Phuket—
At 3:50 PM, on March 16th, 2024, Chalong police officers captured two New Zealand nationals who allegedly refused to pull over for a traffic offense, evaded police arrest, and were later accused of assaulting an officer who pursued them in Mueang, Phuket.
According to the police report, Chalong patrol police were performing their regular duty on Chaofa East Road, in front of the Chalong police station. Two foreigners on motorbikes did not follow the traffic laws, not riding close to the left side of the road and riding at high speed in a community area, according to Chalong police.
The police on duty asked for cooperation from them to stop their motorbikes. However, the two violators then allegedly attempted to flee from the police.
After the police pursuit, the two foreigners were infuriated and allegedly attacked the police while having the incident recorded by the police. The situation escalated as the foreigners allegedly attempted to snatch the officers’ firearm causing the gun to fire once, nobody was injured, according to the police.
The police were able to forcibly apprehend them shortly after and escorted them to Chalong police station for further legal processing.
The two suspects were publicly identified by Chalong Police as Mr. Hamish Day, a 36-year-old New Zealand national, and Mr. Oscar Mattson Day, a 38-year-old New Zealand national.
They were facing harsh legal charges that we describe here for conspiring to physically assault police officers and other related charges. As of press time both men remain in police custody and have not released any statements to explain the incident. It is unknown if they had obtained legal counsel.
The officer who was allegedly assaulted suffered arm and leg injuries.
This is the second incident in less than a week involving a foreign national in Phuket allegedly attacking a Thai police officer during a traffic dispute, a Singaporean man was arrested and faced significant legal charges as we reported here.
This is only the latest in a number of shocking incidents of foreign tourists and guests allegedly behaving badly in Phuket and breaking Thai laws such as an American teen charged with sexually assaulting a horse.
In another shocking recent incident, a Russian man was reportedly violently murdered by a man from Tajikistan over a dispute regarding a cannabis business. The suspect later fled Thailand.
Phuket authorities have begun a major crackdown on foreigners breaking Thai laws, such as working illegally, with Minister of the Interior Anutin Charnvirakul personally visiting last week. This crackdown was sparked by a now infamous incident of a well known Swiss expat allegedly kicking a Thai doctor during a dispute over her sitting on steps he alleged were his property, but were actually part of a public beach.
Meanwhile, some Thai residents of Phuket are asking for an even more extensive crackdown on foreigners behaving badly, although it is unclear what this would look like or if a major further crackdown on foreigners breaking the law could inadvertently hurt tourism.
