Police Tuesday arrested a man for allegedly assaulting a woman in the parking lot of a large Bangkok shopping mall after she shared her scary experience on a popular Internet message board.
Sompong Saengsanan, 26, a native of Nakhon Ratchasima, was taken into custody, Pol Maj Gen Thana Chuwong, commander of Samut Prakan police, said. Authorities said he confessed to the Oct 16 attack and turned over the T-shirt he was wearing that day.
Napaporn Kanchanapitakkul’s posting about her assault at Mega Bangna on the Pantip.com message board.
Napaporn Kanchanapitakkul, 40, Monday afternoon posted to Pantip.com her harrowing tale from the Mega Bangna car park when she was attacked by a stranger immediately after parking her car.
Ms Napaporn wrote that she parked her car about two rows from an entrance. Immediately after turning off the engine, a man opened the driver's door and blocked her exit. Suddenly, he punched her repeatedly in her face. She fought back, screamed for assistance and honked the horn. No one came to help, however.
The man backed off after a minute or so. Mr Napaporn then found a janitor nearby and obtained first aid. The janitor said she thought the sound of Ms Napaporn screaming was just a teenage fight, so she ignored it.
The mall sent her to get treatment at a nearby hospital and later she reported her case at Bang Kaew police station of Samut Prakan province.
Mr Sompong said he assaulted the woman because he thought she was the driver who had hit his motorcycle with her car while he was on Bang Na-Trat Road Thursday afternoon. He was injured, but the driver did not stop, according to a report in Dailynews.
Around 6pm Thursday, Mr Sompong dropped off his girlfriend at the mall where she works and saw Ms Napaporn's car. Thinking she was the hit-and-run driver, he attacked her. However, the man later admitted was unsure whether the car was the one or not.
He was charged with assault and causing physical or mentally injury.
In her Pantip post, Ms Napaporn said she wanted to warn visitors to the mall about danger that may occur when a woman travels alone. She also complained to the mall operator about providing security to visitors.
The post was shared widely and received more than 300 comments, many of which complained about safety at the mall and inefficiency of the security guards.