Gang attack on individuals.

[Sonhia]

Yesterday, Saturday 27th January 2018, I was horrified to witness a broadcasting on Thai TV news, about an attack on two male individuals by a group of Thai men, inside, what looked like, either a restaurant or bar? Captured on CCTV.

 

The attack sickened me. The force in which the two helpless individuals were kicked and punched over and over again, was appalling and shocking.

 

Other guests at the venue turned a blind eye to the beating of the two guys, who were obviously out numbered and in distress,. The gusts casually continued talking, eating and drinking. No attempt was made to intervene to try and stop the beating!

 

Compassion is non existent. Humanity is not considered!

 

I recall an incident captured on CCTV, of a British family of three, on holiday, in the land of paradise, being set upon by a gang of Thai men. Again,, not one person intervened to assist the helpless British family. The British elderly, retired mother, while beaten to the floor and attempting to get up , was kicked in the head! This all happened in full view of the public and yet nothing was done at the time to assist the victims.

 

Again, no act of compassion!

 

I was attacked by two Thai men, whilst walking on a public path in the middle  of a city, and stabbed in my back for no reason other than I'm an easy target, a foreigner.

 

Sadly, I now feel very unsafe during the night and day. I consider my safety in Thailand to be very fragile. My life is not important here, I feel very unwelcome and fear for my safety. 

 

I cannot trust the Police to act accordingly and in an unbiased manner, and find the general feeling towards foreigners as one of,  GO HOME!

 

Racism springs to my mind. Unfair farang pricing.. The obvious dislike toward foreigners. The unfair way foreigners are treated in general, in many aspects of living here.

 

I'm free to walk but wear heavy shackles and chains to limit my movements!

 

TIT

 

Am I alone in my thoughts?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[simoh1490]

The CCTV incident you mention was in Hua Hin and the tourists were British, everyone was drunk and some pushing and shoving had preceded the beatings.

 

Thailand is a very safe country for most foreigners but only if you act sensibly, are polite and avoid drunks late at night, pretty much the same rules you might follow anywhere in the world. If you can do those things, you will be fine, if you don't then you can expect to run into trouble at some point, just like anywhere else.

 

[malagateddy]

Meanwhile over in Glasgow, Scotland, my home city for 64 iyears before I retired to Issan..there are basically 2 areas of the city where Doctors/Nurses/Ambulances etc. on call have to have Police in attendance!!!
The culprits are "farangs"..eastern europeans/muslim immigrants.
Sadly it seems to be the way of the world.

Personally, I feel much safer over here living in a large village in the Chaiyaphum Province.
Wonderful neighbours etc.


Sent from my SM-G7102 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[isaanbanhou]

I wouldn t want to live somewhere I felt unsafe and unwelcome.  

[sanemax]

50 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

The CCTV incident you mention was in Hua Hin and the tourists were British, everyone was drunk and some pushing and shoving had preceded the beatings.

Yes, as I recall , it was the British who hit the Thais first

[sanemax]

1 hour ago, Sonhia said:

I was attacked by two Thai men, whilst walking on a public path in the middle  of a city, and stabbed in my back for no reason other than I'm an easy target, a foreigner.

That is very rare in Thailand , to be attacked for no reason .

Have a think about it , was there any reason as to why they attacked you ?

[Gecko123]

I was moved by your post, and understand how a bunker mentality can set in here. I worry that your view of Thailand isn't sustainable; you either need to find an environment you feel more comfortable and safe in, or change your perspective. Thailand is not without risks, but the same can be said about anywhere.

 

You mentioned watching videos and news broadcasts which captured scenes of street violence. Many Thai news broadcasts rely heavily on CCTV footage which show people killing one another, brawling, stealing, and crashing into one another on the road. While these videos appeal to human interest, satisfy one's morbid curiosity, and provide insight into what really goes on over here, speaking from personal experience, they can also negatively distort one's perception of Thailand in an unhealthy way, if you let them. Because of the omnipresence of CCTV camera and cell phone cameras, they can leave one with the impression that Thailand is going to hell in a hand basket, when in reality the day-to-day life experienced by most people is far more enjoyable.

