Thai gym thug nearly killed my son .. cops must stop him
Mum tells of fears for his sight if she can’t raise £15,000 for op
A SCOTS mum has demanded justice for her son who was brutally attacked in a Thai gym and is now stranded and facing the loss of his eyesight.
Frances McGowan was left “devastated” by the “horrific” assault on her oldest child Gary Reed, 46, while he was on holiday.
Gary was struck on the head by another gym-goer with a 1kg metal dumbbell after declining to give up his turn on a bench press.
The charity worker had to ward off the thug who continued the assault – caught on CCTV – as blood gushed from his wound.
Frances, 66, said police in the city of Pattaya know the identity of the suspect but he still walks free.
She added: “This guy needs to be stopped. He nearly killed my son.”
Frances, from Glasgow, wants the thug – understood to be a UK resident and in his late 50s – charged with attempted murder.
She said Gary desperately needs a £15,000 operation on his right eye socket in two weeks’ time to avoid losing his sight. Doctors told him it’s too dangerous to fly back to the UK for treatment.
The dad of two, who was attacked at the Coco Fitness gym on Monday, called his mum from hospital to tell her what had happened.
Frances said: “It was horrific and totally unprovoked. My son simply asked to get on with his exercises and said the other man could get on when he finished. There were several other benches around my son. He could’ve taken any of them.”
Gary told her he was approached by the stranger, who claimed he’d been waiting to use the same piece of gym equipment.
After telling the Englishman he wanted to finish his set, Gary was slammed in the face with the seveninch-long 1kg metal dumbbell.
CCTV footage shows Gary lying on the bench before the man smashed him on the head.
Frances said: “You see Gary get off the bench and stagger around and this man laid into him again.
“Until Gary watched the video, he couldn’t remember what had happened.
“He had triple vision and could see this guy coming at him. Gary managed to get him into a headlock and told him, ‘I’ll let you go if you just go’.”
The suspect fled but it’s understood he was identified from his gym membership details.
Frances said: “The police know who he is. The suspect allegedly sold his business in the UK and moved to Thailand five months ago. He’s supposed to be a martial arts expert.
“I’m told he turned up at the police station to give a statement. Apparently he offered my son £2000 but the surgery is going to cost £15,000. One of the police laughed and showed him the size of my son’s medical bills. “In Thailand, you don’t get locked up until you go to court. This man is walking around free. He needs to be brought to justice.” Gary suffered a fractured eye socket and bleeding on his retina. He needed a CT scan and 60 stitches to close his wounds. Frances said: “The doctors told him the bone of his eye socket is totally gone. It needs to be rebuilt with titanium.
“In two weeks’ time, when the swelling goes down, they say he needs to have the surgery. If he doesn’t, his eye will drop into the back of his head and he will lose his eye and his sight.
“It’s urgent but we haven’t got that sort of money so my daughter has set up a fundraising page.”
The gran added: “Gary isn’t sleeping or eating properly. He’s worried sick about losing his sight.”
● The fundraising page can be found at: www.gofundme.com/f/to-help-save-my-brothers-eye-sight?