Police have cast a wide dragnet in the search for a man who assaulted and robbed German TV presenter Cathy Hummels on a beach in Phangnga province.
Pol Lt Gen Amphon Buarabporn, commissioner of Provincial Police Region 8, said yesterday the robbery occurred in the Khok Kloi area of Phangnga, not in neighbouring Phuket as was incorrectly reported by some foreign media.
He said Phangnga provincial and local police are cooperating, before pledging to swiftly hunt down the assailant.
According to media reports in Germany, Ms Hummels, who is married to German international footballer and Dortmund centre-back Mats Hummels, was assaulted and robbed while walking on a beach at night in Phuket.
Pol Lt Gen Amphon stood firm in saying the investigation would be swift and thorough and that the thief would be brought to justice. He said the victim had left the country without giving a statement to police.
Ms Hummels was in Thailand to film her TV show Battle of the Reality Stars. The attack occurred while she was relaxing after completing production last week.
According to German newspaper Bild, the attacker hit her on the head several times before stealing her iPhone. She ran back to the hotel, informed her team about what had happened, and said she filed a complaint with local police before leaving the country the next day.
She claimed the attack had occurred in Phuket, which Thai police said was incorrect.
The assault happened at Na Tai beach, about 800 metres from the Aleenta Hotel in tambon Khok Kloi of Takua Thung district in neighbouring Phangnga, at about 9pm last Saturday.
Ms Hummels was walking along the beach when an unidentified man hit her from behind until she fell. The attacker ran off with her iPhone 12 Pro Max. The victim also sustained bruising to her left arm.
According to the police report, the victim could not describe her attacker as it was too dark. She said it was not convenient to give a statement to police investigators because she had to catch a flight overseas.
Phuket police chief Pol Maj Gen Sermphan Sirikhong also confirmed the attack did not occur in Phuket.
Meanwhile, Phangnga police said yesterday Ms Hummels had also elected not to undergo a physical examination following the assault as she had a flight to catch. She assigned Simon Regauer, her interpreter, to act on her behalf in dealing with the authorities. She flew out of Phuket on Sunday on a Dubai-bound flight.