Foreigner Assaulted At Bangkok BTS Station By Security Guard - Police Launch Investigation

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

My God... Do some posters still think the video shows the whole story? It has been repeated several million times now, he was hit before the video started, it was filmed by a person who noticed this hitting, and the guy is obviously in a different state of mind.

If I was hit in the head by a BTS guard for whatever reason or no reason at all, I doubt very much I'd respond like a crazed maniac... especially in front of my young daughter.

If I was refused access to the BTS system because I was carrying graduation balloons, I doubt very much I'd be kicking over trash cans and throwing a fit.

If I somehow got into an altercation with a Thai security guard about anything, I doubt very much I'd be so totally out of control that my companion would have to horse collar me around the neck and I'd be kicking at a female station attendant in the process.

But you're right about one thing, people who ACT like jerks in public really ought to go back wherever they came from.

[sparebox2]

In the latest interview clip, the teacher seems like a pretty decent down-to-earth guy.

But the person we saw in the video charging through the gate, kicking out at the security guard seemed like a different person altogether.

Similar to a person in road rage...full of blind anger.

Yes, after the hang over is over.

If he had gone to the police straight away, the BIB could have smell it from a mile away.

Edited March 23, 2012 by sparebox2

[Soutpeel]

If I was hit in the head by a BTS guard for whatever reason or no reason at all, I doubt very much I'd respond like a crazed maniac... especially in front of my young daughter.

Well I bl**dy would and said security guard would be in hospital getting the metal detector surgically removed from his bottom

Edited March 23, 2012 by Soutpeel

[Soutpeel]

People clearly cannot be serious when they somehow want to excuse in any way this guys behavior because they don't understand or agree with the legal rules of the BTS which this guy was not forced to take. In this case it is about not bringing filled balloons onboard ... just as they are banned on planes. Regardless if there was a sign posted or not is completely irrelevant as the guy was told he couldn't bring the balloons onboard (and he admits to understanding this) and his reaction was to become loud and unruley and then kick garbage can(s) which was what started the downhill slide of this incident ... the incident was not started because of a rule, the incident was about somebody refusing to obey the rules and the resulting actions that ensued.

It also appears there may not be any video of the original incident but both sides agree with the above being what happened. After that the farang says he was hit in an unprovoked way by security while security says they were defending themselves while trying to prevent the foreigner from destroying BTS property.

Another part where there is a tape is that the farang says he was attacked once again on the train platform when the train arrived. He says the tape doesn't show him being attacked but shows the security people around him.

I can assure you there will be footage of the whole incident start to finish and BTS managment have already reviewed the footage and result...apology & flowers to farang and fire the guard...their actions speak volumes as to what really transpired

[Nisa]

What we know to date ...

Foreigner admits he understood security from the get go in their telling him he could not go on the train with balloons.

Foreigner admits he argued and began kicking trash can(s) because he was upset about being told he couldn't ride with balloons.

At some point during or after the trash can incident and before the video starts the farang is injured by BTS security .

The video clearly shows the an out of control farang attacking security and BTS staff who are being calm and reserved in the video and not using any force. The farang still refusing to follow direction and rules heads up to the subway.

Foreigner says he was attacked once again on the platform upstairs but says he saw the CCTV and says it doesn't show this attack but shows security around him.

Farang presses charges against BTS and but doesn't want to file charges against any security guards.

BTS apologizes for incident, suspends guard and disciplines others while trying to downplay the foreigners actions by saying it may have been miscommunication due to lack of fluent English by security.

Edited March 23, 2012 by Nisa

[jbauer]

I never said the guy was a saint- he obviously made some bad calls, though I feel many here seem to think they would be above these actions in the same situation (these people obviously have never been frustrated with inane rules, or been impatient, or indeed been hit on the head before).

Those who say he should know the rules- well, I guess not everyone is as perfect as you. Those who say you should do exactly as an authority figure tells you, without hesistation or question- maybe you've been here too long...

