Police hunt thugs who brutally attacked British family in Hua Hin

[kiwikeith]

Jesus - that was absolutely disgusting. What on Earth is wrong with those guys? Kicking a woman in the face when she is on the ground. They are animals.

The Thai police have methods for extracting information.

They could use these methods to get the rest of the thugs ,that obviously many people know the identities of.

The fact that is taking so long to extract this information lays weight on a theory that the other thugs may be part of a gang that has some connections or some of the peanut brains have mummy and daddys that know people.

The Thai Police were brilliant in a matter of days at framing and extracting a re enactment of a murder and a confession. (cynical)

They could easily round up these monkeys, so something is hampering the will to seek out the villains.

Hua Hin is rapidly being invaded by scum , especially on the weekends when thousands flock down to here and Cha Am.

There have been murders and shootings (between Thai gangs) in Cha Am which was a lovely place to go and sit on the beech and eat fresh seafood on the weekends , but not these days.

A sign of the times im afraid

[Howitzer]

The news made it to other forums obviously. I think it's quite a big thing in western countries

[gemguy]

Yes the Thais have a pack mentality while I have seen this before.

Once in a Bar, early in the evening before all the girls were up on stage and dancing I was there checking out the talent and a Foreigner man walked into the bar and stood there looking around for several seconds.

He was less than 15 feet away from me.

Then he walked over to a girl that had just come out of the back room and grabbed her by the arm and started to raise his voice to her while clearly angry about something.

I could not clearly hear what he was saying to her but he was beginning to shove her around a little bit and she tried to hit him but he deflected the hit with his arm and then she more or less broke loose from his grip.

Then he smacked her..... but the smack was not all that hard and did not land on her face rather the side of her head.

Well that was a mistake on his part because she broke loose from the guy and quick as lightening she had her high heel shoe off and start to hit the mans head, fast and hard and repeatedly before he could back off fast enough.

Then he tried to fend her off and fight her at the same time....while trying to grab her again.

This was all just in front of me no more than 20 feet away and now more or less in the middle of the bar.

I had the perfect front row seat while I was the only customer in the bar at the time.

I began shouting at the Guy saying: "Hey Buddy, give it up"..."You can not win"...."Give it up buddy"

He kept wrestling with her and taking the blows and trying to restrain her while she was shouting profanities at him in Thai.

In less than 10 seconds I could see near every other bar girl running over to help their friend while most of them were taking off one of their high heel shoes and began to strike the man HARD with their heels and kick at him and punch at him.

It was vicious and fast.

He was being hit on by 3 then 4 then 5 girls while I was raising my voice all the louder and really shouting loudly at the guy and now saying : "Get out of here buddy, your going to het hurt"..."Give it up Buddy"

By this time I think he realized he was being seriously attacked and ganged up on and he looked over at me as if he was looking for help because now he was being hurt by all the blows he was taking...especially the high heel blows to his face and skull and it had to hurt because he suddenly turned while trying to protect his head with his hands and arms trying to cover his face and head and started moving towards the door and began to make an exit.

All the while the girls still on him savagely hitting and kicking him and shoving him and as he got near the door 2 more girls near to the door got in a few punches and kicks before he ran outside and off he went.

I was trying to warn him as I knew what was going to happen ...and sure enough it happened.

A no win situation and outnumbered by Bar girls.

[alanrchase]

Yes the Thais have a pack mentality while I have seen this before.

Once in a Bar, early in the evening before all the girls were up on stage and dancing I was there checking out the talent and a Foreigner man walked into the bar and stood there looking around for several seconds.

He was less than 15 feet away from me.

Then he walked over to a girl that had just come out of the back room and grabbed her by the arm and started to raise his voice to her while clearly angry about something.

I could not clearly hear what he was saying to her but he was beginning to shove her around a little bit and she tried to hit him but he deflected the hit with his arm and then she more or less broke loose from his grip.

Then he smacked her..... but the smack was not all that hard and did not land on her face rather the side of her head.

Well that was a mistake on his part because she broke loose from the guy and quick as lightening she had her high heel shoe off and start to hit the mans head, fast and hard and repeatedly before he could back off fast enough.

Then he tried to fend her off and fight her at the same time....while trying to grab her again.

This was all just in front of me no more than 20 feet away and now more or less in the middle of the bar.

