Cover Up? Australian Kickboxer 'Savagely Bashed In Phuket'

[webfact]

Coast man savagely bashed in Phuket

Mackenzie Ravn

PHUKET: -- A CHAMPION Gold Coast kickboxer has suffered life-threatening injuries on the Thai tourist island of Phuket, the victim of what his family believe was a savage bashing.

Daniel Ketley suffered a fractured skull, haemorrhaging and compression on the brain, a shattered eye socket, a broken jaw, four lost teeth, a fractured vertebra, nerve damage to his neck, shoulder and arm, and a fracture in his skull in the incident on June 8.

While Thai police maintain the 21-year-old crashed his motorcycle into a pole near Soi Saiyuan in Naiham, his family, friends and doctors all believe Mr Ketley was bashed, an episode in an explosion of violence against tourists on Phuket.

Mr Ketley is still bedridden and in need of daily medical assistance as he recovers from his injuries in his family's Phuket home.

While his memory of the incident is vague, Mr Ketley recalls seeing a petrol station and thinks he may have been assaulted while stopping for fuel.

Ambulance officers transported him to hospital where he was fitted with a plate in his right cheek and jaw.

Mr Ketley's father Steve said initially he did not question whether his son had been in an accident but had grown suspicious over the past few weeks.

"Everyone said he was in a motorcycle accident, but the first thing he said to me when he woke up was 'I didn't crash'," he told the Bulletin.

Full story: http://www.goldcoast...coast-news.html

-- Goldcoast.com.au 2012-06-22

[tominbkk]

Thailand better get its shit together soon or they will be facing empty rooms this coming high season. 60 year old women getting stabbed to death and kickboxers getting bashed in and then collusion by police to cover it up do not bode well with travel agents. Too many other nice places around, peple will take the alternative....

[ripstanley]

This incident has only surfaced after the murder in Phuket. The news item is from an Australian paper. No coverage in Thailand. I read about this on MSN Australia yesterday. From all reports it is very dificult to accept that it was a motor bike accident

[amyb]

it depends upon which news source you are getting this story from, as his parents claim he was left for dead, while the police believe he had a motorbike accident. the supposed place he was assaulted is well-lit and busy - there's a club, a few restaurants and a row of girlie bars. i believe if he was bashed about and left for dead, someone would've seen it.

i hate to say this, and people can pick this apart all that they want, but it's been over-emphasized that he is a prize winning muay thai fighter. motorbike accident turned to publicity stunt? i wouldn't put it past any muay thai fighter that comes here ...

[webfact]

Medical company steps in to help Phuket kickboxer fight for recovery

Phuket Gazette

Phuket kickboxer Daniel Ketley (pictured) is recovering from a fractured skull, hemorrhaging and compression on the brain, a shattered eye socket, a broken jaw, missing teeth, fractured vertebra and nerve damage to his neck and shoulder, leaving his right arm immobile. Photo: Daniel Ketley Fund/Facebook

Daniel Ketley stands with the WKBF Australian Lightweight title belt after his victory in 2010. Photo: Facebook

PHUKET: An international medical company has made a pledge to find the “best treatment” for an Australian muay thai fighter whose father fears was not in a motorbike accident as Phuket police believe, but was beaten and left for dead.

Daniel Ketley, 22, was rushed to hospital in the early hours of June 8 after he was found in Nai Harn with several serious injuries.

The last thing he remembers from the night was seeing a petrol station in the Soi Sai Yuan area. He believes he may have been attacked while stopping for fuel.

Mr Ketley has since been diagnosed as suffering a fractured skull, hemorrhaging and compression on the brain, a shattered eye socket, a broken jaw, missing teeth, fractured vertebra and nerve damage to his neck and shoulder, leaving his right arm immobile.

Lotus Medical International, a UK and Thailand-based medical company, today said in a Facebook post that the immediate concern was getting Mr Ketley into a “high-quality private hospital in this critical phase.”

The Facebook group raising funds for the medical treatment and generating support for Mr Ketley was started on Monday, and as of today has already raised 121,000 baht.

However, the muay thai fighter’s father, Steve, told Australian news source Ninemsn that the family and a family doctor believe that Mr Ketley was savagely beaten and then robbed of his wallet and phone.

Mr Ketley’s parents were suspicious of the report that their son had been in a motorbike accident, as his clothes were not dirty or ripped and the bike had no scrapes, although the front of the bike was damaged and the mirrors were broken.

The fighter’s father even admitted that he wished the incident was a motorbike crash.

“I would like to think it was a motorbike accident because we live here and this is our home,” he said.