Edited January 28, 2018 by Gecko123

[BritTim]

I am very suspicious of news stories that use CCTV or other video footage without explaining the events leading up to what we see. I have spent a lot of time in Thailand over the last 35 years or so. In that time, I have seen a number of cases of Thai gangs attacking foreigners. I have yet to see a case where it was unprovoked. I am not saying this applies to the incident in the OP which might be an exception. I would want to hear eye witness accounts (at a minimum) before drawing any conclusions.

 

I find foreigner pricing to be irritating, but can circumvent it more often than not. It mostly applies to certain services in tourist traps.

[Denim]

A lot can depend on where you live. Areas with a lot of tourists often seem to attract predators who turn up for easy pickings. I found the same in the Philippines.

 

If the OP does not feel safe or secure where he is living then might be better to move than suffer in silence.

[mick220675]

Thailand is a violent place at times. I have seen some crazy stuff in my village, but it has always been Thai on Thai violence. I have never felt threatened by any Thai.

 

When I first came there was a lot of gun crime, most blamed on Cambodians. Our village is defiantly safer than it was 15 years ago. Tourist areas may have become more dangerous. 

[OneMoreFarang]

Have a look at: Diffusion of responsibility

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_responsibility

 

Summary: The more people are present the less likely will someone intervene.

It's very interesting

 

 

[catman20]

I recall an incident captured on CCTV, of a British family of three, on holiday, in the land of paradise, being set upon by a gang of Thai men. Again,, not one person intervened to assist the helpless British family. The British elderly, retired mother, while beaten to the floor and attempting to get up , was kicked in the head! This all happened in full view of the public and yet nothing was done at the time to assist the victims.

 

 

i also recall this incident and followed the CCTV closely this family actually ask for what they got in as much as the younger man in the family barges into someone then a verbal conversation starts with the father who then throws the first punch then then old lady get shuck in. they did take a bit of a beating and whilst  i dont agree with it they got what they asked for.

 

the rest i do agree with you on.

[cornishcarlos]

21 hours ago, sanemax said:

Yes, as I recall , it was the British who hit the Thais first

 

It still didn't justify the severity of the response... 

[OneMoreFarang]

2 minutes ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

It still didn't justify the severity of the response... 

Somehow you are right, but do you really expect always a balanced response?

People get into fights because they are angry. And often they have limited information.

Some people saw only the later part of the video where it seems the Thais are the aggressors. But in the previous part of the video we see that the tourists started it (except maybe there is something before all this).

And if people are attacked then some people try to hit back as hard as they can. Can we really blame them for their reaction?

Personally I live since two decades in Bangkok and I never got into a fight with anybody. Thailand is pretty save - don't provoke people.

[Peterw42]

OP,  its unfortunate that you have this perspective as its not realistic. There is no great incidence of Thai gang violence or assaults on foreigners etc. In the scheme of things, 70 million Thais, 30 million tourists, 3 million long stay foreigners (1 million western expats). A small percentage of incidents, no higher than anywhere else in the world.

 

I think it comes down to lots of cameras nowadays and media outlets like to show any footage. Kids and drunks fight all over the world, and usually bystanders dont get involved. 

 

Media outlets worked out a long time ago that people like to read about and watch these incidents, more than they like kittens being rescued stories. Its very easy to get a perspective that everyone is fighting and not many kittens are being rescued.

As for your own story, I feel there may be more to it. Did you go to Hospitial? Did you go to the police ?  Being stabbed just because you are a foreigner sounds very unrealistic and would indeed be the first indecent of its kind, (unprovoked, random, not a robbery etc) I have heard of in thailand.

 

Interested to know how you know that you were stabbed for being a foreigner, did the attackers say as much ?

 

Edited January 29, 2018 by Peterw42

[The Teacher]

These thugs most likely pay protection money to the Police, so not much to happen here

[HHTel]

3 hours ago, catman20 said:

I recall an incident captured on CCTV, of a British family of three, on holiday, in the land of paradise, being set upon by a gang of Thai men. Again,, not one person intervened to assist the helpless British family. The British elderly, retired mother, while beaten to the floor and attempting to get up , was kicked in the head! This all happened in full view of the public and yet nothing was done at the time to assist the victims.

Watch the video again.  You will see quite plainly a guy that tried to help.  It cost him time in hospital and some dental rebuilding!

Anyway, enough said, the Thais got 4 years in jail reduced to 2 for pleading guilty.

 

[runamok27]

I always found Thailand to be pretty safe. As long as you don’t provoke people or generally act like an @ss you should be fine. 

