Phuket Provincial Court says its decision to acquit a Swiss expat accused of kicking a female doctor was based on “gross inconsistencies” in the doctor’s version of events, poor evidence from the ‘witness’, and inconsistencies between alleged evidence and the CCTV footage.
Mr. Fehrs had his visa revoked by Thai immigration in April and now will have to see of Phuket Immigration reinstate his visa or issue a new one, based on the outcome of the case.
The court says it found inconsistencies in the testimonies of witnesses and the evidence presented on behalf of the plaintiff, Dr Thandao “Pai” Chandam. It maintains that there were discrepancies between the version of events presented by the prosecution and video footage of the incident.
On Tuesday, September 3, the court acquitted Urs “David” Fehr of the charge of kicking Dr Pai in the back on the night of February 24, as she sat on steps leading to his Yamu Beach villa.
The fallout following the alleged kicking was immense, with hundreds of Thais protesting on the beach outside the villa, demanding that Fehr “get out” of Thailand. It sparked a clampdown by the authorities on “foreigners behaving badly”, and Fehr, who runs an elephant park in Phuket and is married to a Thai woman, had his visa revoked.
Throughout it all, the Swiss man has insisted he never intentionally kicked Dr Pai, claiming he slipped as he was coming down the steps from his villa.
The court ruled that the account the doctor gave police following the incident differs to what can be seen in CCTV footage presented in court. The court points out that had Fehr kicked Dr Pai as the prosecution claimed, her friend, Supakarn Sukkua, who was sitting beside her at the time, would have witnessed it.
However, when questioned, Supakarn was unable to provide clear details of the alleged assault, which the court found suspicious.
In its ruling, the Court also pointed out that the footage does not show Fehr kicking Dr Pai, causing her to “fall forward”, as she had told police. Instead, the doctor can be seen standing up and walking away calmly. The court stated that had she really been kicked, a more likely reaction would have been to argue back and demand to know why the man had assaulted her.
Furthermore, the testimony of one police officer noted that Dr Pai was sitting on the second step and it would have been difficult for Fehr to have kicked her from the top step, as she claimed in her police report.
The court found that the medical evidence presented by the prosecution – a photograph showing some bruising on the doctor’s back – was insufficient.
“Prosecutors had failed to ask medical staff to testify and failed to provide records from the hospital where Dr Pai claims she sought treatment.”
In deciding to acquit the defendant, the court also acquitted him of causing Dr Pai to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, as she had claimed.
The court reached its decision by taking into account medical experts who testified on behalf of the defence. They explained that PTSD can be triggered by traumatic incidents such as severe or life-threatening injury, or sexual abuse, pointing out that Dr Pai’s experience does not meet those criteria.
SOURCE: Nation Thailand
