BANGKOK, Thailand – A dispute between rival motorcycle taxi riders over passengers escalated into a violent hammer attack in Bangkok, leaving one man seriously injured and another under arrest.
Police from Din Daeng Police Station responded to the incident outside a mansion building in Soi Ratchaprarop 14 in the Makkasan area after receiving reports of a severe assault that occurred at around 6:55 p.m. on May 24. Officers found the victim, identified as Songkran, lying unconscious on the road with serious head and facial injuries and significant bleeding. Good Samaritans provided first aid before he was rushed to Rajavithi Hospital for emergency treatment. Nearby, police detained a 29-year-old suspect identified as Yut, who was sitting near the scene. Investigators recovered a claw hammer stained with blood beside him.
According to police, the suspect admitted the confrontation began after an argument over passengers between motorcycle taxi riders operating at opposite ends of the same alley. He claimed the victim attacked him first with the hammer before he fought back, punched the victim several times, seized the weapon, and struck him repeatedly until the victim collapsed unconscious.
The suspect told investigators the dispute was linked to competition for customers between motorcycle taxi ranks and was unrelated to complaints about loud motorcycle revving.
Police have charged the suspect with causing serious bodily harm and transferred him to investigators at Din Daeng Police Station for legal proceedings.