“It changes your perspective on a place.”

Mr Ketley has lived in Phuket with his parents for the past three years and is a full-time muay thai boxer training with the Sumalee Boxing Gym in Thalang.

According to the gym’s website, Mr Ketley started muay thai when he was 17 years old and then moved to Northeast Thailand to continue his training when he was 18.

In 2009, Mr Ketley returned to Phuket and was sponsored by Tiger Muay Thai. During his time there, he won eight of his nine fights.

In 2010, he won the WKBF Australian Lightweight title against Chris Kearney.

After a brief stint fighting for Phuket Top Team, he moved to his current gym.

To make donations to help with the costly medical treatments necessary to attempt to get Mr Ketley back on his feet, visit the Daniel Ketley Fund Facebook page (click here).

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...ticle16233.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-06-22

[theblether]

Weird...........

The embassies need to get their act together and force the Thai police and authorities to protect their citizens.

The Embassies in Thailand are as much use as chocolate teapots.

Edited June 22, 2012 by theblether

[theblether]

Secondary issue.......what's this Facebook fund all about? Was this guy in Thailand without travel insurance?????

I'm not judging him as I can't deduce if he was or not, however anyone traveling to Thailand without insurance is a nutter.

[Yunla]

If you crash your bike and aren't wearing a helmet I doubt any impact damage to your head would cause these type of black eyes, it would either kill you or break your neck. I don't see those big black eyes consistent with crashing a motorbike.

That said it doesn't mean he was mugged by Thais. He may have picked a fight with some farang hardcase. A lot of ring-fighters forget that the ring-rules don't apply in the real world, and other people fight dirty. Anyway, as usual here the official story is murkier than ditchwater so its more guesswork. He might have just got into a fight and not want to admit he got owned like that. Doesn't look like a bike crash anyway.

Edited June 22, 2012 by Yunla

[animatic]

Ok very simple. Let's see the motorcycle.

If he did crash it should be evident on the bike.

Another aspect may be his moving around across gyms, and his 8 of 9 winning record.

Gyms can be rather proprietary and think anyone leaving for a rival gym is a traitor.

Or he is beginning to threaten a local influential's pet fighter / meal ticket,

or he wouldn't take a dive in a particular fight.

What does his fight card look like, who has he beaten? Who's coming up?

Can't rule out mafia action, financial/gamboling motives or jealousies.

A strong 'power' behind another fighter could also

have police ties at high enough level to quash the facts.

TIT.

Edited June 22, 2012 by animatic

[Jimi007]

Secondary issue.......what's this Facebook fund all about? Was this guy in Thailand without travel insurance?????

I'm not judging him as I can't deduce if he was or not, however anyone traveling to Thailand without insurance is a nutter.

Perhaps you didn't read:

Mr Ketley has lived in Phuket with his parents for the past three years and is a full-time muay thai boxer training with the Sumalee Boxing Gym in Thalang.

But he should have had accident insurance. It's very inexpensive from local banks...

[jonclark]

Ok very simple. Let's see the motorcycle.

If he did crash it should be evident on the bike.

Excellent point!!

[ShanePashen]

Well I'm 46, have ridden motobikes since i was 12, I can't ever remember in the many times I've dropped a motorbike, not taking any skin off my palms or hands, or elbows.

At the type of speed that would cause those injuries.

Also as mentioned, his injuries aren't consistent with a motorcycle crash.

Maybe it was a deal gone wrong, either drug or some other type. steroid, yaba, that of course is pure speculation, and baseless.

Or perhaps he was seeing a girl he shouldn't have been.

Regardless I wish him well, he is lucky to be alive.

I hope he recovers well, that may be the end of his career as a muay thai fighter though.

[Soutpeel]

If you crash your bike and aren't wearing a helmet I doubt any impact damage to your head would cause these type of black eyes, it would either kill you or break your neck. I don't see those big black eyes consistent with crashing a motorbike.

Please state your medical qualifications years, of experience and your medical speciality and how you came to this conclusion... or have just been watching too much CSI.. ?

[animatic]

The damage is consistent with what you'd do to end a fighters career,

and get him out of a weight catagory for good.

[cdmtdm]

sai yuan does not have any gas stations ..only auto gas machines or vendors selling bottles ..the closest is in Chalong Viset rd .... somethings not right but def not a bike accident imo

[Yunla]

If you crash your bike and aren't wearing a helmet I doubt any impact damage to your head would cause these type of black eyes, it would either kill you or break your neck. I don't see those big black eyes consistent with crashing a motorbike.

