Throng Of Tuk Tuk Drivers Deliver Major Beat Down To Two Tourists On Patong.

[maccaroni man]

So this doesnt happen in Spain,Greece,Turkey,India etc etc etc.Some of these countries attack with knives so the thais arent that bad lol.

well i can say that in mexico you will see it coming the mexican men seem to be a bit more macho and want to go mano e mano and if the police come the mexicans will be the ones arrested. tourist dollars pay the bills.

[JOESHEAD]

I am really sick or all these expat farangs who have been in Thailand so long and think they. know it all, Ex-pat's who look down on tourists as a breed below them.

Who exactly do you think you are ??? You are not Thai that is for sure. Those who automatically blame the tourists especially in a situation where people are being beaten should do a double check of themselves.

I would bet every person who blamed the tourist considers himself a ex-pat.

I'm not an expat. Just someone who spends a lot of time in Phuket, and has done for a long time.

I don't think it has anything to do with looking down on tourists. It's fairly obvious that ex-pats or long term residents, will have a different outlook and knowledge to that of tourists.

Just as you're sick of ex-pats, I think you will find there are a lot of ex-pats who are sick of tourists coming to Phuket for two weeks and then shouting from the roof tops how bad it is, when quite clearly they have no clue.

[Nio]

I don't know what planet you are living on, but in case one never reads the news, there are tons of loser farangs running lose in Thailand.

Thailand is becoming the playground for the worst of the worst poster boys from every gang banger country in the world

Readers here act like all foreigners are choir boys and could not possible do anything wrong which is about as far from the truth as you can get

Thailand's beach tourist areas attract the biggest bunch of full of sh_ t wise asses I have ever seen in most countries on this earth.

If there is beach, bargirls and beer watch out.

If you start something with a Thai and you don't know 20 people are going to jump in on you, then you have some serious problems understanding life in Thailand.

If you come to a foreign country, better do your research and understand the area you are visiting.

You try taking things in your own hands and you will get more than you bargained for.

For those of us that moved to Thailand and make this our home, I will say this.

If I was with my thai friends and some foreigner started something with one of them or punched them and they all starting beating him up, I certainly would never jump in to help the foreigner. I might try to talk my friends out of totally thrashing the guy but I would not intervene.

You make the decision when you decide to move to Thailand and now Thai people are your friends and family.

Edited April 10, 2010 by Nio

[waza]

I am really sick or all these expat farangs who have been in Thailand so long and think they. know it all, Ex-pat's who look down on tourists as a breed below them.

Who exactly do you think you are ??? You are not Thai that is for sure. Those who automatically blame the tourists especially in a situation where people are being beaten should do a double check of themselves.

I would bet every person who blamed the tourist considers himself a ex-pat.

I'm not an expat. Just someone who spends a lot of time in Phuket, and has done for a long time.

I don't think it has anything to do with looking down on tourists. It's fairly obvious that ex-pats or long term residents, will have a different outlook and knowledge to that of tourists.

Just as you're sick of ex-pats, I think you will find there are a lot of ex-pats who are sick of tourists coming to Phuket for two weeks and then shouting from the roof tops how bad it is, when quite clearly they have no clue.

What an uneducated post. If it wasnt for tourist Phuket wouldnt have the infrastructure to support an ex-pat community. In addition I cant believe you think that a tourist shouldnt have the right to complain about poor service, rip off and violent encounters. It seems your the one who doesnt have a clue.

[waza]

I don't know what planet you are living on, but in case one never reads the news, there are tons of loser farangs running lose in Thailand.

Thailand is becoming the playground for the worst of the worst poster boys from every gang banger country in the world

Readers here act like all foreigners are choir boys and could not possible do anything wrong which is about as far from the truth as you can get

Thailand's beach tourist areas attract the biggest bunch of full of sh_ t wise asses I have ever seen in most countries on this earth.

If there is beach, bargirls and beer watch out.

If you start something with a Thai and you don't know 20 people are going to jump in on you, then you have some serious problems understanding life in Thailand.

If you come to a foreign country, better do your research and understand the area you are visiting.

You try taking things in your own hands and you will get more than you bargained for.

