Video of attack on tourists in Thailand goes viral
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this April 13, 2016 image taken from video released by the Hua Hin Municipality an elderly British couple and their son are on the ground after they were savagely attacked during a family vacation in Hua, Hin, Thailand.
BANGKOK >> A British couple and their son were savagely attacked during a family vacation in Thailand in the latest blow to the country’s image as a welcoming tourist paradise. Police said Thursday they have arrested the four suspected attackers.
A video of the attack, which was captured by overhead security cameras and posted this week on social media, has stirred shock and outrage over its brutality and the ages of the victims, a 65-year-old woman and 68-year-old man from Scotland and their 43-year-old son. The attack is the latest act of violence against tourists in the Southeast Asian country.
In the video the family is seen walking down a crowded street in the beach town of Hua Hin on the evening of April 13, amid festivities for the Thai New Year.
An altercation breaks out with a group of men on the street who punch all three in the face, kick their bodies and stomp on their faces in an attack that lasts about 2 minutes.
Police Col. Chaiyakorn Sriladecho said it started after “the son accidentally bumped into one of the Thai men.”
The attack stops only when all three victims are seen lying apparently unconscious on the ground. As the Thai gang disappears, bystanders come to their aid.
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“We have now arrested all four suspects,” Chaiyakorn said. Three of the men were arrested within days of the incident and the fourth on Thursday, he said, identifying them as in their 20s and 30s.
“The men say they are sorry and that they wouldn’t have done this if they weren’t drunk,” he said.
The father and son suffered head injuries requiring stitches, Chaiyakorn said. The mother received serious eye and head injuries that caused a buildup of fluid in the brain and required an operation, he said.
In March, four French tourists were assaulted on the island of Koh Kut as they walked to dinner. They included a mother and daughter who were both raped.
Two British backpackers were murdered on the island of Koh Tao in 2014. Autopsies showed the couple, a young man and woman, had been severely beaten and the woman raped. Two Myanmar migrants were convicted of the crime based on DNA evidence that rights groups say was questionable.
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40 responses to “Video of attack on tourists in Thailand goes viral”
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Teenagers and younger were the attackers. They should have no excuse not to ID the punks.
In this case one would hope “ID” would mean “Imminent Demise”.
One of the many harmful effects of alcohol. Many do not use it responsibly. And then innocent victims suffer the consequences.
This case is a pretty unusual because it happened on a public street in a resort town. Nevertheless, it’s prudent while traveling to beware of animals, both two and four-legged, that run in packs. Three adults together obviously aren’t proof against street thugs.
There are a handful of major cities where I’m comfortable roaming alone. But even in those places I seldom tour neighborhoods where strip clubs, pawn shops, sleazy bars, bail bondsmen, and liquor stores abound.
IGNORANT DRUNKS REAP WHAT THEY SOW!!!
Wow, that is really terrible!!! Vicious attack on a defenseless family. It’s not like they were being arrogant and pushy either. Well, too bad because this not only hurts the innocent tourist family but also Thailand’s tourism trade, which is a major source of revenue for the country. At least some of the Thais tried to assist the family but after seeing a video like this you wouldn’t catch me visiting there.
Try watching the video more closely – The first Thai man appeared drunk and barely touched the British man and the British man tripped over something and fell down. The British woman started screaming at the Thai man and threw the first punches. One of the British men held a Thai man from behind and appeared to be motioning the other to hit the Thai man. All this occurred before the Thai men threw any punches.
I agree that the Thai men were brutal. However, the British people brought the beating upon themselves. When in a foreign country, do not scream at the local people and start hitting them.
I know Thailand fairly well and the people are mostly nice. However, when foreigners start attacking (verbal or physical) a Thai, many Thais will fight alongside their own. Don’t talk trash to them – instead, go out of your way to extend pleasantries to them (good morning, hello, etc.) and they will return the smiles.
There are some issues here:
First, the video isn’t unedited; there is one very obvious “cut” just before the younger Brit slips or falls down. We should view the unedited version just for accuracy’s sake.
Second, the Thai that did the most damage, one one wearing the dark shirt with an obvious red emblem in front, detaches himself from the central altercation, skirts around the periphery of the passersby to (seemingly) look for a good vantage to sucker punch the elder Brit unawares.
Third, not to excuse any possible boorish behavior from the Brits, but I don’t care what culture you’re from, punching the face of a woman who is not at the moment assaulting you, and later kicking her head as she sits stunned on the ground are completely unacceptable ways to settle a dispute, whatever the provocation.
This story, kidnapping and beheading of Western tourists in the Phillipines, mass murder in Belgium and France by Muslim extremists are the reason why Hawaii tourism remains strong. NOT because HTA spends tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer money on advertising Hawaii. No one listens or watches those type of adds or the current “live Aloha” adds telling Hawaii resident to be “nice” to tourists. These beating or kidnapping videos quickly get a hundred thousand views in just a few days and the realization for many to NOT travel to SE Asia for a vacation. They figure the most exotic yet “safe” vacation they can experience is Hawaii. What Hawaii has to work on, which they are doing, is working on the drownings of visitors, which are deaths not due to bullies or Muslim extremists but lack of knowledge and understanding of how dangerous the waters around Hawaii can be.
PS: Interesting these kind of bullies in Hawaii got a big setback with the Deedy confrontation a few years ago. The local Hawaii bully was picking on the Caucasian guy in a McD just when there was a APEC convention and there was whole bunch of fellow Caucasian visitors in the same area at the same time, one of which was a Federal agent with a concealed firearm and possibly a little sauced.