[chrisinth]

OP, I'm not sure which country you come from but it might help ease your fears of thinking that Thailand is a dangerous place to live by comparing your home country to Thailand in terms of violent attacks against individuals. I know for a fact that the incident you described on CCTV would make the news only on an extremely slow day where I hail from. This IMO is a factor with Thailand, what and how incidents are reported and classed as news that just wouldn't be in my home country.

 

The incident you described reference the British family being attacked, while certainly disgusting and not right, I believe was provoked. While I do have sympathy for the victims, this, again IMO is how not to deal with a confrontation in Thailand while under the influence of drink.

 

As for the unprovoked attack against yourself, then that would be one of the very few I have heard of here. Either you were very unlucky, didn't think back far enough before the incident (as to the reason) or reacted to the confrontation wrongly. In the few years I have lived here, I have heard many claims of unprovoked attacks, very few, if any, actually were. If the attack really was random then I do feel sorry for you.

 

Thailand is generally a safe country would be my evaluation over the last 30 odd years as compared with any other country in the world. Of course it has it's problems, in fact considering it is being run by a junta, the trouble in the South, increasing drug/solvent abuse Thailand probably has more issues than most but still remains safe in general. Road safety is not violence per se, mostly stupidity which is why I didn't list it in the problems............

Edited January 29, 2018 by chrisinth

[Get Real]

I can only feel sorry for the ignorance and disbelief in the way the world is as told by the OP. Today there is violence everywhere. Usually violence do not enter your world without a reason.
Sometimes it can, but that also happens everywhere in the world. Why are you trying to blame Thai people and Thailand for that?

[dick dasterdly]

The Hua Hin attack referenced was appalling, and I'm suprised some posters are basically saying it was 'deserved'. 

 

Every now and again 'farangs' are attacked for v little reason - basically because they annoyed a Thai that doesn't like foreigners, and others in their 'group' join in.  But this is v rare, and 99% of the time happens late at night.

 

A few years ago I and another friend had more than a few drinks at another friend's house... and we were all so pissed we completely lost track of time .  Eventually realising it was time to go to bed, we 'phoned our taxi driver and were taken aback when he said he was in bed! No problem, we were so pissed that we thought we'd walk the km or so to a busy area where taxis would be available.  Arriving there and discovering that all restaurants were closed/no taxis about - we finally checked our watches and realised it was 3 a.m. 

 

There were still a few locals around (in groups) at this early hour, but they responded to our "taxi?" questions in good humour and - made no attempt to attack us .

 

Plus, much to our amazement, 'our' taxi driver got up at this unearthly hour - and 'rescued' us as we continued the long walk to our homes!

 

And this was in a tourist area of Phuket.

[simoh1490]

The problem with violent crime here is that once it starts, people don't know how to stop, once they get hyped up it becomes an all or nothing scenario - the trick is don't let it start, swallow your pride, say sorry, bite your tongue and walk away. Are you a man or a mouse I hear you ask, have you no self respect. Personally, I'd rather be a live mouse than a dead man, self-respect isn't of much use when you're laid on the slab in the morgue!

 

But it's all relative, I see UK violent crime is up 25% or more this year, I'm very happy to be here in Thailand.

 

[marqus12]

you just lock yourself in a hotel room with some nice girl
and send her for food sometimes ... there are monsters out there 

[GoldenTriangle]

I've lived in Thailand a long time and if you employ manners and respect, people are very pleasant and kind and will go out of their way. ie: I got a flat in the middle of nowhere on my motorcycle and half a mile or so down the road I found some Thai men drinking in a roadside shack with fairy lights. They examined the bike, talked about it, argued, we drank a few drinks and they decided to all take me home with my bike in the back of their pickup truck. I tried to offer money but was refused, took a last swing of their bottle and off they went back to where that was out there in the night time countryside.

It's a way that works anywhere in the world. People are easily angered by an "attitude" and easily relax when one smiles and speaks to them politely and with respect. In fact, I too hate people giving me an "attitude", something tourists seem to do without realizing. Somewhere in their heads they have the idea that they've paid for this trip and "deserve" a certain level of service and are easily angered and critical.