Regardless, the hitting was a disproportionate response and could have been lethal. At best it shows extremely poor judgment and training (don't say TIT, this is an employee of a symbol of the very heart of the capital city of a country known for its tourism trade!). At worst- I don't want to speculate what it shows.

[EyesWideOpen]

On top of this, some are claiming that because BTS fired the guard it must have been his fault. It is it really any surprise that they threw him under the bus?

Batter someone round the head with a metal detector and then next day gets fired....naah couldnt have been his fault as cant see the connection between the two events....or could it be that on the BTS station surveillance footage in all its glorious technicolor, a security is guard beating someone round the head after a verbal confrontation ?.....said footage goes to BTS lawyers who suggest they get rid of Corporal Somchai and send some flowers as they may face a civil claim from the farang for pain and suffering caused by one of their employee's ?....

Based on the speed of the BTS's response, pretty sure the evidence they have is pretty conclusive, as if it was a wrongful dismissial, the BTS could face a labour court case by the security guard, as we know in Thailand the laws for dismissal are pretty tight and favour the employee, therefore they would not dismiss him based on a whim, there have been valid grounds for immediate dismissal and pretty sure beating someone round the head with a metal detector would fall into this catagory under the labour law...

If it was fully the farang's fault the video would have been released already publically to defend the BTS's side of events

I agree. If the CCTV footage showed the farang striking the Thai guard, the footage would have been released in hours. Like all stories on TV, full information is never known so there is always quite a bit of extrapolation on these threads.... But not releasing the footage, apologizing, firing the guard and then sending flowers to the farang are not the actions of an innocent party. So clearly BTS is following the advice of their legal team. And as many people have noted, the video is really only showing the aftermath of him being hit. So the fact he appears angry is pretty understandable to me........I actually think he is showing amazing restraint in not continuing the fight, after being bashed in front of his daughter. My response would have been much different...

Edited March 23, 2012 by EyesWideOpen

[sparebox2]

Of the 2, I wonder who is less smart?

The Thai or the Farang?

[jbauer]

Who is smarter?

What does it matter?

But the foreigner doesn't seem to have done anything which could have killed anyone...

[Soutpeel]

What we know to date ...

Foreigner admits he understood security from the get go in their telling him he could not go on the train with balloons.

Foreigner admits he argued and began kicking trash can(s) because he was upset about being told he couldn't ride with balloons.

At some point during or after the trash can incident and before the video starts the farang is injured by BTS security .

The video clearly shows the an out of control farang attacking security and BTS staff who are being calm and reserved in the video and not using any force. The farang still refusing to follow direction and rules heads up to the subway.

Foreigner says he was attacked once again on the platform upstairs but says he saw the CCTV and says it doesn't show this attack but shows security around him.

Farang presses charges against BTS and but doesn't want to file charges against any security guards.

BTS apologizes for incident, suspends guard and disciplines others while trying to downplay the foreigners actions by saying it may have been miscommunication due to lack of fluent English by security.

"Nisa" me old fruit one of these days the rosey tinted spectacles are going to come off...you cant be a Thai apologist for ever

[Soutpeel]

But the foreigner doesn't seem to have done anything which could have killed anyone...

I believe the trash can he kicked is in ICU...does that count

[Ferangled]

My God... Do some posters still think the video shows the whole story? It has been repeated several million times now, he was hit before the video started, it was filmed by a person who noticed this hitting, and the guy is obviously in a different state of mind.

If I was hit in the head by a BTS guard for whatever reason or no reason at all, I doubt very much I'd respond like a crazed maniac... especially in front of my young daughter.

If I was refused access to the BTS system because I was carrying graduation balloons, I doubt very much I'd be kicking over trash cans and throwing a fit.

If I somehow got into an altercation with a Thai security guard about anything, I doubt very much I'd be so totally out of control that my companion would have to horse collar me around the neck and I'd be kicking at a female station attendant in the process.

Then you must applaud yourself for your self proclaimed levels of self control.... however fictitious they may be as you have not actually been in this situation.

