Homeless live in fear after fire attacks
>homeless people on the streets in Bangkok’s Pahurat area are terrified they will be attacked in their sleep following brutal assaults on two vagrants.
Those interviewed by Bangkok Post Sunday expressed their fears after hearing that two middle-aged homeless men were doused with petrol then set on fire while sleeping on footpaths at Pahurat market in Phra Nakhon district on Friday night.
The Mirror Foundation, a non-governmental organisation working on social development, also reported the incident, with a spokesman saying it was suspected a group of teen gangsters in the area were responsible for the crimes.
The perpetators are still at large. Aran Thapthimlom, 71, a homeless man near Rama I bridge, also known as Saphan Phut, said the incident has him scared and unable to sleep at night.
“These teenagers are bad. I fear that I will be attacked. I can’t sleep through the night. Iwake up all the time,” said MrAran, who is seeking a new place to sleep.
Boonchoo Damkhao, a 43-year-old homeless man, said he left his home in Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Pran Buri district four months ago after contracting tuberculosis.
Mr Boonchoo said he did not want his relatives to take care of him so decided to leave home and spend his life as a scavenger in Pahurat.
Mr boonchoo said he witnessed a group of five teenagers riding motorcycles and throwing petrol bottles at the two homeless men before setting them on fire.
“After they did it, they laughed. They never had any disagreement with the victims,” he said.
Although he was scared, Mr Boonchoo said he did not know what to do because he did not want want to return home.
The Mirror Foundation recently visited the area looking for the two injured men.
Sitthiphol Chuprajong, head of the foundation’s People on the Streets Project, found one of the men. Aged around 40 years, his wounds had fully healed.
The man had no idea who hurt him and refused to go to a hospital and report the attack to police.