I had the perfect front row seat while I was the only customer in the bar at the time.

I began shouting at the Guy saying: "Hey Buddy, give it up"..."You can not win"...."Give it up buddy"

He kept wrestling with her and taking the blows and trying to restrain her while she was shouting profanities at him in Thai.

In less than 10 seconds I could see near every other bar girl running over to help their friend while most of them were taking off one of their high heel shoes and began to strike the man HARD with their heels and kick at him and punch at him.

It was vicious and fast.

He was being hit on by 3 then 4 then 5 girls while I was raising my voice all the louder and really shouting loudly at the guy and now saying : "Get out of here buddy, your going to het hurt"..."Give it up Buddy"

By this time I think he realized he was being seriously attacked and ganged up on and he looked over at me as if he was looking for help because now he was being hurt by all the blows he was taking...especially the high heel blows to his face and skull and it had to hurt because he suddenly turned while trying to protect his head with his hands and arms trying to cover his face and head and started moving towards the door and began to make an exit.

All the while the girls still on him savagely hitting and kicking him and shoving him and as he got near the door 2 more girls near to the door got in a few punches and kicks before he ran outside and off he went.

I was trying to warn him as I knew what was going to happen ...and sure enough it happened.

A no win situation and outnumbered by Bar girls.

Another clear case of an unprovoked attack by a group of Thais on an innocent Ferang.

[D3030]

From one of the articles:

"He said that a friend's Thai girlfriend heard some locals discussing attacking tourists at the end of a day of heavy drinking."

Yes, the old woman made a serious mistake slapping the Thai man, it looks like she was first trying to appeal to his conscience for knocking her son (or the other falang guy?) down, so she made two mistakes: assuming one of these low-class uneducated Thai men would have a conscience, and making such a guy lose face.

Kicking anyone when they're down and running away is as low as it gets, but that's the usual MO here, draw what conclusions you want what that says about the character of these low-class Thai males.

I'm experienced enough here to completely avoid eye-contact or even acknowledge any of them. I never wear flip-flops at night, and avoid situations where I could be jumped when on the islands.

It would be a good idea for officials to have a simple 10-point list of things to do in Thailand handed out at SVB-- starting with say sawatdee khrap/kha to everyone, as well as khawp khun khrap/kha, add a sabai dee to make friendly, and otoh never make a Thai (esp. male) feel "bad," meaning always fluff his thin and sensitive skin lest he have a hissy fit and kick or shoot you in the face.

Can't figure out why they don't do that

I'll add I get along great with the vast majority of Thais, who are good-humoured and polite (even if it's only skin-deep, as long as interactions are mutually polite, works for me), and the rest, these males I speak of, I just keep away from but keep aware of.

Just by making no eye contact with Thai men, you avoided getting beat up on a daily bases?

Not wearing flip flops is your secondary plan, in case your "no eye" contact rule fails?

Do you carry a whistle or do you plan on screaming like a girl when these (as you said) low class, uneducated Thai men attack you?

Also, you suggest tourist should say to the locals:

"sawatdee khrap/kha"

"khawp khun khrap/kha" "sabai dee" ---

With or without eye contact??

The woman from Wales assaulted a Thai man and got destroyed for her actions..

The only "helpful" advice you provided pertaining to this story, is not to wear flip flops when starting a fight..

[riverhigh]

Yes the Thais have a pack mentality while I have seen this before.

Once in a Bar, early in the evening before all the girls were up on stage and dancing I was there checking out the talent and a Foreigner man walked into the bar and stood there looking around for several seconds.

He was less than 15 feet away from me.

Then he walked over to a girl that had just come out of the back room and grabbed her by the arm and started to raise his voice to her while clearly angry about something.

I could not clearly hear what he was saying to her but he was beginning to shove her around a little bit and she tried to hit him but he deflected the hit with his arm and then she more or less broke loose from his grip.

Then he smacked her..... but the smack was not all that hard and did not land on her face rather the side of her head.

Well that was a mistake on his part because she broke loose from the guy and quick as lightening she had her high heel shoe off and start to hit the mans head, fast and hard and repeatedly before he could back off fast enough.

Then he tried to fend her off and fight her at the same time....while trying to grab her again.

This was all just in front of me no more than 20 feet away and now more or less in the middle of the bar.

