Woman Beaten Unconscious On Phuket Beach

[webfact]

Woman beaten unconscious on Phuket beach

Surin Beach fruit vendor Maiwadee Tonglaw at Thalang Hospital.

Photo: Yodsak Jarana

PHUKET: -- A young woman selling fruit on Surin Beach was beaten unconscious in broad daylight by attackers allegedly representing a local restaurant, the victim’s father said.

Sawang Tonglaw, who heads a group of vendors on Surin Beach, and 15 fellow vendors, took their case to Phuket Provincial Hall today, citing a history of intimidation and death threats against them.

The final straw came on Friday when Mr Sawang’s daughter, Maiwadee Tonglaw, 24, was viciously attacked while selling fruit on the beach.

Ms Maiwadee was selling to Thai and foreign tourists at about 10am in front of a beach restaurant when six men representing the restaurant approached her, Mr Sawang said.

The men threatened to kill her if she didn’t stop selling fruit in front of the restaurant. They then began punching her and repeatedly beat her with a chair until she was unconscious, Mr Sawang said.

The men also threw her fruit and money into the sea, he added.

Ms Maiwadee remains in Thalang Hospital. She suffered injuries to her neck and head.

Although this was the first time she had been physically attacked, Mr Sawang said that his daughter had in the past received repeated death threats from the owner of the restaurant as she walked by selling fruit.

Ms Maiwadee refused to be intimidated and eventually faced the wrath of the owner, the group of vendors alleged.

At their meeting today with Vice Governor Weerawat Janpen and other officials, the Surin Beach vendors explained that many of them had been threatened by staff of the same restaurant.

“The owner of the restaurant always shows himself to be some kind of mafia by threatening beach vendors,” Mr Sawang said.

“We have been selling food on Surin Beach for decades out of stalls or by walking along the beach. This restaurant is [relatively] new,” he explained.

The vendors, fearing that they are getting a raw deal, asked the provincial government to assist in “controlling” the restaurant in question, and to investigate whether or not it is operating in a proper zone.

They also asked that the “mafia” who beat Ms Maiwadee be prosecuted, and asked for security measures to be put in place for the protection of local people and tourists.

V/Gov Weerawat ordered Thalang District Chief Naruenart Supattaraprateep and Cherng Talay Police Superintendant Col Witun Kongsudjai to investigate the claims.

The men responsible for attacking Ms Maiwadee will be prosecuted, V/Gov Weerawat said.

-- Phuket Gazette 2011-01-10

[Wallaby]

This kind of shit sickens me.

[jonclark]

six men against one women, what a bunch of cowards. Says it all about the Thai mafia really.

[tonititan]

six men against one women, what a bunch of cowards.

Exactly. How miserable & pathetic those men must be. I only wish we knew the name of the restaurant . Assuming this is all true, I would make sure to NEVER go there!

[JUDAS]

Total filth. The six things are probably sitting together now with a few beers telling each other how tough they are....

[softgeorge]

Words can't say enough about people like this. This woman was trying to scrape out an honest living by selling fruit and is set upon by animals.

[happyrobert]

And the sad thing is they were probably actually trying to kill her ..... just so they could sell some more 30 baht phad thai.

Yes, how about the name of the restaurant? Anyone?

[craigt3365]

And the sad thing is they were probably actually trying to kill her ..... just so they could sell some more 30 baht phad thai.

Yes, how about the name of the restaurant? Anyone?

As you may know, naming and shaming is not permitted on ThaiVisa. Warnings and suspensions will be given if this occurs.

[bbradsby]

Craig3365, as it will be a criminal case, when charges are reported in the media I'm assuming the names of the defendants and their establishment could be repeated here as easily as the original post? This would be reporting, not shaming/naming. Any issues I'm missing?

[ginjag]

And the sad thing is they were probably actually trying to kill her ..... just so they could sell some more 30 baht phad thai.

Yes, how about the name of the restaurant? Anyone?

As you may know, naming and shaming is not permitted on ThaiVisa. Warnings and suspensions will be given if this occurs.

How sick can you get, apart from the greed aspect of it, 1-1 is still wrong, but this, ugh. tourism suffers again, who saw it, who reads it-- will again have an impact on poss re visits.

[Sinblesser]

six men against one women, what a bunch of cowards. Says it all about the Thai mafia really.

I think it's more like mafia wannabes. Had it been hardcore mafias, it'll prolly be more towards the direction of a drive-by...

2 satangs from me, no offense intended to anyone,

Sinblesser

[pedro01]

Thai men are nothing more than a bunch of unendowed, sexually confused, drunk, lazy and cowardly little Lilliputians. No wonder their women flock to us! Let their little Lollypop League mafia try this crap in Brooklyn. That restaraunt would be embers today and the fish in the East River would be enjoying Thai food!

You do realise that this description actually tells us volumes about you and not Thai men, right?

"No wonder their women flock to us" - Lordy... One can only imagine the high class of woman 'flocking' to you...

[thaiphoon]

Craig3365, as it will be a criminal case, when charges are reported in the media I'm assuming the names of the defendants and their establishment could be repeated here as easily as the original post? This would be reporting, not shaming/naming. Any issues I'm missing?