I am living on planet earth. I arrived here in LOS last week, my plane was one third full, 90% of them were single males. While Thailand is in such troubled times, with protest and tourist scams all over the news, this will be the only type of tourist ready to risk a holiday here.

[Thongkorn]

I live in a Tourist town, People do silly things when on holiday,You just let things go , because they keep you in a job , nobody deserves to be linched anywhere,

Your not a politician from the UK by any chance are you?

It's that wishy washy, spineless attitude, that people should get away with being tw*ts just because they put money in your pocket that turns countries in to sh!t holes.

I'll say it again for those hard of reading: The Tuk Tuk drivers were wrong to do what they did, but if Farang didn't have this 'I'm on holiday, I'll do what ever I like' attitude, these things wouldn't happen. When they do, the blame has to fall at their feet first.

How do you know what the falang did, I know and have seen first hand the way Thais like to beat anybody that are alone,Even old women and men, believe me it is better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you are an idiot than open it and prove you are an idiot, If you live in a seaside holiday place you see it all, There would not be enough hours in the day to go and beat every idiot for being stupid, but then if you like to hurt people and are a bully there is not enough hours in the day to do it,

[thepanicandthevomit]

Thai-Apologetic-Newbie-Syndrome

Hate-Own-Nationality-Bed-Wetting-Syndrome

[F1fanatic]

Thai-Apologetic-Newbie-Syndrome

Hate-Own-Nationality-Bed-Wetting-Syndrome

I think you've missed the point of anuid's post.... it was not derogatory to Westerners.

Its easy to see both sides of the argument BUT, the fact that 20 or so Thais (we're told) leapt in, without (presumably) even knowing what the disagreement was about, indicates they were looking for an excuse to beat up Westerners.

You can argue (as Joeshead does), that this is because Westerners are pig-ignorant and deserve it - but most people think that if someone leaps in to attack someone else, without knowing why - other than that they hate farang - there is something seriously wrong.

Ex-pats are lucky - they know to avoid tuk-tuks. The problem is that tourists don't know this. They're on holiday, they get drunk (unlike the tuk-tuk drivers who are working to provide a service to the drunk tourists and are - hopefully - not drunk).

If a drunken tourist starts a fight with a tuk-tuk driver, then he can expect a fight with the tuk-tuk driver - the same as in any other country. Again, the problem is that THE TOURIST DOESN'T KNOW that a large group of Thai's will join in just because they hate farangs!

Be honest Joeshead, up until then the Thais have pretended they are incredibly friendly - how is the tourist to know that this is not the case at all??

[chuppachops]

On kata beach yesterday afternoon i saw a tuk tuk driver beating the hel_l out of a thai girl with a huge tree trunk it was terrible. A crowd of about 70 people watched it and some of the tourists recorded it on their camcorders. The girl was a right mess with an 8 inch gash on her head and looked like a broken arm too... the police came and took him away and the log too. The girl was rushed off to hospital.

very bad image of phuket imo.

[LivinginKata]

A series of 'bickering' posts between 2 members have been removed.

[ESB7]

Long gone are the days of fair play and chivalry when a large crowd will stand around and do nothing while a fellow human is punched senceless.... no wonder the World is in such a mess

[billythehat]

"Bring back the good old days of police men, clipping yobs round the ear without being taken to court, maybe my home country wouldn't be such a sh!t hole."

Which country may that be then? Somewhere where one has to work 18 hours a day, etc?

[NamKangMan]

I pointed out that the numbers involved was inappropriate, and uncalled for, but to automatically have sympathy for the tourists without knowing what they did, is just typical bias, which is to be expected on this forum when it comes to Tuk Tuks. I was suitable impressed that there were a few replies, not defending the drivers, but showing a lack of sympathy for the tourists, who lets face it were most likely misbehaving, before the 'Tuk Tuks are the bane of Phuket, mob gets in full stride, which they undoubtedly will.

You quoted the French family from a while back. A violent, unprovoked act like that is not a common occurrence, how many more example are there?

It does highlight however, that people know their reputations, and either should abstain from using them or make sure they don't provoke any trouble. If they do, then surely they deserve anything that happens to them.

