blistering blue barnacles

1. THREE ‘suspended’ prison sentences for violent assault, or offences relating to threatening behaviour.
2. THREE suspended prison terms, without either coughing up large amounts of cash, or, having friends in high places?
3. THREE suspended prison terms, ‘subsequently awarded’ whilst ‘already’ on previous suspended sentences?
4. A ‘one hundred day’ prison term recently served?
5. Six additional outstanding charges, including threats to kill, yet to be adjudicated?
6. New deformation charges against Thai persons?
7. Then, there are the unreported assaults?
8. Then, there are the reported assaults that were ‘IGNORED’ due to the friends in high places scenario?

Boy, does this guy seem to have the endless ability to land himself in the wrong place, at the wrong time?

Or, maybe he's just guilty as charged!

Save your sympathy for those more deserving of it...

Having had the misfortune to witness many of Mathew's ‘wonderful personal attributes’ myself, all I can say is that Karma sure has taken its sweet time to catch up with him. And, I’m sure there will be no shortage of those personally agreeved raising a glass in toast to justice Thai style tonight!

Unfortunately for some, yet fortunately for others, what goes around does eventually come around to bite one in the ass!

The site would be blocked via their firewall in short order. Just because they can.

The real solution does not exist because it is in the billionaires interest who run this country to keep people uneducated and in debt and drunk. Did you ever wonder why it is so easy for Thais to get a job and why there are 4 times as many employees in any business than are actually needed ? Psychology shows that people are willing to spend and even take on huge debt as long as they have a job, no matter how meager the wages really are. This greases the wheels of commerce and keeps the rich happy. The uneducated face kickers are not a problem because they have a role too. If you educate people and teach them manners and respect well wouldn't you know it the next thing they would be demanding is accountability in government and an end to corruption. That is not going to happen. I agree that we should punish areas economically like Hua Hin because that will force them to add more security. But you need to be careful about inflaming passions with a website in a country where you can be arrested for it and jailed or deported.

"The real solution does not exist because it is in the billionaire’s interest who run this country to keep people uneducated and in debt and drunk."

Unlike the U.S. I suppose?

Oh, and let's not forget the fear element, scared citizens are always a whole lot easier to tax, exploit and control.

five or six persons gang up to brutally beat up elderly folks.

is this what the world is coming to?

perhaps the Thai laws are too lax.

actions like this should be punished with caning both as punishment and as deterrent to possible future actions.

Sorry is a mockery of the system.

Apologies: Seems that you're damned if ya do! Damned if ya don't!

Have 10,000 drunk Welsh people in a town like Cardiff and I guarantee that there will MUCH more violence than in Hua Hin. Wales is a very rough place.

Maybe so but I doubt a Welsh mob would be putting the boot in on an old lady...

I agree, that is really the only issue here - hitting an old lady, something we are taught never to do when young to any women.

Three Scottish golden rules

- never hit a woman

- never trust a teetotaler

- never grass on your mates

Three Geordie golden rules:

Never let a bird go down on ya after a curry,

Never trust a coppa,

And never marry a cockeyed woman!

Served me well so far!

Have 10,000 drunk Welsh people in a town like Cardiff and I guarantee that there will MUCH more violence than in Hua Hin. Wales is a very rough place.

Maybe so but I doubt a Welsh mob would be putting the boot in on an old lady...

Old Lady?

The term 'Old Lady' kinda implies a gentle, sweet old dear, not someone out on the piss in a red light area, beating on Thai men at 2 in the morning!

I think my dear old mum would have had a coronary had I took her to Bintabaht or any other of the other high class farang watering areas!

'Quality' tourists, in my humble opinion, wouldn't be caught dead in places like that!

If any Thai say that they accept this guys apology they are faking it. Look at the wai. There are three different positions of the hands when Thai's wai. When they wai someone considered to be of lower status or same status as themselves their finger tips will touch their chin, when they wai someone of higher status their finger tips touch their nose, for Buddha and the king their finger tips touch their fore head. He further didnt bend his head downwards as is practice. If you look at the photo you will see he didn't even try to do a proper wai, showing his contempt.

