Police hunt thugs who brutally attacked British family in Hua Hin

[cyberfarang]

When tourists visit Thailand especially for the first time they are seen as no more then walking cash dispensers by the Thais. The Thais will try to extract them from their cash by any means possible, cheating, ripping them off and even by intimidation to make them pay up. Problems arise when tourists react to being ripped off and then the Thais that don’t cope well with confrontations, will start over reacting and lose control. Even where I live and the locals that have known me for years will still try to rip me off at every given opportunity only I’m wise to it and then it becomes like a game but it always ends amicably because I know how to deal with these situations. This is all part of the joys of living in paradise. But I have heard even the locals will try to rip each other off so it’s not just me, seems to be a Thai thing.

I do now think Thailand is a dangerous place for tourists and when they come over should keep with the organised tours or at least have an experienced guide or someone that knows the ropes with them when they venture out. Crimes and scams are all too frequent occurrences in Thailand against foreigners and what I think is now on unacceptable levels. There are certain areas and places in Thailand that should be given a red alert for tourists because awareness is the key.

Bit of an over-reaction. Merely heeding the advice to not slap locals in the face would have prevented this.

(Note to the mouth-foamers - I'm not condoning the way the Thais acted here.)

I`ll give you a like to this. Try punching a bunch of thugs in the face in any country and it`s not going to end well for the people that started it, as a matter of fact even if someone slapped me in the face I don`t think I could react in a dignified fashion. But I still think my points are valid and not an over reaction. In the end I suppose it`s about common sense and awareness.

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

Oh..and that member with the Manchester United scenerio... You will get what you see in that horrible video and die nill-Thai

[optad]

There needs to be a better publicized sense of the underground sentiment/evidence of we all know anecdotally: Thais do not like farangs.

They never really have liked foreigners but it's getting worse, particularly amongst the lo-so.

If better surveys were to circulate to really document this apparent fact, perhaps authorities would be more proactive, violence less forthcoming in opportunity and cultural change may take place.

I say this but know that they just do not like us and nothing will change. More gutless assaults to come. That vision was disgusting but there will be some Thais rejoicing the event.

I basically agree with you, except for the bit about the 'lo-so'. If you think that rich Thais (or educated Thais, for that matter) have a more positive attitude towards foreigners, you are greatly mistaken. I have known this country for 30 years, lived here for 15 years, and I can assure you that 'hi-so' people are just as prejudiced as others, if not more.

If we were to compile all the negative comments made by Thai people with high positions during the last two decades, that would make a very very thick book. As far as politics are concerned, no party is better than another in that respect.

Take your refined point. Thank you.

[little mary sunshine]

If Hua Hin is this violent, every tourist should

Stay away from the area for the next couple

Of months....I was planning a trip there next

Month, I will not go now!!!

[scotchbroth100]

When the elderly farang woman starts berating the young Thai man and then she slaps him, it is never going to end well........ the Thai man would never put up with that kind of shit from his girlfriend or wife, he sure is hell not going to take it lightly from some white woman, so to save face he does what comes natural !!

[mydee]

Well, after 16 seconds in the Video the Farang hits the Thai man passing, discussion starts and on second 52 the English Lady hits the Thai man in the face.

That are the first hits made in the video.

Even the lady hits the man it is not an excuse for a mob to kick the daylight out of others.

I agree that this violence is absolute not done and the boys need to be tracked down by police and get punished.

But after looking several times I can not agree that the tourist where passive and just passing.

Well said

The video clearly shows the foreigners to have instigated the violence, but the force used by the mob far exceeds that necessary to defend themselves or their friends. But the foreigners were certainly not passive victims.

[mydee]

Lager louts age, and mostly not very gracefully

Maybe they should have stayed in England? Maybe they deserved what they got?

Shame on you, bubba1, shame on you!!!!

Plenty of stereotypes of Chinese and Russians on this forum. Lager louts of working class English can't be talked about?

These victims scarcely fit the stereotype of Lager Louts now do they?

I was wondering when the first half-witted 'victim blaming apologist' would be along....didn't take long....

[wabothai]

If Thai people hate farangs, why do they keep marrying them?

You already answered your own question.

[StatlerandWaldorf]

This is utterly shocking, the violence towards foreigners seems to be on the increase the past few years. Could there be some correlation between this and the increasingly nationalistic attitude of some of the leadership?

The stamping and kicking of heads when people are already down seems to be a particularly repellent thai trait.

I personally am genuinely concerned about my Children growing up in a place where a percentage of the population are so unpredictable and have never had any morals instilled into them. I personally believe that the standard of parenting here is at best sub par, I have seen the way some members of my wife's extended family 'raise' their kids and they are not going to grow up into responsible adults.

Just because you can have kids, it doesn't mean that you should.

It is truly a race to the bottom at the moment, what is next? beating the bejeesus out of a 3 year old because they looked at you in a way you don't like?

[scotchbroth100]

As soon as the farang woman started berating the young Thai man and finally slaps him, it was never going to end well for her, A young Thai man would never stand for his girlfriend or wife having a go at him like that, so he did what came naturally to save face, he decked her just as he would have done had it been his girlfriend or wife!

