A waitress arriving home exhausted from a long night shift at a restaurant in Thailand’s Loei province yesterday morning found herself in a desperate fight for her life with a nude assailant who is now the subject of a police manhunt.
Muang district police said the man, who had stripped naked after breaking in via the back door, was patiently hiding under her bed with the intention of raping her when she arrived home.
Responding to a call, officers arrived at the house at about 4:30am, where they found the perpetrator’s clothing, shoes, condoms, and a knife on the floor, according to Workpoint. In the perpetrator’s pants, officials found three tablets of yaba (methamphetamine tablets.)
There were clear signs of a struggle, they added.
A police official spoken to by Coconuts Bangkok separately corroborated local news reports that rope had been found at the head and foot of the bed, presumably to tie the victim up.
The 22-year-old, whose identity is being protected by police, told officers she lives alone and works late nights at a nearby restaurant. When she got home at around 4am yesterday, she discovered the lights in her house were not working.
While she was attempted to turn on the lights in the bedroom, the unidentified man, allegedly wielding a 6-inch kitchen knife, emerged from under the bed and tried to grab her.
Though it was dark, she could make out that the attacker was about 170 centimeters tall and, of course, stark naked.
The woman then began what she said was a nearly 10-minute fight for survival that ended with her shaking off the perpetrator and running outside, where she screamed for her neighbors’ help, according to Thairath.
Panicked, the attacker fled the house naked, leaving behind his black clothing, red underwear and knife. The 22-year-old victim sustained a cut on her left cheek and suffered mild head trauma, having fallen and smacked her head on the floor during the scuffle.
Pol. Maj. Reungyot Phudanu, who inspected the crime scene, told Thairath the attacker likely knew the woman was living alone and had been watching her and planning the attack for some time.
An investigative team has been tasked with tracking down the attacker.