The best thing that could have happened when Deedy shot the punk. We have our share of punks but they don’t seem as brutal as the ones in Thailand. What we need are more Christopher Deedy’s .
Mr Mililani, I’m pretty sure Christopher Deedy regrets what happened that dreadful day. His actions cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal defense. It probably stifled his career. So you want more Christopher Deedys to spend time, money and anguish to defend themselves. Really?
Inverse and ms.Mililani are the punk like deedy.
NaniB: Stick with the rail propaganda. Although Elderts did not deserve to die, he like this bully in Thailand thought there would be no consequence in intimidating, threatening or attacking innocent people, who are ALWAYS weaker then themselves and by chance Elderts came across someone who happened to be a federal agent who was not about to take shatz and was willing to use his weapon to end the confrontation. Problem in Thailand is clear that authorities don’t hold these bullies accountable and now it will hurt their tourism trade. Actually I am glad as this is better for Hawaii and find it disgusting that many American and European men travel to Thailand, including Lingle’s chief of staff, to have sax with young children.
The family look like their blind drunk and the punks took advantage of them.
I almost got sick to my stomach when I saw the teenager kick the woman in the head when she was down on the ground. We were thinking about taking a vacation there but it will never happen. You can say this is an isolated incident but a lot of folks don’t want to take a chance and that includes us. We’ll stick to the mainland.
That was a brutal kick. The Thai guy who decked the three British seemed to very proficient with his fist. What you need to consider is that before the Thai man hit all 3, one of the British men grabbed him from behind and appeared to be motioning the others to hit the Thai man. So, tell me, if 3 British people, or anybody else, started screaming at you and tried to beat you, what would you do?
Do you know why Thailand is a really popular vacation destination? It is because Thai people are mostly very nice, things are relatively inexpensive, there are tons of places to see, there are beautiful beaches (nicer than Hawaii), and the Capital city and major tourist areas have nice shopping malls (much better than Ala Moana). It’s your loss if you never visit Thailand.
Also consider that if those British people acted like that in some of our mainland cities, they would likely end up as a statistic. Our mainland can be a dangerous place.
Thailand should make an example out of these hoodlums with a very public trial to be
followed by a very lengthy prison stay in order to salvage its tourism…..
These kind of rejects will be joining us as immigrants very soon
people who did this need to be punish
I’ve often wondered why it’s called the “Land of Smiles”. Never will I ever visit there.
That will be your loss, not theirs.
” See the USA in your Chevrolet, America the greatest land of all” ! A good sale pitch in the fifties should be resurrected to increase tourism within our country and at the same time help keep economy nice and healthy! Leave those dubious countries alone none are worth visiting if it endangers our lives!
You must have never travelled to a foreign country. That is your loss. Hawaii and the mainland have more dangers than Thailand.
Not to be ignored however, is that Thailand, with little doubt, remains the child prostitution center and supplier for the world, especially the wealthy Western democracies (ask Jared Fogle). And while Thailand has condoned prostitution for over half a millennia, it was only after the U.S. involvement during the Vietnam War and our subsequent departure that the sex industry fairly exploded.
I’m not blaming the victims, but maybe Mom should not have confronted the local drunks. Maybe she and Dad should’ve just flagged down the local police.
The mom probably thought she was dealing with civilized human beings.
Well , there goes my vacation plans for Bangkok…
Band all travel there, that will solve the problem. See how there economy grows without tourist dollars.
P.S., These are just a very few that we hear of. Wonder how many more we are not made aware of?
Like Mexico and other dangerous third-world countries tourists “never” believe they are in danger until it’s too late. These three are lucky to be alive. Had it been in a place less public they might have had their throats slit to boot. Many of the people in these countries despise westerners. Trouble, looking for a place to happen. Wrong time; wrong place.
They despise westerners but cant wait to get a green card…..
How many Thai people try to immigrate to the U.S.? Almost zero. How many Thai tourists have you seen in Hawaii? I have yet to see one. Thailand is much nicer than Hawaii.
Lock em up. Throw away the key…
More reason to stay away from those third world countries. They hate the tourists there anyway, so no sense to go there to help their economy if they are not wanted there in the first place. If they have a lot of drunks wandering the streets there, you figure they would have more police patrolling the area too to prevent attacks such as this. Most of the locals know martial arts too, so those tourists are lucky they weren’t killed since these guys can crack skulls easily their their kicks and punches.
I always thought Thailand is safe, now I have doubts.
From 1980 to 2000 Thailand was indeed a place many Americans (men mostly) considered as a retirement haven. Agreeable climate, tasty food, fabulous beaches and island resorts, as well as many beautiful and willing women were tremendously appealing to someone with the dough and willing to pull up stakes. It still is in many ways, but times have changed.
As some from that era notoriously said, “Thailand is the one place in the world you can still be a white man.”
Koh Tao is being called Death Island by many expats currently living in Thailand, not only because of the two British backpackers who were murdered, but numerous other cases where people went missing or were killed under mysterious circumstances and the cases are open and unsolved and will probably remain so.
Lesson learned DONT GO THAILAND!
The lesson here is don’t go to Thailand or any south east asian country for that matter. It just isn’t safe no matter what the state department says. It’s a slight step above North Korea and the middle east.