I had the perfect front row seat while I was the only customer in the bar at the time.

I began shouting at the Guy saying: "Hey Buddy, give it up"..."You can not win"...."Give it up buddy"

He kept wrestling with her and taking the blows and trying to restrain her while she was shouting profanities at him in Thai.

In less than 10 seconds I could see near every other bar girl running over to help their friend while most of them were taking off one of their high heel shoes and began to strike the man HARD with their heels and kick at him and punch at him.

It was vicious and fast.

He was being hit on by 3 then 4 then 5 girls while I was raising my voice all the louder and really shouting loudly at the guy and now saying : "Get out of here buddy, your going to het hurt"..."Give it up Buddy"

By this time I think he realized he was being seriously attacked and ganged up on and he looked over at me as if he was looking for help because now he was being hurt by all the blows he was taking...especially the high heel blows to his face and skull and it had to hurt because he suddenly turned while trying to protect his head with his hands and arms trying to cover his face and head and started moving towards the door and began to make an exit.

All the while the girls still on him savagely hitting and kicking him and shoving him and as he got near the door 2 more girls near to the door got in a few punches and kicks before he ran outside and off he went.

I was trying to warn him as I knew what was going to happen ...and sure enough it happened.

A no win situation and outnumbered by Bar girls.

Another clear case of an unprovoked attack by a group of Thais on an innocent Ferang.

Another clear case of an unprovoked attack by a group of Thais on an innocent Ferang. Lol ... It was just a small slap m'lord, honestly!

[Colabamumbai]

From my little and humble experience in Thailand, I find that many Thai people lack basic manners that we are taught in the Western world. They will walk into you or stop in front of you more so since the days of the I Phone, or just a general lack of what is going on around them. I never experienced this forty years ago during my stays in Thailand. A lack of basic manners.

[SoiBiker]

From my little and humble experience in Thailand, I find that many Thai people lack basic manners that we are taught in the Western world. They will walk into you or stop in front of you more so since the days of the I Phone, or just a general lack of what is going on around them. I never experienced this forty years ago during my stays in Thailand. A lack of basic manners.

Or maybe their idea of basic manners is different to yours?

[little mary sunshine]

They should all be behind bars now

[jeffreysearch]

e2a:

The son actually tripped over his own leg which caused him to fall.

Yes the Fumbling son ... goes over with an easy push.... drunk i presume ? the fumbler mum nearly goes down after him.... Both Drunk.... nothing going at that stage,, until Mum takes over the argument.... yes if she just walked away .. used her brain ... not to make trouble in a different country ... nothing would have happened ... but she just couldnt help herself... they are lucky to come out of it alive ... even if the crowd didnt do anything ? at least they would have been witness .. if the guys tried to kill them somehow.... in a quieter place at 2am ..

[ZeldasCavern]

Another day in paradise.

Welcome to Thailand the land of smiles. A Buddhist country full of peaceful people who welcome tourists.

People might be naive when they come here but they often go home with a more realistic viewpoint.

We can rant and rave here about this disgusting display of violence but absolutely nothing will change or improve because the culprits if caught rarely receive appropriate punishment. And lest we think all this violence is only directed at foreigners....it isn't. Even Thais often fall foul of these violent gangs but we rarely here about it because it has become so commonplace. LOS .....land of scumbags.

It all starts with the education and morals instilled in these people.

The better question is where to they get the knowledge or lack of to believe this is O.K or acceptable.

It starts with what the culture, the home, the education system instills in its populus.

All of the above must not be adequate at providing the right moral systems to humanize their populace...

[D3030]

They should all be behind bars now

Yes... All of them..

Unfortunately, one of the instigators, "the son" flew back to Wales, leaving his parents in Thailand.

Must of seen the video of himself and his parents starting this entire mess..

[HLover]

Seems many members are divided regarding this event. Avoidable event for sure; hope some lessons were learned to avoid similar evenings of punchery.

[jeffreysearch]

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.

