Thailand attack: British family 'vow never to return' after savage street attack

[Jiu-Jitsu]

For the idiots on the other thread who said the tourists started it, well, no they didn't.

From the paper that cannot be named- 'Pol Col Chaiyakorn said the attack started after "the son accidentally bumped into one of the Thai men".

The drunken Thai lout then threw a punch and mum went to protect her son.

What video are you watching?

If the mother had gone to protect the son, she'd have gone in the opposite direction, as he'd already tripped over his own feet and bit the dust!

Mutha, went for the confrontation!

You mean confrontation by speaking?

[blistering blue barnacles]

435294-rose-owen.jpg

What some drunken cowardly Thai men can do to a 65 year old woman.

Get well soon ma'am.

photo caption:

"Here are some flowers. Ka. Do you still have double vision? You are so lucky, we have a discount on brain surgery at Bangkok Hospital this week. 30% off. Ka. And next time, use your right arm more to block a kick to the head. Ka."

Yeah, use your right arm to stop kicks, instaed of dishing out slaps!

[Jiu-Jitsu]

As I have mentioned on other sites.Songkran at 2am no time for these people to be there.many thais fully drunk.look at the video the farang throws the first punch?I spoke to a mate bar owner who told me the thai lads were arguing amongst themselves.when these farang people stepped in.bad call walk away.why stick your nose in?it could have been worse if a weapon was involved.here's hoping they all recover ok.

"Mate bar owner"...Chinese whispers?

[oldsailor35]

R.I.P Thailand. This could be the last nail in the coffin for western tourists. Its a shame because these folks were regular visitors to the Kingdom. Thailand, you can enjoy the low rent Chinese mobs from now on. There's billions of them.

well deserved Thailand. Only asian tourists. Western tourist number have been falling as total of visitors. Under 10% soon!

Figures from TAT say that incoming tourists up 15%, But they were not up to saying where they are coming from......I wonder ?

[blistering blue barnacles]

To all the ThaiVisa commentators advising that people stay away from Thailand, how many of you will follow your own advice and either leave Thailand, or if like most, you don't live here, will never come back to Thailand again ?

Thought so.

I'm leaving next week, haven't bothered to renew my 1 year retirement extension.

See Ya!

[dunroaming]

Given the amount of domestic violence in Thailand (by both men and women) it is not so surprising that the people find punching and kicking an old woman in the face as acceptable. Wonder what the bystanders reaction would have been if the same thing happened in the UK?

[vermin on arrival]

I don't normally post here on TV with all of the trolling, flaming et al that goes on here, but here is a point which people may have missed. The son of the British family involved, who lives in Singapore(and is a graphic designer there), made this comment(which may be untrue)in the Mirror article which few people seem to have been reading, “It was just out of the blue. None of us were drunk – we had just had a merry night and were going home.” Many have been saying that these people were drunken lager louts based on the video, but if this statement is true, than all the Thais involved were drunk and none of them. I guess only actual witnesses to the event or the hospital staff can have an accurate opinion on this point (although the family did look unsteady).

The family certain made a number of egregious mistakes here that people who have long experience here would know not to do and escalated the situation, but for people to say that this was some lesson that they should learn is appalling. Yes, they should have walked away, but based on their limited experience here as tourists, they didn't realize what grave and deadly danger they were actually in (all for lightly pushing past a drunken man in the streets) and it all must have happened so quickly for them( in 2 minutes my god). The vile drunken Thai louts who savaged them should also have walked away rather than brutalize people who could be their parents and grandparents. The fact they couldn't based on losing face, etc. exposes many sad truths about Thailand and Thai culture.

Over my 18 years experience in Thailand, there were 3 occasions when I could have been in serious trouble here. Thankfully, I had the presence of mind and walked away, and if I said anything it was as I beat a hasty retreat rather than get a lead pipe or whisky bottle in the head. For whatever errors these people made, they did not deserve this beating and the fact that only 1 or 2 Thai persons(both women-women in red who tried to save the striped shirt guy and woman in black who tried to stop the head stomps at the end) stepped in to try and break things up also says a lot about the country. The people came and helped them after the fact. If the perpetrators in this instance had made up their mind to kill these elderly people, I believe that no one would have lifter a finger to stop it.

Certainly having audio of all of this would really help to clarify the actions of everyone.

They were out celebrating the father's 68th birthday. Happy Birthday (and Songkran) from Thailand.

[SOTIRIOS]

...they tried to hide this...for almost 2 weeks.....

...scum defending scum.......

...then they call for 'quality tourists'......

