An influencer and ex-Olympic fencer has revealed how a Russian tourist bit off her friend's fingertip during a walk on the beach.
Monika Sozanska, 39, from the city of Boleslawiec, Poland, was shocked when she witnessed an unknown woman bite off her 42-year-old friend's middle finger with half of its nail on the Koh Phangan Island, in the Gulf of Thailand.
Sozanska who has been working as a jewellery designer ever since she ended her sports career in 2020, was reportedly visiting Thailand when the incident happened.
The two were reportedly looking for a free spot at the beach when they noticed an empty bean bag chair next to a nearby couple.
The 39-year-old woman, who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England, said: "It was 1.30pm on Saturday when we and [my friend's] dog were looking for a spot at the beach club 'Koh Raham' to enjoy a fresh coconut.
"Then we noticed a vacant beanbag next to a young couple.
"The situation escalated when the woman reacted dismissively to [my friend's] friendly request and [my friend] was only allowed to take the bean bag with her after a waiter had intervened."
Sozanska then explained that the woman, who was reportedly Russian, stormed at her friend, and attacked both her and the dog, before the friend began to strike back.
She said: "[My friend] hit her in the forehead. The woman disappeared briefly, only to come back angrier."
"She grabbed [my friend's] hand and bit it. Then she spat out the bitten phalanx and smiled. The blood just splattered. It was like something out of a horror movie!"
While Monika was trying to dig the fingertip out of the sand and comfort her petrified friend in the meantime, the couple attempted to escape but they were immediately caught by police who were nearby.
When the Russian woman was asked to provide cops with her passport, she was sent to the hotel to get the original as she only had a copy in her purse.
But before cops could realise, the couple had already fled away by plane to neighbouring Malaysia.
Meanwhile, the 42-year-old woman was instantly treated in a hospital on the neighbouring island of Koh Samui, but was soon flown to her native England for reattachment surgery.
Monika said: "The doctors are now trying to save the finger and avoid amputation using a special procedure called wrapping."
Dentistry professor Florian Beuer, 48, from the university hospital of Charite, in Berlin, explained that humans transmit less force with their front teeth in contrast to their side ones.
He then suspected that biting off the fingertip must have been painful for the Russian woman as well.
Beuer said: "Our teeth are not designed for such forces."