Thanks for your observation. I agree with your assessment that the mob shouldn't have kicked the daylights of the family but still what was the lady thinking about when she hit the Thai man in the face. Most probably she thought she could get away with it by playing the "poor little woman" get out jail free card. Back home where the laws are biased toward women most probably she could get away with it ... who knows? Being a falang male I wonder how much sympathy I would get if I hit a Thai man during Songkrang because I didn't like ice water poured on me. ... or whatever!!!

yes totally agree with the - Poor little women scenario... look at the trouble women cause in western society .. becos they know there are men around to back them up.. for anything they do ... its usually the guys who sort it out after that ,,, or the police /law . but she chose the wrong country

[BritManToo]

I don't know a single Thai person who would condone this or approve of it,

Not to your face, that isn't the Thai way.

[BritManToo]

From my little and humble experience in Thailand, I find that many Thai people lack basic manners that we are taught in the Western world. They will walk into you or stop in front of you more so since the days of the I Phone, or just a general lack of what is going on around them. I never experienced this forty years ago during my stays in Thailand. A lack of basic manners.

Or maybe their idea of basic manners is different to yours?

Kicking a 65 year old lady in the face is considered bad manners in most countries and cultures.

[little mary sunshine]

Don't care who started IT. No one should

Be savagely attacked by this type of a

Drunken gang.

[SoiBiker]

From my little and humble experience in Thailand, I find that many Thai people lack basic manners that we are taught in the Western world. They will walk into you or stop in front of you more so since the days of the I Phone, or just a general lack of what is going on around them. I never experienced this forty years ago during my stays in Thailand. A lack of basic manners.

Or maybe their idea of basic manners is different to yours?

Kicking a 65 year old lady in the face is considered bad manners in most countries and cultures.

Indeed. That wasn't mentioned in the post I was responding to though, was it?

Try not to overlook context in your eagerness to grasp every opportunity to disagree with me.

[Lex Talionis]

This video should be shown to all potential tourists.

If you come to Thailand and want to start arguing with Thais at a Thai festival and then start throwing punches, then this is what will happen.

I can't understand all the farang apologists taking the farang side (as usual) here when the farangs started it. Did anyone actually watch the video before jumping to conclusions?

The farangs started it, and were taught some manners. They should be blacklisted for life. Twice the size of the Thais (even the women). Disgraceful behavior.

You cowardly bastard. Justifying a kick in the teeth to an old woman laying on the ground semiconscious. Probably causing permanent damage.

I suppose this is your idea of teaching someone manners? Unbelievable cretin.

[Lex Talionis]

I see the article has just appeared in THE AUSTRALIAN newspaper. So it is certainly gaining 'legs'

Whilst it is a repeat of the news.com.au , albeit a shorter version, one should take time to read the many Australian readers comments at the bottom.

Apart from crime, historically, another problem which hard economic times brings is xenophobia and racism. People need someone to blame and hate for their problems.

The world is not a great place at the moment.

A Thai violently smacks down an Elderly Farang Woman? That has to be a 'gamechanger'. never thought I would see that. Two sides to the story?

The guardian newspaper an hour ago

Three members of a British family were punched to the ground and knocked unconscious by kicks to the face during an attack at a Thai beachside resort.

The holidaymakers, including a middle-aged woman, were attacked by several men during Thai new year celebrations in Hua Hin, a coastal town about three hours south of Bangkok that is popular with older Europeans.

CCTV footage posted online shows a vicious and prolonged assault in a street, which starts when a young British man briefly touches shoulders with a Thai man carrying a bottle, who appears to push him to the ground.

The British woman takes the Thai man to the side and an argument ensues. Several Thai men punch the family until all three are on the ground. When they try to rise, they are kicked in the face and left unconscious before onlookers come to their aid.

Although the attack occurred on 13 April, the video only recently made it on to the internet. The family are believed to be still in Thailand but leaving soon.

Local media said on Thursday that police had arrested three men in their 20s and 30s who were charged. Reports said a fourth was still at large.

The victims were said to be a man in his 40s and his parents, both in their 60s.

“The perpetrators said they were drunk. They have also apologised to the family,” Police Colonel Chaiyakorn Siradecho told the Thai news website Khaosod English.

The website said the younger man had several stitches on his head, while the father had a head wound with swelling. The mother’s head injury had left her with occasional headaches, it added.

The three men were freed on bail awaiting trial for causing bodily harm.

Another local news website, Thai New Agency, posted a story on 17 April with photos of two men in the custody of Hua Hin police. The accused wore bullet-proof vests, a customary practice of Thai police when presenting suspects to the public.