...and treat us like sh*t at every turn.....

[SpeakeasyThai]

Thank goodness the British media and others have well publicized this tragic and brutal attack.

Yes. Let this be a warning to tourists not to push, slap and punch Thai guys because they can be brutal when provoked.

Your comment should read:

'Yes. Let this be a warning to tourists not to push, slap and punch Thai thugs as they are cowardly bastards that beat up 65 year old grandmothers.

[blistering blue barnacles]

I'd say the tourists started it and I'm not an idiot.

I beg to differ

I agree with him, however the Thai's response was absolutely disgusting behaviour that is totally unjustifiable.

The tourists certainly did themselves no favours at all.

What started out as an argument between the Thai in the white shirt and the Thai in the black t-shirt with red square (the same guy that floored all three tourists) escalated when the white shirt walks into the son, who literally pushed him out of the way - at 23 seconds - but apart from being pushed, stumbling and smashing his face into the step, no punches were thrown up to this point.

When the mother confronted white shirt, black t-shirt was out of the picture having a conversation with friends letting a farang walk through their group without a second thought. This farang stopped to watch the exact moment the mother slapped white shirt - at 55 seconds - and smartly decided to walk away.

Black t-shirt walks back of to put his arm around white shirt—the same time as son gets to his feet and joins his mother—and the mother went straight for him - even though up to this point he had been uninvolved and was not even aware the mum had slapped white shirt.

The son walks around and grabs black t-shirt while a little weed appears to headset mum. The dad then punches black t-shirt to the face while son holds him - at 1:18. At this stage a black cap wearing farang intervenes and appears to try to advise the mum to let it go. By this stage, it was too late; son had let black t-shirt go and he walks around the group coward-punching the dad, the knocking mum to the ground followed by the son.

I'm certainly not saying the tourists deserved to be set upon, but they're definitely not the innocents most people are making them out to be.

Edit: before I get flamed, let me just reiterate nothing justifies kicking someone to the head and stamping on people while they're down, especially to an elderly lady.

The dad didn't punch black shirt #1, he punched the guy that got slapped.

Yeah, he got pushed, then slapped, then punched and he never retaliated, yet he's photographed sitting in cuffs and a flak jacket!

What's wrong with this picture?

My advice to farang that wish to abuse and assault Thais: Great, don't come back!

[Broken Record]

Thank goodness the British media and others have well publicized this tragic and brutal attack.

Yes. Let this be a warning to tourists not to push, slap and punch Thai guys because they can be brutal when provoked.

is that the lesson you take from this brutal attack on an elderly couple by a gang of drunk Thai cowards? The lesson I take from it is DON'T GO TO THAILAND!

So you won't be going, here's a man with conviction, Bangkok Hank is not going to Thailand, well done BH, unlike many here who preach to others about the danger to life and limb that awaits a Farang every second of the day whist themselves choosing to remain in the same terrible hellish place never having a problem.

[Tonlondon]

So shocked that any one can start talking who caused what or even discussing that this was acceptable. This was horrific and had you and your parents ended up on the receiving end of this, then you might be saying something differently. To beat old people in this manner is nothing but cowardly and barbaric. I may also add this is not the first time I have heard of or know, where foreigners have been targeted. I have one retired friend who is quiet, polite, nice and never causes any conflict ever. He was returning one evening and was attacked for no reason at all. None. No alcohol was involved at all. The only reason anyone can think why this happened, is he was just picked out because he was a foreigner and a gang wanted to beat one. He was so badly beaten he could have died and took one year to recover. Stop thinking it is safe at night, it is not and has become progressively worse. How do I know this, living here for over 15 years. I love Thailand but I am not going to sit and pretend it is not violent or it has not got worse. It has and I have seen regular reports of foreigners being beaten, attacked and even killed. Time to wake up. For whatever reason it is happening. That is not to tarnish Thai people as the majority do not behave like this and are nice to foreigners. But there is an element of real hate among some. Sad. I feel so sorry for the family. Totally disgusting and abhorrent. No justification at all for this and to use alcohol as an excuse is to add salt on the wounds. Sorry I beat an old lady and old man up, did not know if I had killed them or not, did not care. Next day get caught...sorry I was drunk. From the planet I am on and my upbringing that is merely the voice of a coward and a child not taking responsibility. Appalling.

[SOTIRIOS]

...and if there had not been the video....never mind the witnesses..

..know that Thais will not tell on Thais against foreigners....*I was told that by several Thais...

...they would have said that 'They Started'.....

...yeah...we all spend thousands or tens of thousands of dollars to .....come to Thailand to start a fight with scum in the street...