Wai oh Wai Delilah!

And if you look even closer, you'll see he hasn't had a manicure either!

Kids probably too busy shittin his pants, with every top cop in Thailand on his case, to worry about the style of his Wai...

Get a life!

There; all done and dusted.

1. Photo shots of important top brass police

2. Pathetic and insincere apology by cowardly youth

3. Bail payments received from rich parents of other cowardly attackers

4. Flowers at the hospital bedside of aged victim

Safe for tourists to return now.

Your level of optimism, supported by your defeatist signature, I feel is misplaced.

I think the Thai guys will get disproportionately hammered, in a vain attempt to restore confidence.

This little boy, Khun Drop Kick, should have the book thrown at him, for sticking his jamook into events that didn't concern him. But I think the first 2 guys should not be charged, unless the farang are jointly charged for their initial assaults.

The reason nobody stepped in is because it's common knowledge that you could lose your life being shot by another cowardly drunken Thai .

As it's also common knowledge that you simply don't assault Thais. Especially when you've been coming here for years and therefore Should Know Better!

The pensioners acted like a pair of rseholes so they got treated like a pair of rseholes

Not exactly rocket science.

I'm guessing most of the outraged posters on here didn't watch or understand what happened in the video...instead just read the lies in the British media looking to push buttons to shift copy.

Yeah right, that's why we think the beating of pensioners is the action of low life scum.

I seem to recall granny bashing being quite the popular thing in the UK not so long ago? And, the naughty little tikes even videoing the whole event with their mobiles!

Nothing like a spot of double standards though, eh?

Whichever version of the video you watch, people around the world will be left with one lasting image. That of the woman being kicked in the face. I know it's been said before, many times but Thailand really does need to be seen to be taking this seriously.

Yes, it is shocking. Fortunately, we didn't have the complete vision of those two young British lads back in the early 90's taking the young toddler on the railway tracks to have his life end in the most appaling way. But we didn't blame all British people for it did we?

Any sort of violence needs to be taken seriously, whatever the country.

Totally agree, we just couldn't accept that two of our own kids could be capable of doing something like that.

Bit like the Thais not wanting to accept one of theirs could murder and rape the innocent?

Soccer kicking a grandmother in the face while she is down is something that one just never imagines anyone would ever be capable of doing. It is making world news in a hurry and won't be forgotten easily by anyone.

Yeah, kinda like the 2 teenage Thai boys that kicked the pregnant Thai woman off her bike, breaking her leg. Then proceeded to drag her into the bushes and rape her, even though she begged them to stop because she was pregnant.

But that story didn't get much play, did it? Guess it wasn't so important as she was merely a Thai.

Strange how farang seem to prioritise things in their own favour, makes me wanna puke!

And yeah, I'm English, and not proud of it! Seen enough Brits on the piss to last me a lifetime…

The attack on the tourists is such big news because there is a video of the attack, and it is very graphic and very disturbing.

Take away the CCTV footage and the current feeling of disgust and outrage does not exist in the same way.

Take away the CCTV and I'd probably be as disgusted as everyone else. However, because of the CCTV footage, it's plain to see that the farangs are in fact not without blame.

The issue for me is not the level of violence used, ‘yes very terrible’, but the fact that the farang have been constantly described as completely innocent in this matter.

And as a point of fact, the level of violence used is not only common place for Thais against Thais, but anyone else that also chooses to pick a fight with them.

Surely by now we are all aware that the Thais are simply too tightly wrapped, so why push, slap and punch them, and then assume the stance of the injured party?

As a nation of people who are trained from birth to suppress their emotions, Thais have absolutely no skill at negotiating confrontational situations. And not unlike a can of soda, simply explode when shaken then opened.

Thank goodness the British media and others have well publicized this tragic and brutal attack.

Yes. Let this be a warning to tourists not to push, slap and punch Thai guys because they can be brutal when provoked.

