Swiss Tourist assaulted by street vendors close to Pattaya Port



PATTAYA: -- In the early hours of Friday, Pattaya Police were called to the Bali Hai Port area to assist a Swiss Tourist who had allegedly been attacked by three Thai street vendors who were reportedly angry that he refused to purchase an item from them.

Police and medics arrived at the scene, close to the Pattaya Sea Rescue Control Center and met with Mr. Henri Kaspar aged 59. He had sustained a deep laceration to his head and told Police that the men used a stick to attack him as he was preparing to leave the area on his motorbike.

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Land of Smiles

Ok, I'll say it, Thainess?

Adds new meaning to the saying "buyer beware".

Humm, I've had 15 years of interactions with Thai street vendors and never been lacerated...and some bloke comes on a holiday and gets smacked in the face. I imagine he threw the F-bomb at them to which they didn't take kindly. Some people have to learn things the hard way.

Edited January 3, 201511 yr by OMGImInPattaya

I had a person in Mexico threaten to kill me when I walked away half through him painting a picture that I had no interest in purchasing to begin with.

shoulda bought something .....

i very much doubt venders are going to attack you because you didnt buy, he probably provoked them to get the reaction he did

Amazing, all these conjectures from people who were not even there............................

"Mai Ow" and "look away" is usually sufficent . Dont show interest in the junk sold on the street. Of course if you told the vendor the junk he is selling is junk he may not take kindly to the fact.

Edited January 3, 201511 yr by kingalfred

So in your worlds, a Thai street vendor has every right to physically attack someone? If a Thai street vendor doesn't like the way a potential customer acts, or doesn't like to be denied a sale, the proper recourse is to physically attack someone?

Let me give you another scenario: the man was walking and didn't respond to the various vendors hawking their wares. When the vendors became more aggressive in their sales pitch, the man told the Thai vendors (in his native language, of course) to leave him alone. The Thais deemed a refusal as a loss of face and attacked the man. This is probably more along the lines of what happened. And no, I wasn;t there. Neither were you.

Edited January 3, 201511 yr by Rimmer
Quoted troll post removed

I interact with street vendors all the time and never ever had a problem - other than sometimes having to deal with the hard sale. One can only guess what the hell set them off - and how he set off 3 at the same time.

For the sake of argument I will assume that it had something to do with the loss of face -- not at not buying -- but treating the vendors inappropriately.... Legally, the vendors were in the wrong and should have to face up to what they did. If the instigation was treating the vendor with disrespect - then I would not feel sorry for him..... sooner or later when you go around doing that someone is going to take offense and you are going to get into an altercation.... but then the lack of information leaves a lot open to guessing.

Troll post and replies removed

So in your worlds, a Thai street vendor has every right to physically attack someone? If a Thai street vendor doesn't like the way a potential customer acts, or doesn't like to be denied a sale, the proper recourse is to physically attack someone?

I don't think he said that at all.

What he was saying was "how one might choose to behave in order not to attract trouble".

I personally would act respectful and friendly at all times.

Much better than sustaining a laceration.

At the end of the day, the Swiss bloke, or anyone else, is able to act the way they choose.

Yes I agree with the others that said, something have fueled the anger of the street vendors.

Okay no excuses of beating up the guy but at least they didn't use knifes.

Be polite and respectful and this is very unlikely to happen.

Looks like an experienced pointer

First take a look to the picture than start to judge the vendors.

Thank you.

I have never attacked by any vendor for 10 years ...

Been to IndoChinaMarket in NongKhai recently. Whenever i stopped at a shop to look but didn't buy i received angry looks and some impolite gestures and remarks. This is not the way any sales person should ever react.

This is not only in Thailand but everywhere where there are lots of tourists.

Years ago in BKK i inadvertently stepped over a tiny Buddha image that was offered for sale on a small rag on the pavement. The seller and his mates almost killed me.

Wonder what they were selling in the early morning hours ?

Were the vendors drunk, was the tourist drunk ? All sober ? Don't believe.

Edited January 3, 201511 yr by maximillian

Land of Smiles

Yes, and LOIPDFWRAFHATHCDE too:

land of idiot pretty drunk falangs who run away from home and think here can do everything ...

That tourist looks $#!T-faced.

Humm, I've had 15 years of interactions with Thai street vendors and never been lacerated...and some bloke comes on a holiday and gets smacked in the face. I imagine he threw the F-bomb at them to which they didn't take kindly. Some people have to learn things the hard way.

Its mostly Americans and the lower class of Brits that use a lot of curses in their language not so sure if its the case of Swedes. I know that in my own language (Dutch) in general its not done a lot (unless you work in construction or something like that)

But dropping that word would certainly have angered them, its a good assumption for sure.

As long as he did not touch, as I've heard of stories of ppl handling items in stores and not buying with the clerk fuming. Unsure if these are embellished though. Also, when ppl look and make gestures/faces of food they don't understand or they deem unappetizing, I can see a Thai giving a crumpled face.

Been to IndoChinaMarket in NongKhai recently. Whenever i stopped at a shop to look but didn't buy i received angry looks and some impolite gestures and remarks. This is not the way any sales person should ever react.

This is not only in Thailand but everywhere where there are lots of tourists.

. I stay in Nong Khai all the time, never had a problem, Most are Thai Chinese if that makes a difference...

so in the middle of being attacked, he had time to take out his camera and start recording? seems fishy

This is horrendous.

I fear it's going to increase as revenues drop, compounded by Thailand's ever diminishing reputation as a safe destination.

To those who immediately suggest that probably the Swiss guy had it coming might have a point. Maybe he was rude.

But if this story reaches Switzerland, we can expect less tourists from Switzerland and Europe. The Swiss are known to be amongst the most innocuous, peaceable and dead boring people on earth. As tourists they are coveted by everyone.

This can't be right, only yesterday in Pattaya Mail....

"He [a vendor] maintained that vendors help Pattaya by keeping an eye out for bag snatchers and thieves, as well as keeping the beach clean. Yet, he grumbled, vendors are always looked down upon"

Yes I agree with the others that said, something have fueled the anger of the street vendors.

Okay no excuses of beating up the guy but at least they didn't use knifes.

Be polite and respectful and this is very unlikely to happen.

Yeah right, be polite, respectful even if someone is bothering you non stop. You could add to the list "be submitted and a total pussy".

Gosh some expats have totally lost their balls.

My grand father's expat neighbor was attacked after he was badly bitten by a men dogs and, after he denied paying for pay for the hospital bills, he reported the fact to the police.

Just because you have never had problems with locals it does not mean others don't. Besides, being a tourist in Thailand does not require one to be informed of every behavior a local may find "disrespectful".

In normal countries if a vendor bothers you just tell him "take a hike pal".

If tourism to Thailand requires an instructions manual it's not the tourist wrong, it's a country gone crazy.

In other words: Thainess.

Edited January 3, 201511 yr by Nakajima

Was the Swiss guy speaking French, German, Italian or English? If he really was not happy with the vendors, I'm sure he would say something bad in his native language, not an F bomb in English. Maybe these Thai vendors were multilingual. No matter the situation, assault is not the answer to an unhappy potential customer.

Troll post all in Caps removed

Probably due to his body language etc when refusing to buy. If you start behaving like a chimp, you'll be treated as a chimp.

I hope you are intentionally trying to be funny. If not, your post is extraordinarily ignorant, even for this board, which is really saying something.