A foreign man was accused of using a chemical spray on a Thai pharmacist in Phuket in an attempt to rob the victim. Fortunately, the pharmacist and his valuables are safe.
The victim is the Thai pharmacist, Pijet Intarakaset, who runs Mookda Pharmacy in the Patong neighbourhood of Phuket. The incident occurred at around 12.22am on Wednesday, September 2. He shared details of the incident on his Facebook account together with screenshots from the CCTV camera.
The accused foreigner was seen wearing a blue, long-sleeved shirt and long black trousers. He arrived at the pharmacy on his motorcycle. A security camera clearly captured its registration plate outside the store.
In the Facebook post and an interview with Channel 7, Pijet explained that the foreign man, who appeared to be Arab, entered the pharmacy and claimed that a taxi driver had assaulted him.
Pijet said the foreigner asked to buy medicine to reduce swelling and painkillers. However, he later cancelled the order, claiming it was too expensive. He said he thought the medicines would cost only 20 to 30 baht.
The foreigner reportedly remained inside the pharmacy and talked with Pijet for some time. During the conversation, he reportedly took out cannabis and nicotine patches and showed them to the pharmacist.
The situation became more concerning when the foreign man left the pharmacy and walked to a motorcycle parked outside. He took a dark green cloth bag from the motorcycle seat before returning to the shop.
Pijet said the man then grabbed his hand and sprayed a substance that he claimed was perfume onto his hand about five times. The foreigner then sprayed the substance onto Pijet’s body a further two times.
Pijet revealed that he began experiencing dizziness, cold hands and feet, a rapid heartbeat and chest tightness after being sprayed. He became concerned that he might lose consciousness and chased the foreigner away from his store.
Pijet said he immediately contacted Patong Hospital for medical assistance. After his condition improved, he filed a complaint with Patong Police Station, suspecting that the foreigner attacked him with the spray in a theft attempt.
Pijet said that he had learned from a medical team that another pharmacist had been admitted on the same day with similar symptoms, which had led him to issue an online warning.
Police are now attempting to identify and locate the person of interest. Investigators are using CCTV footage from the pharmacy and motorcycle registration information as evidence in the investigation.
The substance sprayed on the pharmacist has not been identified, and police have not confirmed whether it was harmful.
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