Please state your medical qualifications years, of experience and your medical speciality and how you came to this conclusion... or have just been watching too much CSI.. ?

LoL I don't watch television programming. But I am a qualified graduate in Common Sense.

Well as I said, if you are wearing no helmet, and you crash your bike, unless you fly off your bike and land eyes-first onto a pair of round fist-sized and relatively soft objects, you would not get big black eyes lke that. If you hit anything hard face first after crashing you'd have puncture wounds, not black eyes.

Edited June 22, 2012 by Yunla

[Soutpeel]

Maybe it was a deal gone wrong, either drug or some other type. steroid, yaba, that of course is pure speculation, and baseless.

Or perhaps he was seeing a girl he shouldn't have been.

Regardless I wish him well, he is lucky to be alive.

I hope he recovers well, that may be the end of his career as a muay thai fighter though.

and so the half arsed speculation starts again....unless you hard facts that the person concerned was involved in any sort of illegal drug use....please keep those sort of hair brained theories to yourself...the family may be reading TV and a I am sure they dont need any more stress than they are facing right now...and certainly dont need from some key board detective wannabe who is making it up as they go along

The guy himself doent know what happened...We all know riding bikes in Thailand is a dangerous business, did he get beat up....maybe/maybe not.....did he crash his bike maybe/maybe not.....at this point in time nobody knows...

[jalansanitwong]

Farang muay thai boxers have a unforeseen problem insofar as many Thai boxers come from very poor families upcountry and success in the ring is paramount for them and their families. Along come s' rich kid 'farang who stirs the pot. Considering his injuries I wouldnt be surprised if he was set upon by former associates or a recent opponent in the ring.

What condition is his bike in ????

[canman]

If you crash your bike and aren't wearing a helmet I doubt any impact damage to your head would cause these type of black eyes, it would either kill you or break your neck. I don't see those big black eyes consistent with crashing a motorbike.

Please state your medical qualifications years, of experience and your medical speciality and how you came to this conclusion... or have just been watching too much CSI.. ?

LoL I don't watch television programming. But I am a qualified graduate in Common Sense.

Well as I said, if you are wearing no helmet, and you crash your bike, unless you fly off your bike and land eyes-first onto a pair of round fist-sized and relatively soft objects, you would not get big black eyes lke that. If you hit anything hard face first after crashing you'd have puncture wounds not black eyes.

I worked in the emergency department of a large hospital and from my experience I can tell you that it is not possible looking at his injuries to say he was not in a motorbike accident. It is entirely possible that he was thrown from the bike and into another object head first. Usually yes there is a lot of road rash in motorcycle accidents but not always.

[LuckyLew]

Looks to me like he just tripped over a garden hose

nothing to see here

business as usual

[Notstupid30]

Bloody hell wow and people say Pattaya is bad nothing like Phuket region what so ever four foreign tourist problems within a space of a week ... I think he been jumped because if he came of his bike where are the pictures of the bike plus he would have a lot skin injuries to the body and i just don't see any on him ...

Edited June 22, 2012 by Notstupid30

[geriatrickid]

Weird...........

The embassies need to get their act together and force the Thai police and authorities to protect their citizens.

The Embassies in Thailand are as much use as chocolate teapots.

How do you propose they do that?

Travelers have the option of not going. There are cautions given on all of the embassy travel info pages.

Even in times of armed conflict, there are people that still insist on going into the danger zone. Remember when the PAD folks were threatening the airports? People were still flying in. Remember the excitement in Bangkok, complete with live ordinance? People were still flying in. One has to be a comletely clueless twit not to be aware of the dangers in Thailand. It is the responsibility of a traveler to check out his/her destination. There is an inventory of dangers. Google Dangers of Thailand and you get some shocking stories.

In the absence of state sanctioned crimes, there is absolutely nothing substantive a foreign government can do. They are reduced to responding in the event of a tragedy. I appreciate that the carnage on the roadways is bad, but Perth cannot send traffic police to clean up the mess. I appreciate that muggings are bad, but Chicago with multiple driveby murders doesn't have the police to spare to help out Thailand. Foreign governments cannot impose their will on a sovereign country that is compliant with international law.

Edited June 22, 2012 by geriatrickid

[LuckyLew]

If you crash your bike and aren't wearing a helmet I doubt any impact damage to your head would cause these type of black eyes, it would either kill you or break your neck. I don't see those big black eyes consistent with crashing a motorbike.

Please state your medical qualifications years, of experience and your medical speciality and how you came to this conclusion... or have just been watching too much CSI.. ?