...reminds me of the father and son who were stabbed to death at a karaoke bar....because...'They would not stop singing'.....

[carlyai]

And there in lies the story.

I am sorry for the way they ended up.

When in any country, and you are drunk, you still gave to have your wits about you.

For me, I would not have taken my family down that narrow soi with all those drunk Thais.

It is or used to be the same in Aus and probably the same in Wales.

You steer clear of danger. And there were definite danger signals there.

When they chose to go down that crowded, drunken soi, as non Thais, and then not to lean over backwards and apologise to the drunken Thai that they bumped into, even if the themselves are drunk, shows stupidity.

For that woman to get into an argument with the Thai guy was stupid, but to slap him, was incredible stupid. How would a drunken Welch (young person)react to being slapped by a drunken old person?

When you are out having a good time and drunk, you must still be aware of your enviroment.

I can see the same thing happening in my country when everyone is drunk, in fact I've been kicked in the head etc for going to help someone and getting a 'sucker punch'.

The mob mindset is you dont let them get up if get them down. The person who is down has to get up, or you jeep getting kicked. Luckily this didn't continue for these people.

As horrible as it may seem to people who have been sheltered in life, this is probably a typical sceen around the world when people drink too much.

These days it doesn't matter what your age is because the drinking masks all that.

[Moonsterk]

I don't normally post here on TV with all of the trolling, flaming et al that goes on here, but here is a point which people may have missed. The son of the British family involved, who lives in Singapore(and is a graphic designer there), made this comment(which may be untrue)in the Mirror article which few people seem to have been reading, “It was just out of the blue. None of us were drunk – we had just had a merry night and were going home.” Many have been saying that these people were drunken lager louts based on the video, but if this statement is true, than all the Thais involved were drunk and none of them. I guess only actual witnesses to the event or the hospital staff can have an accurate opinion on this point (although the family did look unsteady).

The family certain made a number of egregious mistakes here that people who have long experience here would know not to do and escalated the situation, but for people to say that this was some lesson that they should learn is appalling. Yes, they should have walked away, but based on their limited experience here as tourists, they didn't realize what grave and deadly danger they were actually in (all for lightly pushing past a drunken man in the streets) and it all must have happened so quickly for them( in 2 minutes my god). The vile drunken Thai louts who savaged them should also have walked away rather than brutalize people who could be their parents and grandparents. The fact they couldn't based on losing face, etc. exposes many sad truths about Thailand and Thai culture.

Over my 18 years experience in Thailand, there were 3 occasions when I could have been in serious trouble here. Thankfully, I had the presence of mind and walked away, and if I said anything it was as I beat a hasty retreat rather than get a lead pipe or whisky bottle in the head. For whatever errors these people made, they did not deserve this beating and the fact that only 1 or 2 Thai persons(both women-women in red who tried to save the striped shirt guy and woman in black who tried to stop the head stomps at the end) stepped in to try and break things up also says a lot about the country. The people came and helped them after the fact. If the perpetrators in this instance had made up their mind to kill these elderly people, I believe that no one would have lifter a finger to stop it.

Certainly having audio of all of this would really help to clarify the actions of everyone.

They were out celebrating the father's 68th birthday. Happy Birthday (and Songkran) from Thailand.

Your post is very well written, I appreciate it. But the video does not lie. The Brits escalated a situation, and their ignorance does not excuse them. In fact, I bet they would not have acted in the same manner toward young men out and about in a partying area in their home town- Clockwork Orange Town or something like it.

They thought the carefully constrained and gracious manner of their Thai hotel staff could be counted upon in every situation- and they were wrong. They should come out and say it.

"We were wrong, we are lucky to be standing, and we have learned a lesson about taking advantage of the usual good manners of Thai people while we were behaving as louts. Go to Thailand, it a great travel destination..."

Instead they are encouraging news media, who are not showing the entire video- to basically lie about the incident to show Thailand in as negative a view as possible.

Now the lads have been rounded up, pointed at and paraded publicly looking properly chastised, and will most likely face some serious fines and punishment and will have this on their records. It is not like they got away with it.

[SpeakeasyThai]

Given the amount of domestic violence in Thailand (by both men and women) it is not so surprising that the people find punching and kicking an old woman in the face as acceptable. Wonder what the bystanders reaction would have been if the same thing happened in the UK?

I note your comment regarding domestic violence by Thai men and Thai women as I have been the victim of domestic violence by my estranged Thai wife. I was struck in the neck and my carotid artery was dissected resulting in suffering a stroke. To this day my wife denies her actions and refuses to accept she struck me. The bottom line is they cannot reason, they cannot compromise and they cannot apologise. It's just not in their DNA.