This seems to be the problem. Word HAS got around about their poor reputation and people are abstaining from using them, however, for the few tourist that have not been advised not to use the tuk-tuks, they are getting even more crazy prices thrown at them at the end of the journey, so the driver can make the same money each day, and when the tourist refuse to pay, the result is a brawl.

All of this will only keep getting worse. What if there were 8 young guys on holiday, in the tuk-tuk, who refused to get ripped off. We are now looking at a brawl of 30 to 40 people. Once again, not about the capacity to pay, but the principle of paying the extortion price.

Of course, someone will eventually die, again, and nothing will change. The less business the tuk-tuks get, due to incidnets like this, the more ruthless their damand for money will get, hence, the more conflict with passengers.

It's certainly a bad advertisement for tourism in Phuket. Even the tourist who witnessed the incident, I doubt they catch a tuk-tuk for the rest of their trip and how many other people will they tell.

It's about time the industry be regulated, as best you can in Thailand. Personally, the baht bus system in Pattaya is great, IMO. A similar set up in Phuket would spread profits from tourist all over the island and cut down on road accidnets.

[ScubaBuddha]

It is true I don't know how the fight started, and it may very well have been started by the tourists. It could have been as innocuous as a misunderstanding or an unintentional offensive action due to a cultural difference, or maybe the tourists swung on the driver. It's useless to speculate, which is why I didn't. Either way the 3-4 minute beating and joining in of every tuk tuk driver in earshot was just disgusting.

Considering chuppashops post above, it seems the lawlessness and violence used by these thugs is reaching a flashpoint, especially if you consider how many of these incidents are never reported.

Considering that every inch of walking street is under recorded surveillance, it's interesting if we will see anything comes of this. Usually not, unless a local media outlet pics up the story and starts asking questions.

Edited April 10, 2010 by ScubaBuddha

[JOESHEAD]

If a drunken tourist starts a fight with a tuk-tuk driver, then he can expect a fight with the tuk-tuk driver - the same as in any other country. Again, the problem is that THE TOURIST DOESN'T KNOW that a large group of Thai's will join in just because they hate farangs!

Be honest Joeshead, up until then the Thais have pretended they are incredibly friendly - how is the tourist to know that this is not the case at all??

So your logic is that we should feel sorry for the drunk low life, playing up, being obnoxious, and throwing his weight around, because he didn't know what the consequences would be before hand??? That where I come from is called tough titties.

I know before I say this people will ridicule, but I'll try not lose any sleep. People forget that Thai people are a small race, and having a huge Farang, who could easily be a foot taller than you and 5 stone heavier, being aggressive must be pretty daunting. No that means 20, 10 or even 5 to one is fair, but one on one certainly isn't either. Not all Thai men are proficient in Thai boxing.

[F1fanatic]

So your logic is that we should feel sorry for the drunk low life, playing up, being obnoxious, and throwing his weight around, because he didn't know what the consequences would be before hand??? That where I come from is called tough titties.

I know before I say this people will ridicule, but I'll try not lose any sleep. People forget that Thai people are a small race, and having a huge Farang, who could easily be a foot taller than you and 5 stone heavier, being aggressive must be pretty daunting. No that means 20, 10 or even 5 to one is fair, but one on one certainly isn't either. Not all Thai men are proficient in Thai boxing.

O.K., but you've made no attempt to answer the points raised in my post - all of it, not just the bit you've quoted - although I would appreciate a response to that too.

[JOESHEAD]

I know and have seen first hand the way Thais like to beat anybody that are alone,Even old women and men,

Is that all Thais, most Thais, 50% of Thais. Exactly how many Thais is it that randomly beat lone, elderly women?

Please tell us about the last time you saw an old woman being attacked by a Thai man? And then tell us that it's something that happens regularly.

[ScubaBuddha]

So your logic is that we should feel sorry for the drunk low life, playing up, being obnoxious, and throwing his weight around, because he didn't know what the consequences would be before hand??? That where I come from is called tough titties.

I didn't realize you knew the victims personally and had seen how this incident started. Glad we got that started out. We can close the book and the thread on this one now.

