Swiss Tourist assaulted by street vendors close to Pattaya Port

[umbanda]

He just forgot to smile. .....

In Thailand if you looks and act upset...you will get an upseting response...from everybody and for any reason.

Edited January 3, 2015 by umbanda

[wangsuda]

He just forgot to smile. .....

In Thailand if you looks and act upset...you will get an upseting response...from everybody and for any reason.

So should Thailand should post a world-wide warning that upsetting the locals leads to bodily harm? Give me a break.

[Dogmatix]

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.

It was nice of them not to stab him but they used a stout stick that could have killed him or caused head injuries.

[murphya33]

Ok, I'll say it, Thainess?

Boring, old lame, idiot comment

[morrobay]

This is horrendous.

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

.

Compounded by the fact that there are way too many vendors everywhere now with the increase in tour buses.

When they are idle during the day they take up seating areas along the beach while smoking cigarettes all day

Also they use the beach as a public toilet like the North end beach in front of Dusit Thani where the hotel guests sit on the beach.

Edited January 3, 2015 by morrobay

[KittenKong]

That time of night around the pier area these "vendors" could well have been out of their skulls on yaba or whatever.

[CaptHaddock]

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.

"Imagine" is indeed the operative word in the absence of any evidence whatsoever.

[KhnomKhnom]

Even cranky vendors have no reason to attack a potential customer. Much more likely, IF other testimony had been reported, is that the clueless Westerner dissed..... disrespected.... the Thai. Just do not do that !

Every heard of the first rule in martial arts.......WALK AWAY quietly.

Hey where that fish hook nose guy on right of photo come from ?

[Xrey24]

Pressure sale?

[TomYumpoochai]

I recognise 1 of the people in the photo so ill get the real story in a few days

[spidermike007]

It is more than likely a reaction that was provoked by something he said, or by very disrespectful behavior on his part. Not condoning the attack, at all. But if you treat these people with kindness and respect, something like this is pretty damn unlikely to happen. Same with the ladyboys, and all the other unsavory characters that populate Pattaya. Give them a wide berth. Do not get on their faces. Show caution, and do not be disrespectful. Basic, common sense stuff.

[shaurene]

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

You have to expect the responses you get from a lot of them on ThaiVisa. They got nothing else to do.

[ExPratt]

Probably Shitfaced .looking at the time. and said the F word too many times, which if you do it in the wrong way, aggressively or dismissively , can really wind the Yokels up. Plus he's Swiss , need I say more

[car720]

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.

How's this for another scenario. I have lived in both Thailand and China and I like the people from both places.

However, just the other day I was asking a Chinese guy who had the obvious appearance of being lost, if he was ok.

He responded to me in some Chinese that you didn't need to understand to understand.

So I responded with the toe of my Australian boot right in his wallet pocket.

And I like the Chinese. My wife was one...

Rule number one: Never believe anything that you hear (or read) and only half of what you see.

Not all farang are polite good guys.

[car720]

Probably Shitfaced .looking at the time. and said the F word too many times, which if you do it in the wrong way, aggressively or dismissively , can really wind the Yokels up. Plus he's Swiss , need I say more

No. Perfect.

[kaiyaibob]

"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"

If he had his helmet on he might not of gotten the "deep laceration" to his head...hang on why wasn't the falang fined for .preparing to leave the area on his motorbike...and not having his helmet on...missed opportunity me thinks

Edited January 3, 2015 by kaiyaibob

[Nemesis7]

I don't find any reason that justifies beating up a customer for refusing to buy from the vendors.

[NoshowJones]

Only three vendors attacked him? They must have been the only ones there.

[car720]

He just forgot to smile. .....

In Thailand if you looks and act upset...you will get an upseting response...from everybody and for any reason.

So should Thailand should post a world-wide warning that upsetting the locals leads to bodily harm? Give me a break.

The first thing that the citizen of the world does, before he sallies forth, is to take the time to investigate something of the traditions and culture of his new destination. He does this in order to not be rude nor offensive to his new hosts. That's why there are not so many citizens of the world these days because most are just inconsiderate of their hosts.

Which part would you like broken?

[jpduggan]

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.

And I'm sure in the 15 years you havn't seen any change ,for the worst, in the behaviour of vendors or just Thai people in general. That's a big set of blinkers you're wearing.

[bangon04]

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.

Actually a lot of (younger) non-native speakers of English throw in a bunch of f words into their banter because somehow they think it is cool and they do not really understand the effect of their words to an native English speaker. Magnify this with another non-native speaker from a different cultural background who has been told that these words are not cool and they always mean an insult....

[car720]

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.

I hope you have got big balls if ever you get locked up and put behind bars, anywhere in the world, with that attitude. You will last about 2 minutes.

[wangsuda]

He just forgot to smile. .....

In Thailand if you looks and act upset...you will get an upseting response...from everybody and for any reason.

So should Thailand should post a world-wide warning that upsetting the locals leads to bodily harm? Give me a break.

The first thing that the citizen of the world does, before he sallies forth, is to take the time to investigate something of the traditions and culture of his new destination. He does this in order to not be rude nor offensive to his new hosts. That's why there are not so many citizens of the world these days because most are just inconsiderate of their hosts.

Which part would you like broken?

And you would be a model citizen of the world? Complete with a threat, since I don't seem to meet your expectations? Since I question things? Since I don't automatically victim-blame?

[chrischronic]

Reading the story and it seems to me that he was approached by 3 guys when walking back to his bike.

I doubt people selling on the side of the road would attack potential customers.

If this is the case then I see an attack more likely.

[Borzandy]

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 ...

Pls, could you explain ????

[Benmart]

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.

Those that weren't present at an incident often imagine and fabricate creative scenarios.

Learning not to prejudge is indeed a "hard way". Some prefer to take the "easy way" of conjecture.

I wasn't there and haven't talked to any of the people involved. Therefore, I don't know anymore than anyone that wasn't there.

Edited January 3, 2015 by Benmart

[lee b]

Hope it really isn't true as it would be another nail in the coffin for the place if this is going to start happening for no reason. Saying that i really don't belive the whole story

[Sviss Geez]

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.

"And no, I wasn;t there."

...so why bother with ridiculous speculation?

[Jingthing]

Please stop making excuses for the violent thugs and blaming the victim.

[Baerboxer]

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.

You are joking - right?

I know one German PhD candidate who uses the word in virtually every sentence when speaking in English. Many other Europeans I know, including Dutch, use that word far too frequently as they've picked it up from American TV series and movies. Indians use it regularly and its frequency in Australian English is by far the most I hear.

It's an offense to use offensive language in Britain - but a law seemingly rarely enforced these days as it used to be. Low class behavior is not restricted to nationality or by education.

Words that are no longer considered offensive in the West by many, are still considered very offensive in many other areas and will provoke a reaction.

Edited January 3, 2015 by Baerboxer