[rlopes]

It is time to really affect Thai tourism. Let's share this and make things bad enough for them, until the authorities decide it's time to actually tackle the safety issues.

Don't think this is impossible. Many safe countries were unsafe before, and improved over time.

[StatlerandWaldorf]

As soon as the farang woman started berating the young Thai man and finally slaps him, it was never going to end well for her, A young Thai man would never stand for his girlfriend or wife having a go at him like that, so he did what came naturally to save face, he decked her just as he would have done had it been his girlfriend or wife!

Or Mother, or Grandmother or Daughter, I could go on.

I believe you are correct in your statement, which just goes to show that they are rotten to their very core, with very delicate little egos and incredibly low self esteem.

[Fookhaht]

[Nicolas32]

[SoiBiker]

I don't think calling this an attack on tourists is fair - that implies they played no part in the proceedings.

This was an altercation that got way out of hand.

[stander]

From a local Hua Hin forum:

"6 Thai men in custody, CCTV footage has FINALLY been submitted to the court.

All these men known by H.H. Mib..all from 'powerful' Hua Hin families...

..I will not say to much here, but the handling of this case has many similarities to what you've all heard about

regarding the Kho Tao investigations..."

Says it all...

I would not take much notice of the this quote, the guy who stated this on the local forum is a bit of Walter Mitty type and a notorious Thai basher

[charmonman]

Judging by the unbiased reporting and comments, it would seem that people only see what they want to see.

Facts:

Two, most likely drunk, Thai guys have an argument, Thai guy in black turns and walks on; Thai guy in white follows and they continue walking down the soi.

Son of elderly couple, in black shirt and hat, pushes Thai guy in white shirt out of his path.

Thai guy in white responds by returning the courtesy.

Son in black, obviously mortal drunk, trips over own feet and smacks head on table.

Mother seeing her prostrate son, and totally unaware that he pushed the Thai guy first, moves in to defend her assumingly innocent offspring.

Argument ensues, culminating with mother assaulting Thai guy by slapping his face.

Result: All hell breaks loose!

Reality: A farang family got the crap kicked out of them based on two assaults they initiated against Thais.

Opinion: Not saying it’s right or wrong, just saying the farang are wrongly portrayed as being completely innocent in this report.

Question: If some drunken farang pushes you out of his way like he’s the man and you’re a piece of dirt, are you going to be impressed? And likewise, adding insult to injury, said farang’s mother goes on to smack you in the face?

Moral of the story: This is Thailand and we are visitors. So, don’t assault Thais, as they will respond with deadly force. And don’t be fooled into thinking that we deserve special treatment, when Thais go, they go, and whether you’re Thai or farang, young or old, male or female, makes no difference at all.

The part you're missing is that the really shocking violence only starts at 1:30 when the young Thai who as far as I can tell was not involved in anything up to that point, sucker punches the older farang man, the farang woman and the the younger farang man in rapid succession, at which point the mob descends and starts kicking the three unconscious farang. The original Thai in the light shirt doesn't seem to be involved at all at this point.

Do you really think the fairly gentle push by the younger farang and the face-slap by the elderly farang woman constitute assault? Particularly when the original "victim" of these assaults has essentially moved on by the time the gang of young thugs moves in?

Moral of the story: there is an element among Thai youth who are sociopaths just waiting for an excuse to viciously attack you if the opportunity arises. So be careful.

[Laughing Gravy]

This is your typical Thai mentality reaction. loss of face, so mob mentality kick in. I have seen this on countless occasions and is not something that happens every now and then. These cowards are the norm and those who are trying to defend their actions should be ashamed of themselves for condoning the beating up of an elderly couple along with their son. I hope Karma gets you.

[nontabury]

If Thai people hate farangs, why do they keep marrying them?

I'm not sure who I'm more disgusted with.

The cowardly thugs who beat up an elderly lady.

The onlookers who did nothing to help the victims.

Or people such as yourself,who while saying he thought the beating were over the top, still tries to excuse these thugs.

Question for you SoiBiker, if a elderly Thai lady slapped you or your boyfriend,would you have beaten them up?

[Dodgydownunder]

Thailand can forget tourism very soon, if this hits world media

Thailand doesn'r deserve tourists (now) full stop.

[mluberti]

Clearly the behavior by the Thais is disgusting. Alcohol makes no one nicer or smarter. Before I read this article I was on the phone with a friend in Canada and talking about how I was moving to Thailand later in 2016. He asked "is it safe?" . I replied that it should be because I'm not a bar person/drinker and avoid places after dark that may have groups that have been heavily drinking. I learned very early in my life to avoid drunks. This is not an excuse. It is a reality.

Old truism: "Nothing good ever happens after midnight!"

Edited April 28, 2016 by mluberti

[SoiBiker]

If Thai people hate farangs, why do they keep marrying them?

I'm not sure who I'm more disgusted with.

The cowardly thugs who beat up an elderly lady.

