Hong Kong trial witness stabbed in Phuket is placed under police protection
Journalist in money laundering case being heard in Hong Kong is kicked off motorbike in Phuket
A key witness in the international money laundering trial of an eastern European businessman in Hong Kong has been placed under police protection after being stabbed twice in the Thai holiday destination of Phuket.
Antonio Papaleo, 44, was riding pillion on a motorcycle when a gang of eight youths, also on motorcycles, surrounded him and kicked him off the bike on Friday.
While the driver of his motorcycle, Russian national Inna Sifonova, was assaulted on the ground, Papaleo was knifed twice in the stomach as he tried to prevent the theft of a bag containing his valuables.
Speaking to the from his hospital bed, Papaleo said he did not know if the attack was linked to his testimony in Hong Kong or whether it was random violence.
"Police said nothing like this had happened before. An assault by a crazy gang is not usual here," said Papaleo, who required surgery and lost his spleen as a result of the attack.
"The knife went centimetres into my stomach," he said.
Papaleo was originally being treated in a public ward, but was later moved to a private room with police protection after media tipped off the hospital as to his role in the trial, Thai newspapers reported.
