Man left with horrible wounds by 'drug-crazed Thai man wielding military sword'

Timothy Claus, 32, moved to Thailand after being headhunted by a super-yacht re-fit company - and hired Chaiyarat Imkong, 32, to work as a carpenter on a project in the tourist hotspot of Ko Samui.

But when Timothy - who has worked on dozens of celebrity boats - went to pick Chaiyarat up for work, he found him watching cartoons and allegedly high before flying into a wide-eyed rage.

Chaiyarat grabbed a Chinese Dao sword and Timothy ran away - but he claims he was tripped over outside the building before being slashed in the arm, thigh and abdomen.

The man is then said to have dealt a fourth savage blow to Timothy's head and ripped his arm out of the socket in a struggle to disarm him.

 

Horror footage taken after the alleged attack shows blood pouring from Timothy's head and leg as he "says goodbye to his family in case he bleeds to death".

Despite being charged with an offence of fighting, Chaiyarat has now been released after seven months having been remanded in custody since the incident in May last year.

Timothy, originally from Philadelphia, said: "I knew that if I had defended myself I would be rotting in jail right now. So I had to try and restrain him.

"This guy was trying to kill me. I knew I had to stop him. I grappled with him and grabbed the sword and put him on the ground and put my knee on his hand.

"Blood was pouring from me and I thought I could die. The police arrested him and I nearly bled to death.

 

"The blood was shooting out my head like something from a Monty Python sketch.

"It should have been attempted murder as the first major strike was to my head. But they let him off with the lowest charge of fighting."

Timothy was treated for his injuries and the wounds stitched together. But seven months later he still suffers pain in his ankle and has a crooked ear.

Chaiyarat was arrested and held in custody. He was found guilty of fighting at a recent court case - dealt with by the same judge who convicted two Burmese of murdering British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller . 

Despite have a string of previous convictions - including a three-year sentence for a knife attack - the man was released and Timothy fears he could "kill someone next time".

 

Timothy added: "I just want to start off by saying I love Thailand. Anyone who has lived in Thailand, or any developing country, knows that the legal system isn't perfect but for the most part - good people are helped and bad people are punished.

"The Thai justice system is unjust and this disgusts me.

"I was so certain that the man would serve the minimum 12-year sentence.

"When they let him go I felt like the country I called home for so long had not only let me down but twisted the knife in my wound."