A 43-year-old Japanese tourist was injured by a group of suspected robbers near Makkasan station on the Bangkok Airport Rail Link on Wednesday night, police said.
Pol Col Urumpon Khundetsamrit, chief of Makkasan police station, said on Thursday that the attack took place at about 8.30pm at a public park behind the electric train station, which connects Suvarnabhumi airport in Samut Prakan province with central Bangkok. The location is linked to Soi Asok-Din Daeng 30, which runs through a deserted area.
Police identified the injured tourist only as Yuki, 43. The man was looking for a staircase leading to Makkasan station but mistakenly entered Soi Asok-Din Daeng 30. As he was leaving the alley, six young men on two motorcycles approached him from the entrance and shouted, “Money… money.”
When Yuki told them he had no money, the men surrounded him, struck him three times on the back of the head with a stone and punched him once in the mouth. He then fled to the entrance of the alley, where he encountered a ride-hailing driver who helped him. The tourist lost his credit card in the incident, Pol Col Urumpon said.
The officer said the area belongs to the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and is dark and deserted. He urged the SRT to trim the vegetation and install lights, saying groups of young men frequently gather there. Pol Col Urumpon also said he had ordered officers to conduct regular patrols in the area.
Police identified the alleged attackers from surveillance-camera footage and summoned some suspects for questioning. They were aged about 20 or younger, Pol Col Urumpon added.