I'm sure some people, perhaps you being one, would have immediately dropped the balloons and run for the exit. Others would not react in that manner, such is life.

I know from experience that if I am physically attacked I tend to react with anger and aggression. I am not condoning that behavior but it is after all part of our make up as human beings - the fight or flight syndrome. There's little avoiding it and it's difficult to know how you will react until you are put in a certain situation.

I think it's a great credit to the Irish guy that he has acknowledged he should have acted better and despite the savage assault is prepared to drop the charges, forgive and move on.

I do also applaud the BTS in their swift action & apology but honestly expect this had certain legal motivation. Companies rarely act in such cases without legal advice.

[katana]

Could be, or maybe he was visiting a sick friend in hospital, or saying confession at the local church, or doing some shopping, or making IEDs in his backyard.... let's speculate on that, shall we?

I guess it is fairly misleading to have the video at the start of this thread which shows only the aftermath of the assault. Obviously most of the hang em high mob here is convinced the video shows the event from begining to end

This is a man coming back from his daughters graduation and the balloons were given to her on that day. She is 7 and she obviously felt the ballons were special. They already been on other bts trains that day with the balloons and they were on their way home. A guard tried to stop the father from entering the turnstiles with the balloons even though his daughter had already gone through.

What happened next is unclear but we know the father was hit on the head with a metal detector. When the video starts he already has blood running down his face.

Ok now judge the man based on the video posted here and the missing information we do not have.

If you watch the Thai news report from Ch 3 you will see this event occurred at 8:30 P.M. What have they been doing between the time the graduation finished and the time of the event? My guess is slamming down a few pints.

According to the wife's report of the day's events posted up on the BTS website, the husband and work colleague had picked up the daughter from school to take her home. The train came into Phrom Phong station and they got off and went for a meal in a restaurant to celebrate her graduating from kindergarten. The altercation took place after leaving the restaurant when they returned to Phrom Phong station to continue their onward journey home to Aree station.

Maybe (or not) some hours to account for there.

http://www.bts.co.th....aspx?id=503881

[taninthai]

People clearly cannot be serious when they somehow want to excuse in any way this guys behavior because they don't understand or agree with the legal rules of the BTS which this guy was not forced to take. In this case it is about not bringing filled balloons onboard ... just as they are banned on planes. Regardless if there was a sign posted or not is completely irrelevant as the guy was told he couldn't bring the balloons onboard (and he admits to understanding this) and his reaction was to become loud and unruley and then kick garbage can(s) which was what started the downhill slide of this incident ... the incident was not started because of a rule, the incident was about somebody refusing to obey the rules and the resulting actions that ensued.

It also appears there may not be any video of the original incident but both sides agree with the above being what happened. After that the farang says he was hit in an unprovoked way by security while security says they were defending themselves while trying to prevent the foreigner from destroying BTS property.

Another part where there is a tape is that the farang says he was attacked once again on the train platform when the train arrived. He says the tape doesn't show him being attacked but shows the security people around him.

I can assure you there will be footage of the whole incident start to finish and BTS managment have already reviewed the footage and result...apology & flowers to farang and fire the guard...their actions speak volumes as to what really transpired

Completely agree now now if Nisa can just read this and then read it again and stop pushing her views onto everyone at every chance , this is probably as much as you are ever going to find out about what actually happened

[sydneyjed]

And the latest from Andrew Drummond and the long awaited exclusive interview...Surprised he's still alive to be honest and not already swinging the way half of you self righteous baboons have judged him....

http://www.andrew-drummond.com/view-story.php?sid=529

[KunMatt]

Regardless, the hitting was a disproportionate response and could have been lethal. At best it shows extremely poor judgment and training

Although you are probably correct, this is speculation. None of us have seen or have any reliable facts as to what happened during the initial part of this incident in terms of his injury. The only thing we know as it is admitted by both sides is the guy became extremely upset and began kicking BTS property. He then claims he was assaulted in an unprovoked attack by BTS staff while BTS staff said they tried to stop the guy from destroying BTS property when he attacked them and they defended themselves.

