The management of Terminal 21 Pattaya has offered an apology to a disabled woman after her modified motorcycle was pulled out of a handicapped parking space so a sports car could park there.
The shopping centre said it would like to apologise to Kamolwan Kraratchpatch for the incident and ordered its outsourced security firm to take disciplinary action against its staff. (continues below)
Video clip from Bam Puangkhak Facebook account
Ms Kamolwan, a student of Pattaya Redemptorist Technological College, posted a clip on her Bam Puangkhak Facebook page on Sunday. It showed her motorcycle with a sidecar left in the middle of the parking area.
The parking space for the disabled where she had parked her vehicle earlier was instead occupied by a Ford Mustang. Two persons seen coming out of the car were apparently not disabled when they walked to the building.
She said on Wednesday she saw a security guard pulling her motorbike from the space reserved for the disabled but could not record a video clip because she was having lunch.
"I asked a guard whether I can park my vehicle in the reserved area for the disabled and his answer was yes," she told reporters.
The student said she decided to post the clip on social media to show the rights of the disabled were violated by able-bodied people. "I'm sad it happened. Why did the driver of an expensive car who was not disabled do that?" she added. (continues below)
Kamolwan Kraratchpatch uses her Facebook account to show the rights of the disabled violated by ordinary people. (Bangkok Post photo)
The driver, whose name was not revealed, later apologised to her, Matichon Online reported on Thursday. The news website, however, identified the guard involving in the incident as Jirayus Apaipat.
Mr Jirayus told Matichon Online that he pulled Ms Kamolwan's motorcycle from the parking slot to clear the space for the luxury car. "I felt guilty for what happened and offered my sincere apology to Nong Bam," the man said, referring to the student by her nickname.