As/when it is reported in mainstream press it can be reported and discussed here too. Until then the mention of names is out of bounds. This is to protect members (and to a lesser extent ThaiVisa) from the harsh laws of libel/defamation that exist in Thailand.

[TAWP]

And the sad thing is they were probably actually trying to kill her ..... just so they could sell some more 30 baht phad thai.

Yes, how about the name of the restaurant? Anyone?

As you may know, naming and shaming is not permitted on ThaiVisa. Warnings and suspensions will be given if this occurs.

Oh, we are not naming and shaming, we are merely asking for facts as to where this happened, infront of which restaurant...if it happened infront of McDonalds on Silom, it would be written out...

[crazydrummerpauly]

To the routine annoyance of people within ear-shot, I can normally talk for England,

but this report, assuming it is totally accurate, makes me speechless with gloom and

sorrow.

Anyone else having second/third/fourth....thoughts about living in this cruel land ?

(given the endless stream of bad-news....perhaps just stop reading TV altogether.)

And before anyone jumps up with the usual: Bad things happen everywhere, even

in cuddly England...absolutely right....but I bet you cannot come up with any story of

a gang descending on and beating a lone woman for trying to sell a few items of fruit ?

Behind all the gold decor, posing in pastel shirts, and quaint mannerisms, Cruel LOS ?

[Beetlejuice]

The men responsible for attacking Ms Maiwadee will be prosecuted, V/Gov Weerawat said.

Like hell they will.

It appears these thugs have a free hand otherwise they would all be in jail awaiting trial right now.

The police are not really interested because the victim is not a person of wealth and considered of little significance. The police stand to gain nothing by enforcing the law for this poor kid and as usual they would prefer that this matter is forgotten and if left alone it will go away.

Who says that there will be no follow-ups to this story in the media? Place your bets here please.

[Tropicalevo]

To the routine annoyance of people within ear-shot, I can normally talk for England,

but this report, assuming it is totally accurate, makes me speechless with gloom and

sorrow.

Anyone else having second/third/fourth....thoughts about living in this cruel land ?

(given the endless stream of bad-news....perhaps just stop reading TV altogether.)

And before anyone jumps up with the usual: Bad things happen everywhere, even

in cuddly England...absolutely right....but I bet you cannot come up with any story of

a gang descending on and beating a lone woman for trying to sell a few items of fruit ?

Behind all the gold decor, posing in pastel shirts, and quaint mannerisms, Cruel LOS ?

It is sad for the lady, and I hope that she recovers soon. But.....................................

You are right - there will not be a case of people beating up others over selling fruit, on a beach in England.

1 they cannot afford the fruit

2 the local council would not let them sell it on the beach

3 the health and safety people would demand that they wear protective clothing 'in case it was tainted'

4 it's too cold on the beach

In all of my time of living in Thailand, this is the first time that I have heard of this. What does an isolated incident have to do with 'cruel LOS'?

In the UK yesterday there was a case of 'sexual grooming by two Asians on white girls'. (Not the first case.) Cruel LOS ?- I almost choked on my BBQ sweetcorn.

[MJP]

And the sad thing is they were probably actually trying to kill her ..... just so they could sell some more 30 baht phad thai.

Yes, how about the name of the restaurant? Anyone?

No, if they wanted to do that they would have just shot her. I remember a few years back a lady that owned a restaurant/resort on Samet, shot and killed over providing her own transport arrangements for guests. Another shot in the heart then the mouth for something to do with parking in Ban Phe, right outside a friends restaurant, broad daylight.

Seen these creatures toting semi-autos at people, in front of tourists on the pier there.

[Cobalt60]

How is it that when anything like this happens as sure as eggs are eggs we will get a justification reply that this sort of stuff happens everywhere in the world, and hence its not really a problem.

We are'nt in any other part of the world, we are on Thai visa discussing a Thai incident, involving Thai thugs.

[xen]

Yes it is terrible and i feel for the lady concerned. I think that whenever or however the restaurant becomes known (without naming & shaming on TV) that everybody who knows about this incidence boycotts the restaurant. I realize that some people will not give a stuff but it is the only weapon we can wield against this type of thuggery.

[Northbank]

To the routine annoyance of people within ear-shot, I can normally talk for England,

but this report, assuming it is totally accurate, makes me speechless with gloom and

sorrow.

Anyone else having second/third/fourth....thoughts about living in this cruel land ?

(given the endless stream of bad-news....perhaps just stop reading TV altogether.)

And before anyone jumps up with the usual: Bad things happen everywhere, even

in cuddly England...absolutely right....but I bet you cannot come up with any story of

a gang descending on and beating a lone woman for trying to sell a few items of fruit ?

Behind all the gold decor, posing in pastel shirts, and quaint mannerisms, Cruel LOS ?

No your right... this kind of shit just doesn't happen in England or the U.S. ... we are far too civilised for groups of men to be beating the shit out of defenseless women for something as petty as selling goods on someone elses supposed turf.

But doing it for fun..now that's a different matter..

