The farrang who had been photographed busking and begging on the streets of Thailand to raise money for “Rebeka” has been told by Phuket Immigration Police that he has to stop singing for donations as it is illegal and that he should seek assistance from his embassy if he is in financial difficulty.

Photos of a man and two young children busking with handwritten signs in English and Thai asking for help had been widely shared on Tuesday with initial reports suggesting it was Khaosan Rd.

It emerged Tuesday evening Czech father, Lukas Matena, had been playing guitar and singing in front of the Robinson’s department store in Phuket Town and Bangla Rd, Patong on the island of Phuket trying to raise cash after his six-year-old daughter, Rebeka, was hit by a car last Tuesday (January 6).

Talking to The Phuket News the busking father of four explained, “We arrived in Phuket on January 4”.

“We were inside Chalong temple. I was parking the motorbike and did not know Rebeka had decided to cross the road by herself. A car coming from the inside the temple hit her and caused three fractures in her jaw”.

“We were to have left Phuket last Thursday but because of the accident we have to wait until our daughter gets better”.

Mr Matena said he had already extended the family’s visas for a further 30 days on Friday but they will have to wait until after a second operation to asses the health of his daughter before plans to travel home can be made.

The young girl is still undergoing treatment at the Bangkok Hospital Phuket where she is also being cared for by her mother Klara.

“She is getting better now. She can take some liquid food and she may be able to leave the hospital in a few days. But in one week, she is due for a check-up and a week after that there will be another operation”.

The driver’s insurance company is covering the 800,000 baht hospital bill but the family has no money to cover the costs of their extended stay.

Pol Lt Tapanan Akkarakantarakorn from the Immigration Police visited the family in the hospital.

“We come here just to make sure that they are being helped properly,” he said.

“I had to tell them that it is illegal for a foreigner to play music on the street for money and I suggested that it would be better if they contact the Czech embassy. There are funds for emergency cases like this”.

The family arrived in Thailand in December spending time in Krabi before arriving in Phuket.