BTW, why do you keep saying everyone is feeling sorry for the tourists and everyone is blaming the Thai's that started it? The posts have been fairly neutral and balanced. Your creating an argument against a position which doesn't exist. Everyone here knows that the tourists may have done something to start this.

[F1fanatic]

Is that all Thais, most Thais, 50% of Thais. Exactly how many Thais is it that randomly beat lone, elderly women?

Please tell us about the last time you saw an old woman being attacked by a Thai man? And then tell us that it's something that happens regularly.

Thongkorn's post was way OTT, BUT I await a response to my post -quoted below for easy reference:

"Its easy to see both sides of the argument BUT, the fact that 20 or so Thais (we're told) leapt in, without (presumably) even knowing what the disagreement was about, indicates they were looking for an excuse to beat up Westerners.

You can argue (as Joeshead does), that this is because Westerners are pig-ignorant and deserve it - but most people think that if someone leaps in to attack someone else, without knowing why - other than that they hate farang - there is something seriously wrong.

Ex-pats are lucky - they know to avoid tuk-tuks. The problem is that tourists don't know this. They're on holiday, they get drunk (unlike the tuk-tuk drivers who are working to provide a service to the drunk tourists and are - hopefully - not drunk).

If a drunken tourist starts a fight with a tuk-tuk driver, then he can expect a fight with the tuk-tuk driver - the same as in any other country. Again, the problem is that THE TOURIST DOESN'T KNOW that a large group of Thai's will join in just because they hate farangs!

Be honest Joeshead, up until then the Thais have pretended they are incredibly friendly - how is the tourist to know that this is not the case at all??

[davethailand]

I don't know what happend but after reading there were only 2 farangs and about 20 scumbags tuk tuk drivers it only amplifies my previous thoughts on them.

[JOESHEAD]

O.K., but you've made no attempt to answer the points raised in my post - all of it, not just the bit you've quoted - although I would appreciate a response to that too.

I kind of thought I just did!

You seemed to imply that tourists are lulled in to a false sense of security, and aren't aware that the Thai mentality can be to retaliate mob handed, and if they knew maybe they would behave themselves better. My response to that was tough, play with fire and you'll get burnt.

I also think your point is inaccurate because I believe the huge majority of tourists use Tuk Tuks without any negative feelings toward them or the driver, and that includes being happy to pay the price, which in holiday/tourist terms is pretty cheap. So as I said before, behave yourself, negotiate a price before you move and 99% of the time you will have no issues.

You also said several times, that Thais were beating up people, without knowing the reason, just because they hate Farangs. I would suggest that Thai people, that way inclined, would be just as quick to pile in if their mate was hitting another Thai. Mob mentality is just that, there isn't to much logic or thought involved.

[F1fanatic]

O.K., but you've made no attempt to answer the points raised in my post - all of it, not just the bit you've quoted - although I would appreciate a response to that too.

I kind of thought I just did!

You seemed to imply that tourists are lulled in to a false sense of security, and aren't aware that the Thai mentality can be to retaliate mob handed, and if they knew maybe they would behave themselves better. My response to that was tough, play with fire and you'll get burnt.

I also think your point is inaccurate because I believe the huge majority of tourists use Tuk Tuks without any negative feelings toward them or the driver, and that includes being happy to pay the price, which in holiday/tourist terms is pretty cheap. So as I said before, behave yourself, negotiate a price before you move and 99% of the time you will have no issues.

You also said several times, that Thais were beating up people, without knowing the reason, just because they hate Farangs. I would suggest that Thai people, that way inclined, would be just as quick to pile in if their mate was hitting another Thai. Mob mentality is just that, there isn't to much logic or thought involved.

I get your point now, but disagree that its OK to blame the tourists involved once "mob mentality" is added to the equation.

You're probably right that the men who piled in were friends of the tuk-tuk driver involved - but unless the tourists were beating up the tuk-tuk driver - they had no right to do anything other than involve the police. It sounds as if this was not the case but that they took the smallest opportunity to attack, mob handed. Why?

As I said before, the tuk-tuk drivers were working to make money from the drunk tourists. This is probably why they were looking for an excuse to beat up an annoying farang. But that's not good enough when that's how you make your money.