Really? ......not to Push, slap and punch Thai guys......?? Where did u get that from???

The men arrested confess to being drunk & violent when they set up 3 harmless British tourists who were strolling past.

Try not to sound anal.

Yeah, and the 2 Burmese boys confessed to murder, right???

IMO the real problem is that tourists (never mind how often you've visited Thailand) and newbies that have moved here, think 'Land of Smiles' really means that. You have to live here a while to understand what is going on behind those smiles. Not all the time obviously, but often.

Tourists (frequent or first time) nearly always come away with the impression that its a laid-back country - and to a certain extent it is, but not if you are unlucky enough to come across the odd individual/group that are looking for an excuse to be violent.

I gather the family had visited a few times, but they still would not have understood that 'face' is all-important here and that any aggressive behaviour is going to invite a beating from all the aggressive people standing around.

The mother was angry 'cos her son had been pushed, and fell. She berated the person responsible, and none of us know what was said during that encounter that resulted in her slapping the guy. But she did - a v bad move as anyone who has lived here for a while will tell you.

But they were tourists still thinking that the locals were lovely people, so confused when their son was pushed over and nothing close to an apology was given??

We're all inventing our own stories as without audio, and only a poor quality video - we have no idea what caused the woman to slap the man. Whatever he said, it was obviously 1) enough for her to slap him or 2) she was a self-entitled Western woman assuming she could slap any man she wanted for no reason.

The only thing that is obvious (to me at least), is that the family had no idea of the likely consequences of getting involved in a confrontation, and believed all Thai people are smiley, happy and generally good natured.

I'd put my money on no 2!

And I think for them to start beating on Thais, they were all either too pissed to even consider the consequences, or they had all just watched Rocky and believed themselves invincible.

I knew you'd say that.

Wish I could remember which film that came from, but it applies perfectly in this case.

Eddie Murphy said it about the Italians in Delirious...

For the idiots on the other thread who said the tourists started it, well, no they didn't.

From the paper that cannot be named- 'Pol Col Chaiyakorn said the attack started after "the son accidentally bumped into one of the Thai men".

The drunken Thai lout then threw a punch and mum went to protect her son.

What video are you watching?

If the mother had gone to protect the son, she'd have gone in the opposite direction, as he'd already tripped over his own feet and bit the dust!

Mutha, went for the confrontation!

You mean confrontation by speaking?

Didn't stop at words though, did it?

Soccer kicking a grandmother in the face while she is down is something that one just never imagines anyone would ever be capable of doing. It is making world news in a hurry and won't be forgotten easily by anyone.

Yeah, kinda like the 2 teenage Thai boys that kicked the pregnant Thai woman off her bike, breaking her leg. Then proceeded to drag her into the bushes and rape her, even though she begged them to stop because she was pregnant.

But that story didn't get much play, did it? Guess it wasn't so important as she was merely a Thai.

Strange how farang seem to prioritise things in their own favour, makes me wanna puke!

And yeah, I'm English, and not proud of it! Seen enough Brits on the piss to last me a lifetime…

I'd say the tourists started it and I'm not an idiot.

I beg to differ

I agree with him, however the Thai's response was absolutely disgusting behaviour that is totally unjustifiable.

The tourists certainly did themselves no favours at all.

What started out as an argument between the Thai in the white shirt and the Thai in the black t-shirt with red square (the same guy that floored all three tourists) escalated when the white shirt walks into the son, who literally pushed him out of the way - at 23 seconds - but apart from being pushed, stumbling and smashing his face into the step, no punches were thrown up to this point.

When the mother confronted white shirt, black t-shirt was out of the picture having a conversation with friends letting a farang walk through their group without a second thought. This farang stopped to watch the exact moment the mother slapped white shirt - at 55 seconds - and smartly decided to walk away.

Black t-shirt walks back of to put his arm around white shirt—the same time as son gets to his feet and joins his mother—and the mother went straight for him - even though up to this point he had been uninvolved and was not even aware the mum had slapped white shirt.

