Police arrested a Cambodian man yesterday, August 15, after a machete attack in Pattaya left a fellow Cambodian worker with serious head and wrist injuries at a workers’ camp. The accused later claimed he targeted the wrong man.
Police and Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan rescue workers responded to the camp at about 12.30pm. The large camp houses Cambodian and Myanmar workers.
Rescuers found the victim lying on a bed in a third-floor room with multiple wounds to the back of his head and a serious wound to his left wrist. The head injuries were deep enough to expose his skull, and he was barely breathing when rescuers arrived.
After receiving first aid, the victim was urgently taken to Jomtien Hospital, where medical staff continued treating him.
A 59 year old work supervisor said the accused, initially identified as Sa, had been a close friend of the victim, with the pair previously living and working together. The accused was dismissed and told to leave the camp on August 3 following a fight there.
According to the supervisor, the accused returned on the day of the attack claiming he wanted to collect his belongings. A person in a neighbouring room later heard an argument and went to investigate, finding the victim seriously injured.
A 62 year old security guard said he had earlier seen the accused enter the camp carrying what appeared to be a large cleaver or kitchen knife used for chopping bones. The guard attempted to contact police, but the attack allegedly occurred before officers arrived.
CCTV footage showed a suspected attacker at about 12.08pm carrying a large cleaver concealed beneath a construction helmet. After the attack, witnesses said the man walked to a grocery shop in front of the camp, bought drinking water, sat near the security booth and later fled on a motorcycle.
At 3.30pm, officers arrested the accused at a rented room in Naklua, Bang Lamung district. Police identified him as 30 year old Cambodian national Reaksa Chheut, and seized a cleaver measuring approximately 50 centimetres long.
Reaksa was reportedly eating ice cream when police arrived and surrendered without resistance.
During questioning, Reaksa admitted carrying out the attack, but claimed he had attacked the wrong person. He allegedly said he had intended to attack the victim’s older brother because he believed the man had cheated him out of 9,000 baht in wages, but the intended target was not in the room.
Reaksa also referred to his previous fight with the victim during a drinking session, which had resulted in his dismissal and removal from the accommodation. Police said he claimed he became angry and attacked the victim with the cleaver while the man was lying inside the room.
After the attack, Reaksa allegedly returned to his accommodation in Naklua and was preparing to travel back to Cambodia before police arrested him.
Officers took him to Pattaya City Police Station for further questioning. A urine test returned a positive result for drugs.
Police are preparing charges related to causing serious bodily injury and are checking Reaksa’s history and whether his travel into and out of Thailand complied with immigration laws before proceeding with further legal action.
The story Cambodian hacks fellow national in Pattaya, claims wrong target as seen on Thaiger News.
