challenges and CCTV review
Police teams inspected the suspected crime scenes but had so far been unable to recover cartridge casings or bullets, investigators said. The force was reviewing footage from nearby surveillance cameras and collecting additional evidence in an effort to identify and prosecute the attackers. Authorities noted that for several weeks Phatthalung province had seen increasing late-night gatherings of youth motorcycle groups, especially on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, during which several robberies had already been reported.
Authorities vow action amid rising night-time robberies
In that context, police stated they were working to track down those responsible for the recent offences and to bring them before court. The case of the injured teenager added to mounting concerns over night-time safety and the handling of crime victims in the province.
“We are working to catch those responsible and bring them firmly before the court.”
said unnamed police officials, according to the authorities’ account.