PHUKET: Kwaeng Court has released its full ruling in the acquittal of a Swiss man accused of kicking a woman doctor sitting on steps at Yamu beach on the night of Feb 24 this year.
The court gave the defendant, 45-year-old Urs Fehr, the benefit of doubt, saying the complainants had presented no clear evidence proving the alleged physical assault.
The court's ruling was delivered on Tuesday, and it was made public on Wednesday.
The incident occured at Yamu beach in Thalang district of Phuket on Feb 24. On that night Mr Fehr, also known as David, allegedly kicked Dr Thandao Chandam, 26, in the back while she and a friend were sitting on steps on the beach and watching the full moon, near his rented villa.
The man earlier said he had wrongly believed the doctor and her friend had trespassed on his property, and that he slipped on the steps.
According to the written ruling released on Wednesday, a video showed that Dr Thandao turned her face to the right and backward in the direction of Mr Fehr, who was approaching them.
If Mr Fehr had really kicked Dr Thandao, she could have confirmed that the man kicked her and given details on how the alleged attack happened. The doctor should have been able to give confirmation and the details because the scene was adequately lighted and it was also full moon, the court said.
The court said video footage showed that the doctor got up and walked away from the scene in a normal manner. That contradicted her account given to a police interrogator that the Swiss man’s kick caused her to tumble forward.
Moreover, the doctor did not ask the Swiss man about his motive for the alleged attack. Normally, a person would have posed that question to an attacker if there had been no previous conflict, the court said.
The court also referred to the police interrogator’s report that the doctor sat on the second step up from the beach. If that were so, the defendant could not kick her if he stood on the top step. If the man had stood on the second step and kicked her, the doctor could have elaborated on the alleged assault, the court said.
The doctor and a public prosecutor who was a co-complainant told the court that the alleged kick injured her, but the court found that the doctor who stood as their witness did not examne her body and was only informed of the alleged injury with a picture and an unofficial record from a nurse.
In addition, the prosecutor did not call the nurse who took the picture of Dr Thandao to testify in court.
Given the lack of clear evidence and repeated denials of the defendant, the court gave him the benefit of the doubt.
The court also dismissed Dr Thandao’s complaint that the incident caused her to suffer posttraumatic stress disorder. The court quoted experts as saying that PTSD happens after a person faces a life and death situation, is severely injured or is sexually abused.
On Tuesday the court also revoked its previous order banning Mr Fehr from leaving the country.