[Broken Record]

EGO on both sides

should have just walked away

http://stv.tv/news/scotland/1352193-scots-family-attacked-and-beaten-by-gang-in-thailand/

"According to the account, "gangs of Thai youths were priming themselves to start punching Westerners" in the area before the attack."

This wasn't a "walk away" situation. The Thais wanted blood and they got it.

I would disagree with that. There would not have been the length of pre-assault discussion as shown on the CCTV clip if they were just out for blood as alleged.

it is not "alleged", it is a fact. A farang man in Hua Hin who stepped in to help stop the fight was interview by many western press and also told the story first hand here in Hua Hin. He was warned by his Thai girlfriend who heard the gang members saying they were there to attack Farangs. And they did.

And of course he is a 100% stand up guy who could never be doubted.....ever thought he could be telling lies ?

[blistering blue barnacles]

Soccer kicking a grandmother in the face while she is down is something that one just never imagines anyone would ever be capable of doing. It is making world news in a hurry and won't be forgotten easily by anyone.

Yeah, kinda like the 2 teenage Thai boys that kicked the pregnant Thai woman off her bike, breaking her leg. Then proceeded to drag her into the bushes and rape her, even though she begged them to stop because she was pregnant.

But that story didn't get much play, did it? Guess it wasn't so important as she was merely a Thai.

Strange how farang seem to prioritise things in their own favour, makes me wanna puke!

And yeah, I'm English, and not proud of it! Seen enough Brits on the piss to last me a lifetime…

[Blue Muton]

I was with some friends in Bali the other week and the subject of violence of locals against tourists came up. I asked how many foreign tourists got murdered each year. They had to think very hard and thought it may only be 1 or 2 maximum. Quite different to the Land of Smiles.

Bali has different breed of visitors. Again, these English drunks are trash, and Thailand is popular with trash, cuz trash likes seediness and cheap... The headkick is low (pun intended) but I see an old woman hitting a guy in the face... ? ? ?

As English seems to be a little difficult for you to comprehend, I'll put this as simply as I can for you.

They are not English.

They are Welsh.

Can you follow that?

[Cereal]

 

Thank goodness the British media and others have well publicized this tragic and brutal attack.

Yes. Let this be a warning to tourists not to push, slap and punch Thai guys because they can be brutal when provoked.

 

Ha! That's a freaking joke. Thai guys are limp-wristed pussies until they're in numbers. One on one, I would venture a guess the gigantic majority of them turtle.

They're only brutal when they outnumber the "ahem" provocateur 5 to 1. Unless, of course, the provocateurs are nearing septuagenarian age, then 2 -1 will do fine.

[oldsailor35]

R.I.P Thailand. This could be the last nail in the coffin for western tourists. Its a shame because these folks were regular visitors to the Kingdom. Thailand, you can enjoy the low rent Chinese mobs from now on. There's billions of them.

well deserved Thailand. Only asian tourists. Western tourist number have been falling as total of visitors. Under 10% soon!

I see Thailand really with a BAD image problems now. Too many incidents lately (this year alone). There is huge marketing for Philippines. That will be the next FAVourite place to go.

Cheaper too

Thailand deserves a kick in the guts and sorry but so do the people who stand by and say Sollee I can do nothing.

If everyone did that attitude nothing, anywhere in the world would change

Philippines ! mmmm well its obvious that you are looking for the "SEX" side of asian tourism. However if you just want to see a different social lifestyle, then forget about the Philippines and go to beautiful Sri Lanka where the people really are nice, and mean it.

[Tomtomtom69]

Who is paying the hospital bill?

Not the victims I hope.

435294-rose-owen.jpg

What some drunken cowardly Thai men can do to a 65 year old woman.

Get well soon ma'am.

@Bangkokken, ever heard of travel insurance? It's this type of insurance that every sane westerner has when they travel outside of their usual place of residence. Anyone stupid enough NOT to have travel insurance (especially elderly people) can only hope nothing happens to them while they're on holiday.

Only a really stupid person would travel without insurance of some sort.

[dirtycash]

Thank goodness the British media and others have well publicized this tragic and brutal attack.

Yes. Let this be a warning to tourists not to push, slap and punch Thai guys because they can be brutal when provoked.

Yep providing they outnumber you and are battling old pensioners. Brave heroes aren't they just.

glad british media are onto this. thai men can only fight in numbers, they are cowards. im beginning to hate the people and their country more and more .

