PATTAYA – Police officers in Pattaya arrested three entertainment venue security guards who used violence against two foreign tourists in the Pattaya Soi 6 area. The incident appeared in a clip on social media.
Two video clips of the incident were first published on the evening of May 26 on the Nui voice AnyWay page, with a message questioning, “Is it necessary to do this?” along with a message thanking the Thai women who tried to intervene and stop the incident.
This post garnered various criticisms and opinions about the appropriateness, violence, barbarism, and disturbance of the incident. Some people suggested looking at the root cause before the violent incident occurred.
In the clip, the group of guards rushed in to punch and jump-kick the foreign man in a white shirt until he fell to the ground, then followed up with more kicks. Before the tourist in a gray shirt could run to help, he was also punched and kicked relentlessly in the face by the group of guards until he fell unconscious and lay still. The guards then turned back to the man in the white shirt and continued to beat him, all in front of Thai and foreign tourists.
After a group of beer bar service women intervened and the situation became less tense, the beer bar staff provided first aid to the foreigners.
Ms. Samorn, 38 years old, a cashier at the bar where the incident took place and a witness to the event, said that 3 foreign tourists came to drink at the shop. The first two paid their bills, while the other one had not yet paid and changed seats several times before walking out of the bar.
At this point, she asked the group of friends to collect payment. The tourist in the white shirt argued that he had already paid. She explained that the money she was asking for was from another person in the group who had not yet paid, and that there was no problem with his own bill.
However, he retorted with various profanities, claiming that the bar was cheating on the bill, and insisted that he would not pay. He then went on to assault other tourist who was going to call the police. The bar then called the guards, informing them that a customer was refusing to pay the bill and asking them to come and take a look. When the guards arrived, one of the tourists in this group agreed to pay the shop 2,800 baht.
Ms. Samorn also said that after the tourists had paid the bill, she thought everything would be alright. However, the tourist in the white shirt rushed to push the guard’s chest, which escalated into a chaotic situation in the middle of the street, as shown in the video clip.
“If the guards had not arrived in time to stop the incident, this group of foreigners might have assaulted me and other tourists who were customers as well” she said.
Later, at 23:36 p.m. on Sunday, Pattaya Police Investigation officers and Pattaya Tourist Police Investigation officers arrested the three guards: Mr. Ball, 27 years old, Mr. Tom, 36 years old, and Mr. Ice, 24 years old. They were brought in for questioning at Pattaya Police Station.
The three suspects confessed that they were the perpetrators as seen in the video clip recorded by tourists. Mr. Ball revealed that he was the first to be slapped and punched by a tourist, resulting in injuries to his nose bridge that required six stitches. This led to the chaotic situation seen in the clip.
They admitted that their actions were excessive and were done out of anger and lack of judgment. They apologized to Thai society for their actions.
Pol. Lt. Col. Nawin Thirawit, Superintendent of Pattaya Police Station, said the police must proceed with legal action. He also reprimanded the suspects, stating that as security guards, their duty is to ensure the safety of tourists, not to cause trouble. Their actions have greatly damaged the image of Pattaya as a tourist city.
“As security guards, you should have exercised restraint and called the police to control the situation. Do not let emotions control your actions while on duty. Your role is to prevent incidents, not to harm others,” he told the suspects.
Meanwhile, the CCTV footage, which captured the incident from the moment the group of tourists were arguing with the cashier until the guards intervened and the situation escalated into violence, has been submitted to the inquiry officer as evidence for the case file.
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