Police nab mentally ill attacker
Angsuma Sridokkam
Visarut Sankham
The Nation October 17, 2015 1:00 am
A mentally ill man has been arrested after beating a stranger in Lat Pharo in Bangkok.
The attack, which took place on Tuesday, was caught on CCTV.
After video clips about the attack went viral on Thursday, police approached the alleged attacker at 111 Soi Lat Phrao.
He tried to run away but police persuaded him to surrender.
The suspect, 32, has tattoos across his body.
Pol Maj-General Sanit Mahathavorn, deputy commander of Provincial Police Region 1, revealed after interrogating Theerapong that he could be charged with committing a public offence but if a complaint was not filed with police the case could be commuted because of the homeless man's mental disorders.
Sanit said Theerapong had wandered around Lat Pharo for several years drinking alcohol and sometimes becoming aggressive towards passers-by.
He said police did not believe the things Theerapong said due to his mental state, which had resulted in mental health stints at Srithanya and Maesuai hospitals.
"Families or relatives should not let people with mental disorders live alone," he added
Dr Panpimol Wipulakorn, deputy director of Department of Mental Health, said Theerapong moved to Bangkok looking for work and was treated for his mental illness at Srithanya Hospital this year.
She said people with mental disorders tend to dread people and people who got close to them could be considered a threat and attacked.
Sittipho Dhurajong, the project manager of Mirror Foundation's Human on Street project, said people with mental disorders could generally be divided into two categories - the solitary and the aggressive.
Sittipho said the aggressive group could be identified by their "angry eyes", walking at people or their aggressive swagger.
People in this group could not control their temper, Sittipho said, adding that the best way to respond to them was to stay out of their way, let them pass, and don't look in their eyes.
But Sittipho said people with mental disorders should not be considered maniacs (khon ba) because of their sad situation.
People confronted by such a person should contact police or the Mirror Foundation via its Facebook page.
