17-05-2025
British tourist, 36, is left fighting for his life after being 'stabbed and thrown from a car' in horror attack at tourism hotspot - as police launch probe
Police are on the hunt for a group of mystery attackers who allegedly stabbed a British tourist and hurled him from a car, leaving him fighting for his life.
Andrew Joseph Cook, 36, from Manchester, was reportedly with two other foreigners and a Thai woman in a white Toyota Veloz that pulled over in a car park in Pattaya, Thailand, on Friday evening.
The British man, an ex-convict who served more than two years in prison after fracturing a man's skull, was already covered in blood when the driver dragged him out of the backseat and dumped him onto the pavement.
The driver then allegedly stabbed Mr Cook with a knife before the group fled the scene.
Shocked local Sayan Samanmit, 49, a taxi driver who was waiting for passengers at the scene when it happened, immediately called the police.
Pictures have shown the still-conscious Mr Cook lying on the ground while paramedics tended to his severe wounds.
Mr Cook's injuries were so deep that blood still flowed through the thick bandage that emergency responders put on.
The left side of his face sustained a deep 10cm gash, while his chest and abdomen were slashed so severely that internal fat protruded.
Mr Cook was given first aid treatment before being taken to Pattaya Pathomkhun Hospital where he is currently in intensive care.
Onlooker Sayan said: 'A white Toyota Veloz drove into the parking lot. Two foreign men and one woman got out of the car.
'I heard shouting and then the car sped away. The foreign man was lying on the ground in pain.'
Sayan added he was scared for his life, so he did not interfere, but he was able to take a picture of the assailant's car and plate number.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Suthiraphan Tapsri said: 'We are urgently working on intercepting the car. It fled on Pattaya South Road, but there is still no sign of the perpetrator.
'The British man is still unable to give a statement. Our initial investigation shows he knew the attackers, and an argument could have led to the attack.'
Officers are currently reviewing CCTV in the area to trace the car that the alleged attackers used to escape.
The humid coastal area of Pattaya became popular with American troops on 'rest and relaxation' breaks in the 1950s and 1960s when the US military had bases in Thailand while fighting Communism in Vietnam.
The handful of bars in the coastal town quickly grew, and it is now the world's biggest sex holiday destination, with round-the-clock prostitution and drugs - a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah rife with crime and debauchery.
Thousands of undesirables from the West use the city as a cover to run illegal businesses involving bars, prostitutes, drugs and financial fraud.
Mr Cook was 19 when he pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and breaching an anti-social behaviour order in an attack on March 6 in Oldham, Greater Manchester.
He punched his victim in the face during a argument between one of his friends and one of the victim's friends.
The victim fell to the ground with a force so hard that his skull fractured as his head hit the pavement.
Speaking at the time, Detective Srgeant Ian Webb said: 'Cook is a thug, who picked on someone who wasn't really involved in the disagreement.
'This case shows that no assault is a trivial matter and the victim's life was put in danger by Cook's actions. This is why he deserves the punishment he has been given today.