Where I am guessing you are right is that I am guessing he should not have been hit with the walkie talkie because I doubt the guards feared for their lives but I am guessing the guard probably had the handheld in his hand (possibly calling for help) when he was pushed or hit and then instinctively struck back. But even if this was the case it should not be excusable as it is a disproportional response.

No that isn't speculation - that is a fact.

Nisa, you're a self perpetuating cycle of illegible rants, verbally lashing out at anyone who even hints at having a differing opinion, content be damned! Don't worry - your opinion is already crystal clear and doesn't need to be rammed home; Thai is right, Ferang is wrong, whatever the topic, whatever the facts. It gets rather boring after a while...

Why are you even trying to have a conversation with him?? I've come to believe that he is not a real person but just a computer bot with two lines of programming: Thai perfect; Farang evil.

Its always the same single viewpoint stretched out over the entire day, every single day, even when nobody is talking to him.

[jbauer]

I almost clicked on "like" for Nisa's last post... almost...

However, Unadulterated- if it was trying to provoke a response, why would a (written in English, but still Thai) newspaper give it such a headline? If they are trying to get a positive response for themselves, they would have reversed it into "Thai guards assaulted by Farang" or something...

[taninthai]

Regardless, the hitting was a disproportionate response and could have been lethal. At best it shows extremely poor judgment and training

Although you are probably correct, this is speculation. None of us have seen or have any reliable facts as to what happened during the initial part of this incident in terms of his injury. The only thing we know as it is admitted by both sides is the guy became extremely upset and began kicking BTS property. He then claims he was assaulted in an unprovoked attack by BTS staff while BTS staff said they tried to stop the guy from destroying BTS property when he attacked them and they defended themselves.

Where I am guessing you are right is that I am guessing he should not have been hit with the walkie talkie because I doubt the guards feared for their lives but I am guessing the guard probably had the handheld in his hand (possibly calling for help) when he was pushed or hit and then instinctively struck back. But even if this was the case it should not be excusable as it is a disproportional response.

No that isn't speculation - that is a fact.

Nisa, you're a self perpetuating cycle of illegible rants, verbally lashing out at anyone who even hints at having a differing opinion, content be damned! Don't worry - your opinion is already crystal clear and doesn't need to be rammed home; Thai is right, Ferang is wrong, whatever the topic, whatever the facts. It gets rather boring after a while...

Don't know about boring but definitely annoying every 2 minutes they post the dame crap up....

[Nisa]

I almost clicked on "like" for Nisa's last post... almost...

However, Unadulterated- if it was trying to provoke a response, why would a (written in English, but still Thai) newspaper give it such a headline? If they are trying to get a positive response for themselves, they would have reversed it into "Thai guards assaulted by Farang" or something...

I am still trying to figure out why so many of the news stories continue to say the youtube video shows the guy being assaulted by security when "the youtube video" shows the opposite.

[elwood]

If Thai guard struck first it was probably a sneaky, sucker blow from behind. Delivered by someone safe in the knowledge that should he subsequently start getting his arse kicked by farang, he'll be baled out by half a dozen Thais, all eager to have a cheap shot at said farang.

My take on things, probably a narrow minded one, but I've lost count of how many unfair fights I've seen in Thailand, and that includes Thai on Thai. Fight fair, lads, then maybe we wont always jump to conclusions.

Your comment that your opinion is probably a narrow minded one is about the only sensible part of your post.

Let the Thais fight fair eh, just like they always do in Romford on a Saturday night, or any night or day for that matter.

From a Southend boy.

[Reasonableman]

Also interesting that whatever the story, the self-appointed White Knight and Defender of the Faith gallops in to defend the realm and denigrate the farang, without caring about the facts. Guilty until proven innocent.

I almost clicked on "like" for Nisa's last post... almost...

However, Unadulterated- if it was trying to provoke a response, why would a (written in English, but still Thai) newspaper give it such a headline? If they are trying to get a positive response for themselves, they would have reversed it into "Thai guards assaulted by Farang" or something...