Heres a little selection it took me all of 10 seconds to find...

http://www.createpeaceathome.org/streetspirit/2005/april2005/womanmurdered.htm

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/1490182.Woman_beaten_by_thugs_may_never_work_again/

http://www.topix.com/forum/afam/TITNDJ7QUMN101RSI

By all means be disgusted at what happened to this woman...undoubtedly these guys are scum...but don't give it the self righteous 'this shit don't happen back home' nonsense, because it does and far worse...And if you watch some of the documentaries on Chinese cockle pickers on the beaches of England the exact same shit happens ...

[surangw]

Whatever happens, the person(s) that hired these scum should get punished to the full extent of the law ( like that will happen)

and, with all the tourists, no one got a video of the incident?

[Benjie]

And the sad thing is they were probably actually trying to kill her ..... just so they could sell some more 30 baht phad thai.

Yes, how about the name of the restaurant? Anyone?

Dunno about that, restaurants pay millions a year just to use the beach, It's big money for someone.

[aridion]

How many thai men does it take to beat up a defensless woman? Sad and frightening.

[TheLaughingMan]

How many thai men does it take to beat up a defensless woman? Sad and frightening.

Six, apparently.

I am constantly amazed at people trying to white wash the most evil behaviour using various methods, most common being, it happens everywhere. Im sorry but in Canada we do not have a culture of 6 men beating on a lone woman, we simply do not, you might find one lone crazy that is capable at any one time but 6 men together all sharing the same evil outlook on life and perpetrating in public with no shame whatsoever? Not a common event like it is here. There is a basic sense of right and wrong that is simply completely missing in this country.

[naiharn]

To the routine annoyance of people within ear-shot, I can normally talk for England,

but this report, assuming it is totally accurate, makes me speechless with gloom and

sorrow.

Anyone else having second/third/fourth....thoughts about living in this cruel land ?

(given the endless stream of bad-news....perhaps just stop reading TV altogether.)

And before anyone jumps up with the usual: Bad things happen everywhere, even

in cuddly England...absolutely right....but I bet you cannot come up with any story of

a gang descending on and beating a lone woman for trying to sell a few items of fruit ?

Behind all the gold decor, posing in pastel shirts, and quaint mannerisms, Cruel LOS ?

No your right... this kind of shit just doesn't happen in England or the U.S. ... we are far too civilised for groups of men to be beating the shit out of defenseless women for something as petty as selling goods on someone elses supposed turf.

But doing it for fun..now that's a different matter..

Heres a little selection it took me all of 10 seconds to find...

http://www.createpea...manmurdered.htm

http://www.theargus....ver_work_again/

http://www.topix.com...TNDJ7QUMN101RSI

By all means be disgusted at what happened to this woman...undoubtedly these guys are scum...but don't give it the self righteous 'this shit don't happen back home' nonsense, because it does and far worse...And if you watch some of the documentaries on Chinese cockle pickers on the beaches of England the exact same shit happens ...

Just looking at the 3 disgusting incidents you quoted I noticed these facts:

"Police arrested Jarell Johnson, 18, and have charged him with King's murder. They are still looking for a second assailant."

"Police arrested three men in Havelock Road after the 9pm attack on Saturday. The rest of the gang ran to their double decker bus to escape but police caught up with them and arrested another three men."

"The bus driver on the No. 27 line quickly called police, who responded and arrested the nine juveniles, said Jawauna Greene, an MTA police spokeswoman. All nine suspects, ages 14 and 15, were arrested and charged with aggravated assault."

Whereas, in Thailand, the police do nothing. Relatives of the victim have to go to Town Hall to demand action, and only when it becomes a media story do the authorities start making promises that the police will actually do something. Pathetic.

"V/Gov Weerawat ordered Thalang District Chief Naruenart Supattaraprateep and Cherng Talay Police Superintendant Col Witun Kongsudjai to investigate the claims." <---- No, this should read: "Gov Weerawat fired police chiefs Naruenart and Witun for failing in their duty"!!!

[retiredusn]

Once again a lot folks have nothing better too do than jump on the band wagon, lets get the other side of the story before hanging anyone it "could have been another woman that did it?"

[Buchholz]

There's additional information on the attack in 2 articles at the other unquotable Phuket news source, but still no establishment is specifically named in either.

[jackr]

I am constantly amazed at people trying to white wash the most evil behaviour using various methods, most common being, it happens everywhere. Im sorry but in Canada we do not have a culture of 6 men beating on a lone woman, we simply do not, you might find one lone crazy that is capable at any one time but 6 men together all sharing the same evil outlook on life and perpetrating in public with no shame whatsoever? Not a common event like it is here. There is a basic sense of right and wrong that is simply completely missing in this country.

You will always get that from the 'in denial' contingent who don't want to hear how dark it can be here.

[jackr]

Once again a lot folks have nothing better too do than jump on the band wagon, lets get the other side of the story before hanging anyone it "could have been another woman that did it?"

And then there's those who would ask for clarification even on seeing something with their own eyes. Is it so hard to believe, and even if it were a woman, would that make it any less backward from the point of view of the restaurant.

Not the best move on their part as even fruit sellers know people who know people. Don't be surprised to hear of a restaurant being torched on Surin Beach in the not too distant future.