During the Thai new year’s Songkarn festival, also known as the water festival, major streets are turned into a giant water fight for three days as people party continuously. The water is a symbol of cleansing and renewal.

The British embassy had launched a safety campaign to make sure tourists were aware of the dangers. Car accidents spike during the festival and revellers are often drunk – but attacks on tourists are rare.

An anonymous user posted in a Hua Hin-based online forum on 13 April, hours after the assault, giving an eyewitness account of the attack and saying he was attacked himself while trying to intervene. In the footage a man in a red and white striped shirt does step in, but is himself attacked and overwhelmed.

“By the end of the night (around 2am) as the bar’s customers were leaving, gangs of Thai youths were priming themselves to start punching westerners,” said the user, using the alias “usual suspect”, who added he had walked out of a bar in the Binta area right behind the three victims.

“The girls in the bar I was in all night waved goodbye to two elderly customers and their son, and my wife and I followed only seconds after them,” he wrote.

“Within 20/30 metres of leaving the bar the Thais were punching the 65yr old lady in the face!! The elderly gentleman was down on the floor and their son was beaten very badly.”

He said that he was left needing dental work for his own injuries. “I got severely punched and kicked for my troubles, but felt the need to protect this frail lady.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/28/british-trio-beaten-unconscious-in-thailand-during-holiday

What has the Thai Premier have to say about this?

What has the tourism minister have to say?

Why wasn't this reported sooner?

An anonymous user posted in a Hua Hin-based online forum on 13 April, hours after the assault, giving an eyewitness account of the attack and saying he was attacked himself while trying to intervene. In the footage a man in a red and white striped shirt does step in, but is himself attacked and overwhelmed.

This anonymous poster, is a spiteful Thaibasher and anything he says needs to be taken with a pinch of salt

Yeah? And who are you? Why believe you and not him? He was quoted in the press. Do you know him personally? What evidence do you have of this? Edited April 29, 2016 by Lex Talionis

[phuketandsee]

I've watched the video many times and clearly there is blame to go around among the primary protagonists but I would like to make a couple of points:

1. The initial contact seemed pretty slight.

2. The son fell over himself and it almost seemed like the mother accidentally helped him on his way.

3. We don't know what the "slapee" was saying to the mother that prompted her slap. Hard to be too critical of her though in the circumstances however ill-advised.

4. "Slappee" seemed reasonably in control throughout.

5. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can justify the terrifying brutality of the kicking of the mother. The original protagonists had settled their scores whoever did what to whom first. This animal comes from nowhere to deliver his hate-filled attack. This is the image that will stay in the world's mind - and rightfully so.

[Bender]

i dont know about you guys, but i found the few troll-thai apologists(soi biker bonkers, chiang mai, thaiduncack) as disgusting than the thai scums.

For God's sake, an ederly woman, age unknow, was kicked in the head and in the teeth, but you still have these stray dogs who will defend anything thai.(some of them have posted more than a dozen messages on this thread)

Nobody Mr Bender is attempting to defend the actions of those Thais and everyone agrees the beating was disproportionate, it's a measure of your poor reading and./or comprehension skills if you think differently. But what a few people, including myself have tried to do here is to account for why the altercation happened in the first place, to that end we've looked at the video several times and concluded that it started with a bump between two people that the foreigner should have acknowledged but didn't. The problem was later compounded by two of the foreigners hitting two Thai men in public and making them lose face, the rest is history as they say but the reasons I've outlined is why the problem happens in the first place.

Some people may say that bump between the two men was nothing, the sort of bodily contact that takes place every day in the streets of London or New York and they would of course be correct. Sadly however Thailand is neither of those places and bodily contact between strangers hence they are not correct in reference to Thailand. In the main, bodily contact by stranagers is frowned on, mostly it's avoided unless an apology or acknowledgement follows, think manners! That contact is about invading another persons space, it's part of the reason why Thai's will often cut across right in front of you when a Westerner might have waited a moment and gone behind you. Many will think that's a small deal and whilst once again it was disproportionate to the beating that followed, it is not a small deal, it's a cultural difference that visitors need to understand and judging from these two threads, very few people do.

