UDON THANI — Shoppers at a wholesale mall in downtown Udon Thani were shocked on Saturday when a Korean man punched an elderly British man, leaving him bloodied, simply because he thought the Briton was approaching to warn him about speaking too loudly.
Police at Mueang Udon Thani Station received reports at 4:30 p.m. on September 6 of a foreigner assaulting someone, causing injury and panic among mall visitors.
Officers found Wayne, an 81-year-old British man, with blood on his shirt from a wound above his eyebrow. After receiving first aid from rescue workers, he told police he was shopping when he noticed a Korean man speaking loudly with a Grab delivery worker. Thinking there might be trouble, he approached to ask what was happening, but was attacked instead.
The perpetrator, a 39-year-old Korean man surnamed Lee, showed off his somersault skills at the back of the police pickup truck before giving his statement through a tourist police interpreter.
Lee told police through an interpreter that he was minding his own business when the British man approached and stared at him. “I didn’t like it, so I punched him once,” he said. “I don’t want anyone bothering my life or interfering with my affairs. I just wanted to teach him a lesson.”
Police volunteer Kittichich Pongsri from Nong Bua district said Lee had been in Thailand for about eight months. He has been charged with assault and disorderly conduct.
Wayne recently made news after reporting that his three-wheeled motorbike was stolen from his residence parking area. CCTV footage clearly captured the theft on September 2, and police are tracking two suspects.
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