PHUKET, THAILAND – A French tourist suffered neck injuries when a woman tore a gold chain from his neck on Bangla Road in the early hours, but he managed to pull the jewelry back before the attacker escaped into the crowd.
Incident on Bangla Road at around 4 a.m.
According to a report on the Facebook page Phuket Times, the incident took place on 9 April at around 4 a.m. as the tourist was walking along Bangla Road with two friends.
A Thai friend filmed the injury on the man’s neck as well as the damaged chain and later provided the video to local media.
Tourist recounts the chain snatching
The French man said it was his first visit to Phuket and that he had been walking down the street after leaving an entertainment venue.
He said a foreign woman approached him and suddenly tore the gold chain from his neck, but he was unable to determine her nationality.
Fighting back: jewelry retrieved, suspect fled
Although he was taken by surprise, the tourist managed to snatch the chain back from the woman.
After the failed theft, she ran off and disappeared into the crowd on Bangla Road.
Neck injuries described as minor
Media reports stated that the tourist sustained minor neck injuries in the incident. Based on the available information, no on-site medical treatment was required.
The video recorded by his companion documented the condition of the damaged chain and was given to media outlets to draw attention to the case.
Unclear whether police report was filed
Reports did not confirm whether the case was officially filed with the police. Users on Thai social media called for an investigation and criticized security measures in popular nightlife areas.
Authorities and police had not made any public statements about the incident on Bangla Road by the time of publication.
Similar cases in Pattaya and another chain theft attempt
On the same day, a similar case was reported from Pattaya: two foreign men allegedly stole a gold ring and cash from a Chinese tourist after using a distraction tactic to make her show her money.
A comparable distraction scheme had reportedly targeted another Chinese tourist and Russian nationals the previous year. In the previous month, four Thai suspects allegedly tried to steal a gold chain worth nearly 100,000 baht from an Indian man; the jewelry was recovered but damaged in the process.
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