So that was the issue that started the ball rolling, it escalated from there when the foreign woman hit the Thai male and her son punched another man. Some may say it was just a slap, nothing to speak of, she's an old lady and they would again be right. Except in Thailand and in other Asian countries a foreigner cannot just slap a local man, especially a drunken one and in public and expect nothing bad would happen, whatever was going through their heads that made them think differently on that point can only be down to alcohol I would guess. Face and loss of face is massively important here and it doesn't matter who or what the offender is, trouble will almost certainly follow.

There, we've explained it all to you, now you don't have to feel bad that you didn't understand what was going on and resort to calling people names.

wait a moment, last month you told me you put me on your "ignore list". But you can still read and answer my message??

i know it from the begining nobody can trust you!

There, we've explained it all to you, now you don't have to feel bad that you didn't understand what was going on and resort to calling people names.

we???? no, you are all alone, and you need some help....

[chiang mai]

Small steps Bender, one each day and you'll get there eventually.

[Bender]

Small steps Bender, one each day and you'll get there eventually.

i have not a single idea what you are talking about. As a rule, i dont waste my time, reading your stinky post.

And let me add, i truly hope, that your business in thailand goes bankrupt, you really deserve it!

[phuketandsee]

There has been much discussion of who started it and whether this can happen anywhere. I believe we are looking at an incident in 2 parts. The first part is the altercation between 2 Thais and the British family which probably could happen anywhere given the right circumstances. The second part is the horrific, seemingly unprovoked kick in the face of the mother. I doubt something of this viciousness would happen in many places and seems to me symptomatic of something really frightening. It looks very much like a hate crime as was mentioned previously and I am deeply concerned of where this might lead should what passes for law and order here really does collapse as some fear.

[D3030]

i dont know about you guys, but i found the few troll-thai apologists(soi biker bonkers, chiang mai, thaiduncack) as disgusting than the thai scums.

For God's sake, an ederly woman, age unknow, was kicked in the head and in the teeth, but you still have these stray dogs who will defend anything thai.(some of them have posted more than a dozen messages on this thread)

Nobody Mr Bender is attempting to defend the actions of those Thais and everyone agrees the beating was disproportionate, it's a measure of your poor reading and./or comprehension skills if you think differently. But what a few people, including myself have tried to do here is to account for why the altercation happened in the first place, to that end we've looked at the video several times and concluded that it started with a bump between two people that the foreigner should have acknowledged but didn't. The problem was later compounded by two of the foreigners hitting two Thai men in public and making them lose face, the rest is history as they say but the reasons I've outlined is why the problem happens in the first place.

Some people may say that bump between the two men was nothing, the sort of bodily contact that takes place every day in the streets of London or New York and they would of course be correct. Sadly however Thailand is neither of those places and bodily contact between strangers hence they are not correct in reference to Thailand. In the main, bodily contact by stranagers is frowned on, mostly it's avoided unless an apology or acknowledgement follows, think manners! That contact is about invading another persons space, it's part of the reason why Thai's will often cut across right in front of you when a Westerner might have waited a moment and gone behind you. Many will think that's a small deal and whilst once again it was disproportionate to the beating that followed, it is not a small deal, it's a cultural difference that visitors need to understand and judging from these two threads, very few people do.

So that was the issue that started the ball rolling, it escalated from there when the foreign woman hit the Thai male and her son punched another man. Some may say it was just a slap, nothing to speak of, she's an old lady and they would again be right. Except in Thailand and in other Asian countries a foreigner cannot just slap a local man, especially a drunken one and in public and expect nothing bad would happen, whatever was going through their heads that made them think differently on that point can only be down to alcohol I would guess. Face and loss of face is massively important here and it doesn't matter who or what the offender is, trouble will almost certainly follow.

There, we've explained it all to you, now you don't have to feel bad that you didn't understand what was going on and resort to calling people names.

wait a moment, last month you told me you put me on your "ignore list". But you can still read and answer my message??

i know it from the begining nobody can trust you!

There, we've explained it all to you, now you don't have to feel bad that you didn't understand what was going on and resort to calling people names.

we???? no, you are all alone, and you need some help....

I agree with Chiang Mai that no one is backing the Thai's for their actions in this..

And believe there were only a couple of post saying this family deserved what happened to them.

Now those backing the tourist, most are putting 100 percent of the blame on the Thai's.... Which is wrong!!