The son walks around and grabs black t-shirt while a little weed appears to headset mum. The dad then punches black t-shirt to the face while son holds him - at 1:18. At this stage a black cap wearing farang intervenes and appears to try to advise the mum to let it go. By this stage, it was too late; son had let black t-shirt go and he walks around the group coward-punching the dad, the knocking mum to the ground followed by the son.

I'm certainly not saying the tourists deserved to be set upon, but they're definitely not the innocents most people are making them out to be.

Edit: before I get flamed, let me just reiterate nothing justifies kicking someone to the head and stamping on people while they're down, especially to an elderly lady.

The dad didn't punch black shirt #1, he punched the guy that got slapped.

Yeah, he got pushed, then slapped, then punched and he never retaliated, yet he's photographed sitting in cuffs and a flak jacket!

What's wrong with this picture?

My advice to farang that wish to abuse and assault Thais: Great, don't come back!

To all the ThaiVisa commentators advising that people stay away from Thailand, how many of you will follow your own advice and either leave Thailand, or if like most, you don't live here, will never come back to Thailand again ?

Thought so.

I'm leaving next week, haven't bothered to renew my 1 year retirement extension.

See Ya!

435294-rose-owen.jpg

What some drunken cowardly Thai men can do to a 65 year old woman.

Get well soon ma'am.

photo caption:

"Here are some flowers. Ka. Do you still have double vision? You are so lucky, we have a discount on brain surgery at Bangkok Hospital this week. 30% off. Ka. And next time, use your right arm more to block a kick to the head. Ka."

Yeah, use your right arm to stop kicks, instaed of dishing out slaps!

For the idiots on the other thread who said the tourists started it, well, no they didn't.

From the paper that cannot be named- 'Pol Col Chaiyakorn said the attack started after "the son accidentally bumped into one of the Thai men".

The drunken Thai lout then threw a punch and mum went to protect her son.

What video are you watching?

If the mother had gone to protect the son, she'd have gone in the opposite direction, as he'd already tripped over his own feet and bit the dust!

Mutha, went for the confrontation!

IMO the real problem is that tourists (never mind how often you've visited Thailand) and newbies that have moved here, think 'Land of Smiles' really means that. You have to live here a while to understand what is going on behind those smiles. Not all the time obviously, but often.

Tourists (frequent or first time) nearly always come away with the impression that its a laid-back country - and to a certain extent it is, but not if you are unlucky enough to come across the odd individual/group that are looking for an excuse to be violent.

I gather the family had visited a few times, but they still would not have understood that 'face' is all-important here and that any aggressive behaviour is going to invite a beating from all the aggressive people standing around.

The mother was angry 'cos her son had been pushed, and fell. She berated the person responsible, and none of us know what was said during that encounter that resulted in her slapping the guy. But she did - a v bad move as anyone who has lived here for a while will tell you.

But they were tourists still thinking that the locals were lovely people, so confused when their son was pushed over and nothing close to an apology was given??

We're all inventing our own stories as without audio, and only a poor quality video - we have no idea what caused the woman to slap the man. Whatever he said, it was obviously 1) enough for her to slap him or 2) she was a self-entitled Western woman assuming she could slap any man she wanted for no reason.

The only thing that is obvious (to me at least), is that the family had no idea of the likely consequences of getting involved in a confrontation, and believed all Thai people are smiley, happy and generally good natured.

I'd put my money on no 2!

And I think for them to start beating on Thais, they were all either too pissed to even consider the consequences, or they had all just watched Rocky and believed themselves invincible.

PM, TAT, police and other officials in charge - don't send stupid fruit baskets, flowers, teddy bears...

DO SOMETHING useful and that would be to parade these thugs openly in public and set an example for the world to see by sentencing them to LIFE IN PRISON without possibility to appeal and no possibility for parole for criminal assault with INTENT TO KILL!

This, and only this, would be the only move possible to bring justice, restore tourists' trust in this god forsaken country, and the only action that could bring at least some feeling of peace, being cared for and being taken seriously to the victims.