I am still trying to figure out why so many of the news stories continue to say the youtube video shows the guy being assaulted by security when "the youtube video" shows the opposite.

[metisdead]

Posts that are of the denier-apologist line been removed. Bickering posts have removed.

Some people may need to take the time and READ the topics that are running on this subject and gather some of the insight observed by other members. It is not a conspiracy as to why one specific person was noticed taking a video of the incident, have you noticed how many cell phones have cameras now days?

As to the use of headlines, perhaps you should question the news sources, i.e. Tan Network, The Nation, etcetera, as discussing that here is off topic and poor netiquette.

Comments on moderation have been removed as per forum rule. If you have a problem with that, send an email to [email protected] and discuss there.

EDIT: Read the topics and gather your conclusions therein. Another post removed.

Edited March 23, 2012 by metisdead

[KeyserSoze01]

And the latest from Andrew Drummond and the long awaited exclusive interview...Surprised he's still alive to be honest and not already swinging the way half of you self righteous baboons have judged him....

http://www.andrew-dr...ory.php?sid=529

Interesting that this was the first we have read where Behan was attacked a second time on the platform, by several guards beating him with batons. The plot thickens and most likely the reason the BTS formally apologized. I doubt we will ever see the CTV video though as it will cause a loss of face for the the BTS.

[thaifkrlim]

the problem was caused by misunderstanding, misunderstanding worsens when they dont speak the same language

[balo]

And this is a respected teacher?

If he really been living in Bangkok for a long time and been travelling on BTS during the rush hours , he should know better.

How can you bring baloons inside the trains, its gas , and it can be dangerous. Of course the guards warned him. Did he listen ? No

So many balloons, he was clearly told they were not allowed inside, if he had a brain he should have known better. No sympathy from me.

.

[KunMatt]

And the latest from Andrew Drummond and the long awaited exclusive interview...Surprised he's still alive to be honest and not already swinging the way half of you self righteous baboons have judged him....

http://www.andrew-dr...ory.php?sid=529

Interesting that this was the first we have read where Behan was attacked a second time on the platform, by several guards beating him with batons. The plot thickens and most likely the reason the BTS formally apologized. I doubt we will ever see the CTV video though as it will cause a loss of face for the the BTS.

What is most interesting is that once both of the tapes come out showing the guy getting beaten over the head by the guard before entering the station and then later being attacked by all of the guards in front of his daughter as he was departing the station, is that the record of Nisa's and other Thai backing apologist's comments in this thread will remain here forever to show how completely biased and quick to jump on any anti farang topic they are before knowing any of the facts.

I dont think the Irish guy is lying in that interview and subsequent action taken by the BTS seems to confirm what he is saying.

Bring on the tapes...

[edwardandtubs]

And the latest from Andrew Drummond and the long awaited exclusive interview...Surprised he's still alive to be honest and not already swinging the way half of you self righteous baboons have judged him....

http://www.andrew-dr...ory.php?sid=529

In the interview on Thai television they didn't put subtitles or even try to explain what he was saying, so 99% of Thai people have no idea what his side of the story is. It's interesting that he wants the CCTV released but the BTS doesn't. That says it all.

[HereIAm]

Well, if the recording started only after (and because) some violence preceded, there is still no excuse for dealing with security guards the way that foreigner did. Would he have done the same in an airport if security threw out his water bottle ? There is simply no excuse for trashy behaviour. The guy lost it, plain. And if it's true that BTS apologised it's a black day for security guards everywhere. How many kids watching this trashy behaviour would want to take up security as a profession if their employers are going to apologise and suspend guards for doing their job ? It's the job of a bulldog to be a bulldog. You don't bite the bulldog because he barked at you.

[metisdead]

A post general flame post has been removed.

[edwardandtubs]

The guy lost it, plain. And if it's true that BTS apologised it's a black day for security guards everywhere. How many kids watching this trashy behaviour would want to take up security as a profession if their employers are going to apologise and suspend guards for doing their job ?

I don't think many kids dream of being security guards anyway.