According to the Israeli media outlet Ynet, the Frenchman accused of violently assaulting an Israeli mother and her daughter in Koh Phangan has been released on bail of 100,000 baht and is reportedly free on the island or in Koh Samui.
Paul Gaubert, a French national suspected of brutally assaulting a 62-year-old Israeli woman and her 23-year-old daughter last week near a waterfall in Koh Phangan, has been released after posting bail of 100,000 baht. The two victims, seriously injured and hospitalised, learned of his release on Friday. The mother remains hospitalised, while her daughter has left the hospital.
« I feel better, but I am still hospitalised » … « My daughter received a message from the hotel in Koh Phangan stating that the attacker had been released. We checked with the police. Today we learned for certain that he paid 12,000 shekels in bail and was released, and that he is walking freely in Koh Phangan or in Koh Samui. », the victim stated.
It is not known whether he suffers from psychiatric disorders or if he was under the influence of psychotropic substances at the time of his act of madness.
See also: Koh Phangan: Two Israeli women assaulted near a waterfall
According to the Israeli media, the mother and daughter say they are anxious for their safety because the man allegedly showed violence towards police officers during his arrest and was hospitalised after force was used against him.
« We do not know who paid his bail. I asked the policewoman and she said she did not know. We decided that if he was to be released, it was important to warn people because he poses a danger to the public, especially to Israelis and Jews. It is frightening and dangerous to let him move about freely. It is important to publish the identity of this monster. », the victim stated.
The mother specified that she had undergone two operations on her ear after being bitten, as well as a procedure to drain fluid that had accumulated in her head. Her daughter underwent two operations on her nose. The two women had been attacked after indicating they were Israeli during a conversation near the waterfall.
Although it is not certain that the motive was solely racist, the incident comes at a time when tensions are reaching their peak between, on one side, Israeli tourists and expatriates, and, on the other, businesses that now refuse them entry because of numerous behavioural problems.