The bigger machine -the media is telling the world what happened, and pretty much say it was an unprovoked attack committed by the Thai's.

They also spin the story as if the mother's slap was part of the actual fight, not the reason for it to have escalated and end the way it did.

So, I'm going with the family was part of the problem, and should not get a sympathy card because of the mother's age.

And of course.. --"The Thais involved should get "significant" prison time"....

[tonray]

Question : should the family face charges because in essence they assaulted the Thais first ? Does not mean the Thai scum are not guilty of abuses bordering on attempted murder but just because the family got their teeth kicked in does not mean they did no wrong here.

[PaPiPuPePo]

i dont know about you guys, but i found the few troll-thai apologists(soi biker bonkers, chiang mai, thaiduncack) as disgusting than the thai scums.

For God's sake, an ederly woman, age unknow, was kicked in the head and in the teeth, but you still have these stray dogs who will defend anything thai.(some of them have posted more than a dozen messages on this thread)

Nobody Mr Bender is attempting to defend the actions of those Thais and everyone agrees the beating was disproportionate, it's a measure of your poor reading and./or comprehension skills if you think differently. But what a few people, including myself have tried to do here is to account for why the altercation happened in the first place, to that end we've looked at the video several times and concluded that it started with a bump between two people that the foreigner should have acknowledged but didn't. The problem was later compounded by two of the foreigners hitting two Thai men in public and making them lose face, the rest is history as they say but the reasons I've outlined is why the problem happens in the first place.

Some people may say that bump between the two men was nothing, the sort of bodily contact that takes place every day in the streets of London or New York and they would of course be correct. Sadly however Thailand is neither of those places and bodily contact between strangers hence they are not correct in reference to Thailand. In the main, bodily contact by stranagers is frowned on, mostly it's avoided unless an apology or acknowledgement follows, think manners! That contact is about invading another persons space, it's part of the reason why Thai's will often cut across right in front of you when a Westerner might have waited a moment and gone behind you. Many will think that's a small deal and whilst once again it was disproportionate to the beating that followed, it is not a small deal, it's a cultural difference that visitors need to understand and judging from these two threads, very few people do.

So that was the issue that started the ball rolling, it escalated from there when the foreign woman hit the Thai male and her son punched another man. Some may say it was just a slap, nothing to speak of, she's an old lady and they would again be right. Except in Thailand and in other Asian countries a foreigner cannot just slap a local man, especially a drunken one and in public and expect nothing bad would happen, whatever was going through their heads that made them think differently on that point can only be down to alcohol I would guess. Face and loss of face is massively important here and it doesn't matter who or what the offender is, trouble will almost certainly follow.

There, we've explained it all to you, now you don't have to feel bad that you didn't understand what was going on and resort to calling people names.

Good job explaining exactly how toxic this aspect of "face" is. You've made it clear you think Thais are justified in kicking people unconscious and putting them in an ICU because they lost face.

Obviously the two drunks agree with you because they didn't run away, they weren't arrested for their actions, and they didn't apologise to the elderly people they brutalised.

Oh, wait......

[farang95]

recently..i've been savagely attack by some members about my topic concerning the Alcohol ....the wish of being sober....process is still on and still not drinking....doesnt mean i won't ever drink a MAi Tai ...once in a year or so.....anyway your reaction were very aggressive ......... and this attack on this couple make me remembered the time when i used to be drunk....but always in control ..but still...... so no alcohol = less problem..... i guess that's the right attitude to do ..... Cheer to the Non sober people.....

This attack ..i blame it on the alcohol ...........

and about the tourist..... first thing you learn when you do some research at first about the thai people....never ever touch the head of someone you don't know...... this is something they can't accept. PERIOD

I just hope that the thai perpetrator get 10 or more in jail ...attacking a woman is blasphem ....you can't do that..... this is not right at all ..... and they deserve a strict punishment ......

CHOK DEE

[chiang mai]

Small steps Bender, one each day and you'll get there eventually.

i have not a single idea what you are talking about. As a rule, i dont waste my time, reading your stinky post.

And let me add, i truly hope, that your business in thailand goes bankrupt, you really deserve it!

For those who may have missed it, Bender doesn't live in Thailand and he actually hates the place, that's why he keeps calling for the tourist industry to be decimated so you need to treat his comments accordingly.