[JOESHEAD]

I didn't realize you knew the victims personally and had seen how this incident started. Glad we got that started out. We can close the book and the thread on this one now.

BTW, why do you keep saying everyone is feeling sorry for the tourists and everyone is blaming the Thai's that started it? The posts have been fairly neutral and balanced. Your creating an argument against a position which doesn't exist. Everyone here knows that the tourists may have done something to start this.

My discussion with 'F1fanatic' was talking in general terms and not referring to the original incident particularly, so your sarcasm, asking me if I knew the victims personally, is wasted.

I think my original post was as about balanced and neural as they come. I said the drivers were wrong to retaliate the way they did, but there is a good chance, if not in this case then certainly in others, that they instigated their own beating with their behaviour, to which I have no sympathy. My lack of sympathy doesn't change just because their punishment was harsher than it needed to be.

When 'NKMan' asked 'what will happen when 8 young guys on holiday refuse to get ripped off? he is undoubtedly implying that the tourists should be felt sorry for. When 'Thongkon' said 'people do silly things on holiday, you just let things go' he also was relieving the tourist of any blame. Just two examples of un-neutral posts, I'm sure there's plenty more.

When you made your OP, it was just another, good old Thai Visa, anti tuk tuk post, where things always get blown out of proportion (I think the post about Thai men beating up old grannies is the new target to beat) I just think if they're going to get the constant attention (a lot of it deserved) then the pond life Farang, that are more often than not at the center of all trouble, should get a fair mention as well.

[stevenl]

Why does a fight have to be fair, i thought it was to win?

[surangw]

a busy area ( tourists) and no videos or pictures have come out on this?

[JOESHEAD]

a busy area ( tourists) and no videos or pictures have come out on this?

Things like this are over as quick as they start. Unlikely footage will ever materialise. I would like to hear from the other Thai Visa members that witnessed the event, to hear if their account differs in any way from the OP. No disrespect 'Scubabuddha', I generally like your posts, but lets face it, 20 people was probably really 12 and I would guess no more than 8 of them landed any punches or kicks. Don't get me wrong that's still atrocious behaviour, but goes to show how things get exaggerated and blown way out of proportion. Think about it, 20 people around a Tuk Tuk! it would be physically impossible for them all to be actively involved. Unless they formed a queue of course. From the sound of the OP you would expect people to be on deaths door. The truth is probably a bruise or two. Again not making light of what happened, people just need to put a reality check on things.

[thepanicandthevomit]

a busy area ( tourists) and no videos or pictures have come out on this?

Things like this are over as quick as they start. Unlikely footage will ever materialise. I would like to hear from the other Thai Visa members that witnessed the event, to hear if their account differs in any way from the OP. No disrespect 'Scubabuddha', I generally like your posts, but lets face it, 20 people was probably really 12 and I would guess no more than 8 of them landed any punches or kicks. Don't get me wrong that's still atrocious behaviour, but goes to show how things get exaggerated and blown way out of proportion. Think about it, 20 people around a Tuk Tuk! it would be physically impossible for them all to be actively involved. Unless they formed a queue of course. From the sound of the OP you would expect people to be on deaths door. The truth is probably a bruise or two. Again not making light of what happened, people just need to put a reality check on things.

Extraordinary...

[thepanicandthevomit]

Hate-Own-Nationality-Bed-Wetting-Syndrome

I think you've missed the point of anuid's post.... it was not derogatory to Westerners.

I think you missed the point of my post!

[thepanicandthevomit]

When you made your OP, it was just another, good old Thai Visa, anti tuk tuk post, where things always get blown out of proportion (I think the post about Thai men beating up old grannies is the new target to beat) I just think if they're going to get the constant attention (a lot of it deserved) then the pond life Farang, that are more often than not at the center of all trouble, should get a fair mention as well.

You missed this one then chief?

Lovely, charming tuk tuk drivers, giving great service to the elderly

[F1fanatic]

I think you missed the point of my post!

Sorry, I should have been more specific - it was not derogatory to Westerners who have been here a while and have some idea of what's going on. If I've still got it wrong (and I may have! ) - I'm sorry.