A heated online dispute has erupted in Pattaya after a child nearly drowned at a pool villa, prompting accusations over the property’s design and a strong rebuttal from the villa owner. The incident, which occurred on 11 May, has divided opinion on social media, with many users blaming parental negligence rather than the layout of the property.

Get today's headlines by email

The controversy began after the child’s mother posted CCTV footage showing her son struggling in the swimming pool before the boy’s father jumped in to rescue him. In her post, the mother said the family had just checked into the villa and allowed the children to swim before planning a trip to Jomtien Beach, around four kilometres away.

She explained that all family members had exited the pool, but there was confusion over who was supervising the child. The boy later walked back towards the pool area alone without wearing a life jacket and fell into the water. The mother claimed she could not see the child because a large inflatable duck obscured her view and criticised the villa’s design, saying the swimming pool was positioned behind the house rather than directly visible from the living room.

Picture courtesy of Amarin

The mother also claimed on social media, that the child was underwater for almost 30 minutes before being rescued, though the villa owner strongly disputed this claim. CCTV footage released by the owner allegedly showed the child in the water for only 10 to 20 seconds before his father rescued him.

Villa owner Wutthiphon Boonna, 34, said the family had requested CCTV footage after the incident, claiming they wanted to use it as a lesson for their son. He said he provided the footage willingly before discovering it had later been posted online alongside criticism of the property and allegations that the house was unsafe.

According to the owner, the villa provided free life jackets beside the pool and the child had been wearing one earlier in the day before it was removed by the parents. He also insisted the pool was clearly visible from inside the property through four large sliding glass doors located about three metres from the water.

The owner further claimed the family later threatened staff by telephone and boasted of having influential connections. He said he is consulting lawyers and preparing legal action over alleged reputational damage and threats made towards employees. Several customers have reportedly cancelled bookings following the online backlash.

Amarin reported that social media reaction remains sharply divided, although many commenters argued that the incident highlighted the importance of close supervision of young children near swimming pools. Others said the case should serve as a warning to parents staying at pool villas or similar accommodation with water hazards.

Join the discussion?

Already a member?

Adapted by ASEAN Now Amarin 16 May 2026

View full article

Sounds like a lot of blaming and finger pointing, but surely the parents are responsible for their kids.

Absolutely, poor bloody parenting.

What happened to society, no one is accountable anymore, always looking for someone to blame.

Underwater for 30 minutes - just about spat my coffee out there, first laugh of the day.

Teach your children to swim!

But no....Thais know better!!

children are the responsibility of the parents, stop making that it was everybody elses fault """it was your fault""", as usual Thais always blame something else, kid was lucky "this time"

35 minutes ago, ChrisY1 said:

Teach your children to swim!

But no....Thais know better!!

100% agree.

We were taught to swim at school and it wasn't optional.

Clearly a buddiing Jacques Cousteau..............'Immortal' for those who enjoyed Gomorrah....

3 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

he provided the footage willingly before discovering it had later been posted online alongside criticism of the property and allegations that the house was unsafe.

A verifiable and easy defamation lawsuit - 500,000 baht min.?

Complete and utter nonsense from the mother--especially blaming the location of the pool. Next time rent a house without a pool. By the way, the ocean may also have items in it, such as other people, that could make it difficult to see your child so keep an eye on him there, too.

2 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Absolutely, poor bloody parenting.

What happened to society, no one is accountable anymore, always looking for someone to blame.

Typical Thais - I have said this for over 20 years that everything about the Thais comes from these 3 character straights.

No sense of Gratitude - no sense of Consequence - no sense of Responsibility! (Generaly speaking)

If the parents haven't accepted responsibility for looking out for their young child's safety then they are undeserving as parents & incompetent to say the least. What's next? He ran out on the road ..and why didn't the cars stop quick enough?

I bet she's got an insta and TikTok account and getting paid handsomely for this

I knew it

"The mother also claimed on social media"

The lengths these scum go to get money

Hate to say this but I have not seen the news yet but it sure looks like the same suspects again.. always blaming others for their poor judgment - from Singapore to Thailand …. Sigh .. some cultures never change …

Regardless, the duty of care is on the parents to take care of their own kids… so s parents u need to be vigilant to prevent exposing your children to any danger around them.

1 hour ago, smedly said:

children are the responsibility of the parents, stop making that it was everybody elses fault """it was your fault""", as usual Thais always blame something else, kid was lucky "this time"

I bet if this women followed through and pooded her pants she would blame the duck and the villa owner.

I hope they have to pay the villa owners a huge sum for their lies proven by the CCTV. They thought they would get a pay day but now are going to be the ones paying. Karma.

"... the child was underwater for almost 30-minute minutes..."

Apart from the absurdity of this statement by the mother, if that were even remotely true, then both parents have far bigger problems than arguing with the villa owner.

Leaving a toddler unattended near a pool for any length of time is straight‑up culpable negligence!

