Women shopping alone are being warned to be on their guard against thieves in car parks, after one battered victim went online to describe her ordeal.
The 46-year-old woman, whose name was not revealed, escaped being robbed but sustained injuries and bruises to her face and body as she was repeatedly punched by her attacker in the car park of Tesco Lotus Rama IV in Klong Toey district on the evening of June 23.
An image of the panicked victim with bloodstains on her long-sleeved blouse calling for help from other shoppers in the car park was posted by Facebook user Taikong Emkrich and went viral online.
The Facebook user said she saw the woman running barefoot toward her and her friend. The frightened woman had a bruised face and a bleeding nose. She said her attacker, who had a thin build, had repeatedly punched her in the face and body when she opened her car door in the parking lot. She had begged him to stop attacking her and told him to take whatever he wanted. However, the man kept pressing her head into her car. During the fight, she managed to flee.
Security guards from the store were called immediately to hunt for the attacker but they were unable to find him.
The thief was believed to have targeted the victim’s car because it was parked in an area far from the entrance of the store. Police frequently advise people to avoid parking in remote or poorly lit spots.
Pol Lt Col Jirakrit Jarunpat, deputy investigation chief at the Thong Lor police station, said the victim filed a complaint on Friday, according to Thairath Online.
Police who visited the scene examined closed-circuit television camera footage but the units had failed to capture the incident.
None of the victim’s valuables were stolen. The officers plan to examine CCTV footage from nearby areas to see if it will reveal the escape route of the suspect, said Pol Lt Col Jirakrit.
Tesco Lotus on Friday issued a letter expressing regret over the incident. Staff from the store took the woman to a hospital after the assault and closely followed up on her condition until she was discharged.
Tesco Lotus said patrols had been increased during store operating hours following the incident, and that it was working woth police to find clues about the attacker.