Police fined a foreign man 500 baht for physically assaulting a Thai restaurant worker in the Patong neighbourhood of Phuket. The foreign attacker also issued an apology to both the victim and the restaurant owner.
Pictures of the incident, showing the foreign man in all-white clothes attacking the Thai man outside a restaurant in Phuket, were shared by the news Facebook page, Phuket Times, yesterday, November 18, sparking criticism of the foreigner’s actions.
Some netizens criticised local police officers for spoiling foreign visitors and anticipated that the foreign man would evade charges by paying only a 500 baht fine. This anticipation seemed justified as police summoned the foreign attacker to the police station to pay the 500 baht fine.
Channel 7 reported that the incident took place at a Thai-Indian restaurant in Soi Kepsub in the Katu district of Phuket at around 9.30am. The restaurant owner revealed to the media that the foreign attacker punched the employee in the face and then left the scene.
The owner said the foreign man later returned to apologise to the victim, and they went to the police station together to settle the matter.
The owner believed that the motive was not, as reported by multiple media outlets, a loud customer invitation, but rather that the foreign man was under the influence of alcohol.
According to the report on Channel 7, the victim did not seek any compensation from the foreign attacker and did not pursue any legal proceedings against the suspect.
In a related physical assault story involving Thais and foreigners, the Russian woman was brutally attacked by a motorcycle taxi driver from the Botl application in Pattaya. The altercation erupted after the foreign victim asked the driver to slow down, angering the driver.
ORIGINAL STORY: Patong punch-up: Foreign man swings at loud restaurant worker
A foreign man physically assaulted a Thai restaurant worker in the Patong area of Phuket, reportedly due to annoyance at the worker loudly inviting customers into the restaurant.
The Phuket Times shared screenshots from CCTV footage of the physical assault today, November 18. However, the exact date of the incident has not been reported.
“A foreign tourist acts like a thug, suddenly assaulting a Thai restaurant worker out of annoyance when the victim promoted and invited customers into the shop.”
In the screenshots, the foreign attacker, dressed in a white tank top and white trousers, was seen walking along the street outside the restaurant with a foreign woman in a blue dress. The couple held hands and initially appeared to walk past the restaurant.
However, the foreign man stopped, turned back, and confronted the male restaurant worker. He pushed the worker against a pole outside the restaurant and attacked him. The woman in the blue dress witnessed the incident but did not attempt to intervene.
According to Phuket Times, the foreign attacker was allegedly annoyed by the Thai worker’s loud calls to attract passing customers. As no CCTV video has been publicly released, the exact motive for the assault cannot be confirmed.
Many Thai netizens urged the restaurant worker to file a complaint with the police to bring the foreign attacker to justice. Others called on the media to provide further details, including a video of the incident, asserting that merely shouting to attract customers should not have led to such violence.
In a related case of physical altercation involving a foreign man, a Thai transwoman and a foreign man clashed in a hotel in the Patong area of Bangkok.
The dispute arose after the foreigner reportedly refused to pay her upon discovering she was not a biological woman. The transwoman demanded compensation for her wasted time, which led to anger and an alleged physical assault.
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