All that does is make others dislike you and not want to serve you at all. I see it with Chinese tourists in Thailand, the latest mob to "discover" the place. They're the latest "Ugly American" tourist, nouveau riche and finally get to lord it over someone. They try to haggle everything, including food prices in restaurants. Thais refuse to haggle from what I've seen and end up throwing the Chinese out. Hence, the Chinese now have a bad rep in Thailand. Few scooter rentals places will serve them anymore after their infamous crashing antics, or getting hit by cars as they wander into the road for a selfie, somehow believing the world will stop for them.

They'll learn in time as they get out in the world, much as any other economically lifted culture has.

[OneMoreFarang]

58 minutes ago, marqus12 said:

you just lock yourself in a hotel room with some nice girl
and send her for food sometimes ... there are monsters out there 

But make sure you pay her properly for her time. Otherwise she might be tempted to bring the monsters to your room...

[IAMHERE]

6 hours ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

It still didn't justify the severity of the response... 

Tit for Tat is a western philosophy of violence. The Thai lose a lot of face and create a lot of dangerous karma, when they.get angry enough to fight. There  is a different philosophy of how much violence is enough violence. Enough is so that the other party doesn't come after you later when he is better able and has his friends and guns and blades with him. If you are gonna fight, finish it. You don't want to spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder is their reason to justify the severity of their responses. I am not saying it is right, I am just saying it.

[dick dasterdly]

Just now, GoldenTriangle said:

I've lived in Thailand a long time and if you employ manners and respect, people are very pleasant and kind and will go out of their way. ie: I got a flat in the middle of nowhere on my motorcycle and half a mile or so down the road I found some Thai men drinking in a roadside shack with fairy lights. They examined the bike, talked about it, argued, we drank a few drinks and they decided to all take me home with my bike in the back of their pickup truck. I tried to offer money but was refused, took a last swing of their bottle and off they went back to where that was out there in the night time countryside.

It's a way that works anywhere in the world. People are easily angered by an "attitude" and easily relax when one smiles and speaks to them politely and with respect. In fact, I too hate people giving me an "attitude", something tourists seem to do without realizing. Somewhere in their heads they have the idea that they've paid for this trip and "deserve" a certain level of service and are easily angered and critical.

All that does is make others dislike you and not want to serve you at all. I see it with Chinese tourists in Thailand, the latest mob to "discover" the place. They're the latest "Ugly American" tourist, nouveau riche and finally get to lord it over someone. They try to haggle everything, including food prices in restaurants. Thais refuse to haggle from what I've seen and end up throwing the Chinese out. Hence, the Chinese now have a bad rep in Thailand. Few scooter rentals places will serve them anymore after their infamous crashing antics, or getting hit by cars as they wander into the road for a selfie, somehow believing the world will stop for them.

They'll learn in time as they get out in the world, much as any other economically lifted culture has.

Yes - I've many similar stories as to how frequently, Thais will go out of their way to help.

 

Of course there are always a few bad stories, and I wouldn't dream of making clear my displeasure at some of the driving as I know some are on a v short fuse - and have weapons.

 

Even so, I feel as 'safe' here as I did in my home country.

 

[OneMoreFarang]

I don't have experience with fights in many countries but I think in many places it works like this:

A: bad words

B: bad words

A: shouting

B: shouting

A: shoving

B: shoving

A: more shoving

B: a first hit

It escalates relative slowly

 

In Thailand:

A: bad words

B: bad words

A: shouting

B: knocks A out, kicks him on the ground and invites his friends to do the same

It escalates very fast and you can't win.

Conclusion: Never call a Thai a f&%ing idiot and think you get away with it. Better apologize and walk away and live another day.

 

[catman20]

3 hours ago, HHTel said:

Watch the video again.  You will see quite plainly a guy that tried to help.  It cost him time in hospital and some dental rebuilding!

Anyway, enough said, the Thais got 4 years in jail reduced to 2 for pleading guilty.

 

 who was he to try to help ? maybe he should of mined his own business. the Thais are properly out now.

[Berkshire]

5 hours ago, runamok27 said:

I always found Thailand to be pretty safe. As long as you don’t provoke people or generally act like an @ss you should be fine. 

Agree.  Unless it's a robbery, Thais will almost never attack anyone unless provoked.  Which is why I find the OP's claim that he was attacked "for no reason" not believable.  If he was in fact attacked, he did or said something to provoke his attackers.  Maybe he was too drunk to remember.