The onlookers who did nothing to help the victims.

Or people such as yourself,who while saying he thought the beating were over the top, still tries to excuse these thugs.

Question for you SoiBiker, if a elderly Thai lady slapped you or your boyfriend,would you have beaten them up?

I'm not excusing anyone. The reaction of the Thais was brutal and entirely out of proportion to the situation.

By the way, what makes you think I have a boyfriend?

[charmonman]

As soon as the farang woman started berating the young Thai man and finally slaps him, it was never going to end well for her, A young Thai man would never stand for his girlfriend or wife having a go at him like that, so he did what came naturally to save face, he decked her just as he would have done had it been his girlfriend or wife!

But that isn't what happened. The man who was slapped in the face was not the one who who decked her, it was a completely different young thug who was not even originally involved who did it at 1:30 in the video when all his cowardly little friends moved in. The original guy was gone by that time or standing at the side probably wondering what had just happened.

[little mary sunshine]

Could be a case of Quality Tourists

Meet Quality Thais!!

[kblaze]

As soon as the farang woman started berating the young Thai man and finally slaps him, it was never going to end well for her, A young Thai man would never stand for his girlfriend or wife having a go at him like that, so he did what came naturally to save face, he decked her just as he would have done had it been his girlfriend or wife!

you post this again?

[mcfish]

If a strange woman slapped me she immediatly loses the gender and is now treated as an agressive male. I would certainly belt her straight back, too many videos out there showing guys getting slapped,punched and kicked by aggressive women and just accepting that. However getting kicked in the head is dead wrong .

A Thai getting slapped buy a farang woman in font of his friends is the ultimate face loss. They have no problems beating Thai women so the outcome here was going to be horrible.

[hansnl]

Those bastards are jealous.

Have no education, ergo have no job, as such like most Thai do, blame the foreigner for being poor.

So, forgetting millions of other Thai earn their money from tourists and expats, brain-dead as they are, attack some foreigners.

Let's face it, people, we are not welcome here any more.

Why, because all wrongs in Thailand are blamed on foreigners, the government and it's servants taking the lead in this.

Shameful!

[ICECOOL]

The day after this happened one of the thugs who was responsible for this was identified and arrested. Local business owner knew him from CCTV. He is apparently the son of a local taxi driver whose family are also disgusted. I hope the story that 6 have been arrested is true and justice is served. Hua Hin is a generally peaceful safe place.

For those Thai bashers' here this type of thuggery is also common enough in all civilised western societies and never excusable. I hope the family recover from this ordeal.

[JohnDodd]

Yep, s##t happens sometimes, had Songkran been celebrated in UK, the hoodies and the chavs would've created more havoc and mindless violence than this. All the "share this with everyone you know" crowd, are you also this enthusiastic about sharing good experiences you may encounter in TH, or do you just enjoy a good whinge?

Typical Thai apologist B.S......are you actually in Thailand......I come from a British working class area where in August we have a local Carnival in the docks area of Newport where there are many " hoodies and chavs " as you call them, there are the usual punch ups, but I can assure you no old age pensioners are attacked like this nauseating orgy of violence, these Thai scumbags are <deleted> cowards, and you are defending them, you must of just arrive with your inane post.

[Baerboxer]

Educational.

Avoid confrontations whilst intoxicated with Thai people, if someone else can see this and understand it's better to walk away than this happening to you, the locals are not innocent but this could have been avoided. It's true people get drunk and full of themselves forgetting where they are then it all end in tears, I wish quick recovery your the family involved and the gang members PROPERLY dealt with. I don't wish to seem to black hearted but this can be seen as an education on how bad things can go wrong for you here. Take note if this surprised you. And be thankful we weren't watching them get stabbed

An intelligent post - makes a refreshing change thank you sir.

If you look closely, the Thai man in the light shirt is arguing with one of the Thais who later assaults the British people. People are giving them a wide berth but the British man in black touches him as he goes by (that is something Europeans do, almost a non verbal "excuse me" - a habit best not used here). The Thai in the light shirt takes exception and shoves him, albeit not that hard. The British guy looks like he had a few to drink and stumbles, falls and bangs his head. The lady tales exception, argues with the Thai man and slaps his face. Look carefully and it appears the Thais first reaction isn't violent but the arguing continues and it then quickly escalates. The Thai man he was arguing with joins in along with the other youths. The guy who was slapped doesn't get involved in the extreme violence that the others dish out. There is one farang man in a white shirt and black cap who looks like he's trying to diffuse things and then gives up, walks away waving his arms in frustration.

Whatever the flash points there's no excuse for a nasty assault, Those head kicks and stamps could leave permanent damage or worse.The kick to the side of the woman's head when she's groggily sitting up could easily have been fatal.

In most countries this would be punished severely and include a custodial sentence. Here, it will all depend on who the culprits are and who their families are.

Arguments can start for the silliest reason and quickly escalate beyond all proportions especially where alcohol is involved and in countries where "face", "machismo" and not backing down are considered virtuous.

Always walk away whenever you can. Or be prepared for the worst.