LoL I don't watch television programming. But I am a qualified graduate in Common Sense.

Well as I said, if you are wearing no helmet, and you crash your bike, unless you fly off your bike and land eyes-first onto a pair of round fist-sized and relatively soft objects, you would not get big black eyes lke that. If you hit anything hard face first after crashing you'd have puncture wounds not black eyes.

Thank you Dr Kildare

His family friends and doctors are also speculating as to what happened .... so why can't people on TV do the same?

"While Thai police maintain the 21-year-old crashed his motorcycle into a pole near Soi Saiyuan in Naiham, his family, friends and doctors all believe Mr Ketley was bashed, an episode in an explosion of violence against tourists on Phuket."

[theblether]

Secondary issue.......what's this Facebook fund all about? Was this guy in Thailand without travel insurance?????

I'm not judging him as I can't deduce if he was or not, however anyone traveling to Thailand without insurance is a nutter.

Perhaps you didn't read:

Mr Ketley has lived in Phuket with his parents for the past three years and is a full-time muay thai boxer training with the Sumalee Boxing Gym in Thalang.

But he should have had accident insurance. It's very inexpensive from local banks...

Yes I missed that bit......so what you are saying now is that he was living full time in Thailand without insurance????..............mental.

[Yunla]

and so the half arsed speculation starts again....unless you hard facts that the person concerned was involved in any sort of illegal drug use....please keep those sort of hair brained theories to yourself...the family may be reading TV and a I am sure they dont need any more stress than they are facing right now...and certainly dont need from some key board detective wannabe who is making it up as they go along

With respect, the OP news story is worded to imply he was mugged as part of an anti-tourist sea of violence. This is unsubstantiated. We don't know if he got into a fight intentionally, or was mugged, or who he was fighting. And yet the OP states :

his family, friends and doctors all believe Mr Ketley was bashed, an episode in an explosion of violence against tourists on Phuket.

Maybe it was another foreigner that beat him up. But that will not be the line taken by the media or the family. I am a pacifist and I do not agree with violence in any form including paid fighting etc. but I truly wish him a speedy recovery, and it is a shame he got injured.

[Notstupid30]

No way he been in a bike crash ...

[psmiller]

I went to Phuket for a visit with a friend. We went out for a drink, he went to the Loo. I woke up the next day in a hospital with no idea what happened.

[Yunla]

I worked in the emergency department of a large hospital and from my experience I can tell you that it is not possible looking at his injuries to say he was not in a motorbike accident. It is entirely possible that he was thrown from the bike and into another object head first. Usually yes there is a lot of road rash in motorcycle accidents but not always.

He would have to land eyes-first since the rest of his face is almost unmarked. I don't work in A&E but I have biker friends, several of them are now riding around on the same type of wheelchair I am using for my MS. I find it amazing that anybody riding helmet-less, would come off the bike at speed and land eyes-first on a soft object that bruised eyes, but didn't smash nose or pierce the eyes.

Edited June 22, 2012 by Yunla

[geriatrickid]

Bloody hell wow and people say Pattaya is bad nothing like Phuket region what so ever four foreign tourist problems within a space of a week ... I think he been jumped because if he came of his bike where are the pictures of the bike plus he would have a lot skin injuries to the body and i just don't see any on him ...

Typically, kids like this don't get waylaid unless they are mouthy. I am not saying he was. However, I find it odd that he remembers nothing of the events leading up to the event. Usually, when people regain their "memory" , they will have lost memory of the actual event, but not the activity leading up to event. There is more to this story than what we are being told. I am however not accusing this lad of anything improper since I don't know the facts. And that's the problem. There are no established facts such as where he was prior to his injury and what he was doing at the time. There's alot of information missing. Maybe it was indeed a beating, but where's the evidence? Is there a medical report saying the head injury was caused by blunt force trauma from a club? Vehicle collision injuries are fairly easy to differentiate from beating injuries. Where's the physician's statement?

[Jimi007]

Secondary issue.......what's this Facebook fund all about? Was this guy in Thailand without travel insurance?????

I'm not judging him as I can't deduce if he was or not, however anyone traveling to Thailand without insurance is a nutter.

Perhaps you didn't read:

Mr Ketley has lived in Phuket with his parents for the past three years and is a full-time muay thai boxer training with the Sumalee Boxing Gym in Thalang.

But he should have had accident insurance. It's very inexpensive from local banks...

Yes I missed that bit......so what you are saying now is that he was living full time in Thailand without insurance????..............mental.

I am not saying anything. I just read what I read. But I would probably come to the same conclusion you have.