Posing with flowers in the hospital next to the victim will not make you (TAT, officials in charge) look any better, nor will it help the victims!!!

So you didn't like the flowers then?

Personally I think they were just trying to make the best of a bad job. But, I'm pretty sure behind those Thai ladies smiles were the underlying thoughts: 'what was a woman your age doing out on the p*ss in a red light area, slapping Thai men around at 2am in the morning?'

I wonder, in the interests of fair play, was she also tested for alcohol? And will she also be charged with assault, along with the husband and son?

I do hope you realise the long term consequences of all this negativity towards Thai people. I mean, look at the message you’re all sending:

Attention all Thais. We are superior farang and you should feel privileged that we choose to spend our money in your little country. Being superior, we can insult you, insult your religion, insult your government, in fact we can do what we want, we can even get pissed up and slap you around and you must just accept this, Wai us and say Kob Khun Krup!

An angry Thai is worse than an angry bull. The anti-foreigner feeling here is getting worse. Not only with cheating, lying and double pricing but also with edicts from the General himself. The land of smiles? Not really. Here they kick the heads in of grandmothers. Ah well, it's worse in Syria - there they chop your head off. Message to the tourists: Stay away. Lao is much more pleasant.

Yes the generals anti west sentiments certainly aren't going to help things. He has shown his hatred of the west and his thugs will follow him.

What a pile of crap!

Most of the comments here are one-sided and racist.

I watched the video with horror and saw two sides to the aggression.

Two Thai men, yellow shirt and black shirt evidently arguing about something, but no aggression and the black shirt casually walks away.

First assault (minor to you, more important to a Thai): son reaches out to push yellow shirt aside.

Retaliation: yellow shirt pushes son back.

At this point just an unfortunate altercation with both parties equally to blame.

Unfortunately son stumbled and fell, but not because anyone struck him to the ground.

Second assault: mother verbally confronts yellow shirt man, then strikes him in the face. Note yellow shirt man does not retaliate.

Black shirt man returns and talks to yellow shirt man. There's some scuffling and next we see

Third assault: son has come around the left of the picture and put black shirt man in an arm lock.

Fourth assault: father comes through crowd at right and punches black shirt man.

At this point the family has clocked up four assaults, escalating the violence each time.

Then the situation explodes.

Black shirt man released from arm lock immediately seeks out the father and punches him. Then punches mother, then punches son and kicks him on the ground.

Horrible behaviour that is unforgiveable, but don't assume that it was racially inspired and unprovoked.

The younger Thais who entered towards the end were not provoked. Their motives are not known.

Spot on analysis!

All these lovely pics depicting the lovely family on holiday are totally biased. I’m sure the initial two Thai guys can produce equally pleasant images. I’m actually really sick of seeing Thais blamed for everything on this site.

Personally, I used to really enjoy a night out in Pattaya and Walking Street, but not anymore, and that’s nothing to do with the Thais, but totally to do with the farang and other foreign scum!

Observation: What kind of people, people well in their 60’s, repeatedly assault 2 Thai men in their 30’s at 2am in a red light area?

I think the first 2 Thai guys should not be charged, as the farang hit both the Thai guys first. Tit for tat!

However, the other two Thai solid citizens should be nailed to the wall.

Bored with apologists here. Do we ever see "Thai people attacked by vicious farangs" NO. Something should be done as a detterent

"Do we ever see "Thai people attacked by vicious farangs" NO."

YES, quite often on Walking Street.

"Something should be done as a detterent"

Keep TAT happy and give them their wish. Only allow quality tourists into Thailand,,, the way it used to be!

Since 81 as a visitor and now 97 full time, I have witnessed the Thai attitude steadily change from a quiet resentment to full blown hatred for farang. And, I have to say to myself, ‘is it any wonder, when the quality of tourist has gone from generally older, more respectful western guys, to every scumbag sex pest, drug taking bottom feeder on earth!’