Crime
Israeli Tourist Who “Stabbed Australian” in Pattaya Disco, Flees Country
BANGKOK – Thai police say an Israeli tourist wanted over the stabbing of an Australian man at a nightclub in the seaside resort of Pattaya has fled the country.
Immigration officials informed police that the male suspect had left Thailand, The Nation newspaper reported on Friday.
Jaydon Sienkiewicz, 21, was stabbed in the Mixx Discotheque at about 4.30am on Thursday while partying with a group of 10 people including his father and Thai stepmother. He suffered abdominal wounds and was rushed to a local hospital.
Police captain Sombat Kaewmoolsuk told The Nation that security video showed the Australian sitting at a table in the nightclub when the Israeli walked in with his girlfriend.
He said Sienkiewicz grabbed the girlfriend’s bottom, leading to a dispute which resulted in the Israeli pulling a knife and stabbing the Australian. The woman had tried to stop the stabbing, captain Sombat said.
Police have interviewed nightclub staff over the incident and will seek an arrest warrant for the Israeli. Thailand has no extradition treaty with Israel.
According to a 2017 report by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Thailand is the most deadly overseas tourist destination for Australians.
In the 2016-17 financial year, the Consular State of Play report said there were 203 Australian deaths in Thailand, almost double the 126 deaths recorded in the Philippines, the second highest.
Thailand also topped the list of hospitalizations, 195, and missing persons reports, 74.
