A group of teenagers attacked a Japanese tourist with a rock and robbed him near the Airport Rail Link station at Makkasan in Bangkok. He was left injured, and police are now investigating.
The case came to light through a Facebook group for Grab drivers. A member of the public posted that he had found an injured Japanese man running towards him for help. The man had been assaulted and robbed. It happened at around 8.30pm on 12 August, in an overgrown area near Makkasan station. The man who found him took him to hospital.
The injured tourist is a 43-year-old named as Yuki. He had planned to catch the Airport Rail Link at Makkasan. Instead he wandered into the overgrown area by mistake. As he tried to walk back out, a group of teenagers rode up on two motorcycles. Three sat on each bike, six in total. They came from the direction of Soi Asok-Din Daeng 30. They said to him, “money, money.” He replied that he had none.
The group then restrained him. They hit him on the back of the head three times with a rock about the size of a fist, and punched him once in the mouth. He managed to run away and seek help. One of his credit cards was missing. Police are now working to trace the group and take legal action.
A 44-year-old man named Athit, who withheld his surname, helped Yuki that night. He told reporters he had parked to rest near Makkasan station at around 8pm. As he got out, he heard a group of youths shouting. Two motorcycles then rode out of the overgrown area and turned towards the road alongside Bueng Makkasan. The young riders looked no older than 15, he said.
Yuki then ran towards him with a bloodied mouth and clear injuries. Athit took him to hospital straight away. From their conversation, he learned that Yuki had lost his way into the wooded area behind the station. He was trying to walk back out when six youths surrounded him. Yuki first told them he was not Thai. The group replied “money, money,” and he said he had none. They then attacked him.
Athit said the tourist works as a teacher in Japan. He had travelled to Thailand to celebrate his birthday on 16 August with his Thai girlfriend, but faced the ordeal instead. Athit said he feared the incident could damage Thailand’s image as a tourist destination. He urged the parents of the youths involved to take better care of their children.
Athit had faced trouble in the same spot before. He said youths of a similar age once threw a paint can at him. He let it go at the time as youthful mischief. Even so, he believes the area needs to be improved, so it does not become a gathering spot for trouble. Many people come to exercise there in the evenings, he said, including women and children.
Yuki has since messaged him to say thank you. He remains shaken and frightened by what happened, Athit said, but was fortunate to have found someone to help.
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