Add to that the allegations of threats to staff at the villa, and it’s no wonder the villa owner is talking about “reputational damage” and legal action.

According to the shared video it seems like the father is standing next to the child in the pool, doing nothing, even walking away before he react and jump in the water. If it's the mum walking to the corner, then the inflated duck is on the opposite side of the pool, she got a fine view to the pool and the child.

If you have minor children that cannot swim, either don't rent a pool villa — the preferable solution — or make sure you have fully awareness of your children. This story is just extremely bad parental, can never be til villa owner's or the staff's fault.

All the very best to this villa owner, hope they push forward with and win this case.

Sounds like the parents had poor supervision of their children. Then they had the gall to lie about how long the child had been underwater.

4 hours ago, NemoH said:

Hate to say this but I have not seen the news yet but it sure looks like the same suspects again.. always blaming others for their poor judgment - from Singapore to Thailand …. Sigh .. some cultures never change …

Regardless, the duty of care is on the parents to take care of their own kids… so s parents u need to be vigilant to prevent exposing your children to any danger around them.

What’s Singapore got to do with it? Not pushing back on what you say otherwise, but including Singapore in this seems, well, random.

5 hours ago, Bagwain said:

Typical Thais - I have said this for over 20 years that everything about the Thais comes from these 3 character straights.

No sense of Gratitude - no sense of Consequence - no sense of Responsibility! (Generaly speaking)

Amazing what you learn from 20 years on a bar stool.

In some countries, it's mandatory to have a safety fence around pools to prevent unsupervised small kids from jumping in. I've never seen any in Thailand, including in upscale residences.

7 hours ago, PJ71 said:

Underwater for 30 minutes - just about spat my coffee out there, first laugh of the day.

Under water for 30 minutes - the child would be dead.

20 minutes ago, CM Dad said:

Under water for 30 minutes - the child would be dead.

Sharp as a bowling ball, you don't miss a trick, do you?

When I was the child's age, I could easily swim for 35 minutes underwater, without once coming up for air.

So, only 30 minutes underwater is nothing, by comparison.

1 hour ago, candide said:

In some countries, it's mandatory to have a safety fence around pools to prevent unsupervised small kids from jumping in. I've never seen any in Thailand, including in upscale residences.

I was waiting for this hackneyed comment. 🤔

14 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

A heated online dispute has erupted in Pattaya after a child nearly drowned at a pool villa, prompting accusations over the property’s design and a strong rebuttal from the villa owner. The incident, which occurred on 11 May, has divided opinion on social media, with many users blaming parental negligence rather than the layout of the property.

Get today's headlines by email

The controversy began after the child’s mother posted CCTV footage showing her son struggling in the swimming pool before the boy’s father jumped in to rescue him. In her post, the mother said the family had just checked into the villa and allowed the children to swim before planning a trip to Jomtien Beach, around four kilometres away.

She explained that all family members had exited the pool, but there was confusion over who was supervising the child. The boy later walked back towards the pool area alone without wearing a life jacket and fell into the water. The mother claimed she could not see the child because a large inflatable duck obscured her view and criticised the villa’s design, saying the swimming pool was positioned behind the house rather than directly visible from the living room.

Picture courtesy of Amarin

The mother also claimed on social media, that the child was underwater for almost 30 minutes before being rescued, though the villa owner strongly disputed this claim. CCTV footage released by the owner allegedly showed the child in the water for only 10 to 20 seconds before his father rescued him.

Villa owner Wutthiphon Boonna, 34, said the family had requested CCTV footage after the incident, claiming they wanted to use it as a lesson for their son. He said he provided the footage willingly before discovering it had later been posted online alongside criticism of the property and allegations that the house was unsafe.

According to the owner, the villa provided free life jackets beside the pool and the child had been wearing one earlier in the day before it was removed by the parents. He also insisted the pool was clearly visible from inside the property through four large sliding glass doors located about three metres from the water.

The owner further claimed the family later threatened staff by telephone and boasted of having influential connections. He said he is consulting lawyers and preparing legal action over alleged reputational damage and threats made towards employees. Several customers have reportedly cancelled bookings following the online backlash.

Amarin reported that social media reaction remains sharply divided, although many commenters argued that the incident highlighted the importance of close supervision of young children near swimming pools. Others said the case should serve as a warning to parents staying at pool villas or similar accommodation with water hazards.

Join the discussion?

Already a member?

Adapted by ASEAN Now Amarin 16 May 2026

View full article

In another incident a Thai family was at a shopping centre, one of the kids was running around unsupervised, he fell down a set of stairs, the centre is now being sued as stairs should not go up or down, they should remain flat in the same way a swimming pool should not contain water to stop the possibility of unsupervised kids being drowned.

The parent also state the steps were too miles high but the kid manage to survive falling down from top to bottom.

He was later seen flying off at speed wearing a long blue cape. 😃

17 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

Teach your children to swim!

But no....Thais know better!!

Not every Thai is like that; all my Thai family can swim, and they live miles away from any water( ocean)