UDON THANI – Jirawat Sunthorn, also known as Tum, a 25-year-old gas station attendant at PTT gas station, Udon Dusit Road branch, Mak Khaeng subdistrict, Mueang Udon Thani district, filed a complaint on May 22 stating that he was assaulted by a drunk foreigner at the gas station. He provided photographic and video evidence of the foreign man.
The incident occurred at 6:50 a.m. when Tum was serving customers, a foreign man, aged 45-50, with white skin, a large build, and a bald head, who appeared to be drunk, drove a SUV vehicle with new red license plates from Udon Thani province and parked at the entrance. The man threw garbage out of the car, so Tum told the cashier to check on the situation.
The foreigner was displeased and responded in Thai with a northeastern accent, “What’s the problem?” The cashier walked away to avoid any issues. The foreigner shouted that he was “Tormor” (normally an abbreviation for immigration police in Thai). He then drove to the gas pump to fill up.
Tum said that he told the foreigner to open the fuel tank cap, but the man was busy talking on the phone and didn’t open it, so Tum didn’t fill up the tank. The foreigner then parked at the exit and walked back to punch Tum twice on the right side of his face, causing swelling, and once on his left arm, causing his wristwatch to fall off.
At that moment, the cashier tried to intervene but was punched once on the right side of the head. The foreigner cursed in both Thai and English before driving away from the gas station towards the Nong Khai Bypass Intersection.
Ms. Sirikarn Parawong, a 45-year-old gas station employee who recorded the video, said she had been working there for seven months and had never experienced anything like this before. She was very shocked and didn’t know what to do.
“I had seen foreigners assaulting Thai people on the news, even though they live in our country. Working as a gas station attendant is a job with dignity, just like any other person, and it’s an honest profession because they don’t beg from anyone. This shouldn’t have happened,” she said.
The police officer who received the complaint sent Tum to Udon Thani Hospital for a physical examination to be included in the case file. The officer will call witnesses to give detailed statements again to gather evidence and issue a summons for the foreigner to face charges.