[nuananddon]

This is a little advice to all you big tuff guys out there that say they would have done is or done that. Have you ever seen the wildlife video ot a great big bull moose being attacked by a pack of wolves. One on one the wolve is no match against the bull moose, but when he has the rest of the pack to support him the moose is good as dead unless he can break and get away. Thai's use this same tactic when confronting a much larger opposition. They will attack like a pack of wolves and your arse is as good for a beating. If you got the chance walk away and enjoy another day in good health, you won't be any less a man.

[Broken Record]

R.I.P Thailand. This could be the last nail in the coffin for western tourists. Its a shame because these folks were regular visitors to the Kingdom. Thailand, you can enjoy the low rent Chinese mobs from now on. There's billions of them.

well deserved Thailand. Only asian tourists. Western tourist number have been falling as total of visitors. Under 10% soon!

I see Thailand really with a BAD image problems now. Too many incidents lately (this year alone). There is huge marketing for Philippines. That will be the next FAVourite place to go.

Cheaper too

Thailand deserves a kick in the guts and sorry but so do the people who stand by and say Sollee I can do nothing.

If everyone did that attitude nothing, anywhere in the world would change

Philippines ! mmmm well its obvious that you are looking for the "SEX" side of asian tourism. However if you just want to see a different social lifestyle, then forget about the Philippines and go to beautiful Sri Lanka where the people really are nice, and mean it.

Plenty of Sex Tourists in Sri Lanka

[blistering blue barnacles]

For the idiots on the other thread who said the tourists started it, well, no they didn't.

From the paper that cannot be named- 'Pol Col Chaiyakorn said the attack started after "the son accidentally bumped into one of the Thai men".

The drunken Thai lout then threw a punch and mum went to protect her son.

What video are you watching?

If the mother had gone to protect the son, she'd have gone in the opposite direction, as he'd already tripped over his own feet and bit the dust!

Mutha, went for the confrontation!

You mean confrontation by speaking?

Didn't stop at words though, did it?

[sambum]

One thing that is typical and not surprising is how people nearby were watching arms folded. I seen it before in Thailand. When someone is in distress and attacked its a case of "nothing to do with me"

And thats true of women and children attacked. Says something about the place!

I was with a friend a few years ago on motor bikes, and he was riding ahead of me and swerved to avoid a cat on the road. The bike jackknifed and he ended up bouncing down the road like a rag doll. Lots of Thais just looking on with disdain, and it was a farang Dive Shop owner who came to help, took my friend to hospital in his truck, even waiting until he was treated and released, and took him home - only minor injuries, but it could have been much worse, and the Thais couldn't have cared less.

[zyphodb]

The reason why they're doing things like this with no thought or concern is because they're all Yabba (Crystal Meth) addicts... There is a huge problem with this all over Thailand from the bottom to top of society, it is well known for being one of the most addictive drugs as well as turning people completely psychotic very quickly.

So while the police & army are throwing the full weight of the law against Marijuana & Opium, (because guess what? they can't make any cash out of drugs anyone can grow in their backyards) Influential people are making fortunes out of Yabba, Funny how its only ever the small guys who get caught for it...

If you are wondering why Thai society is being destroyed, look no farther,,,,,

[mike324]

After viewing the video, it is very clear the police spokesman's statement is incorrect. The Owen family did not accidentally bump into any of the thugs at all. They just walked out of the bar and one of the thugs can up behind the son unseen and pushed him hard in the back, causing him to fall over and hit his head on the raised sidewalk. The parents seemed to be asking the thug why he did that for a moment but there are no angry gestures from them. Soon after that point the police edited about 30 seconds from the video, for reasons better known to themselves, and then all three Owens are being mercilessly beaten up, the son having got to his feet again for a moment. It looks like a Thai girl with long hair who tried to intervene was also beaten then picked up and thrown to the ground face first.

What a brave bunch of guys, picking on elderly men and women and attacking them from behind!

I fail to see what the police spokesman hopes to achieve by lying about the incident to make it sound not so bad and passing on the fake apologies from the thugs, when the whole world can see what happened minus the 30 seconds edited out by the police.

Which video did you watch? The tourist and the Thai cross path and accdiently bump into each other, the Thai was holding a beer bottle which can be seen from the very beginning where he was pushing and arguing with another black shirt asian guy - he was probably pretty drunk by then.

http://news.thaivisa.com/hua-hin/police-hunt-thugs-who-brutally-attacked-british-family-in-hua-hin/139977/

So no, the Thais did not come after them for no reason, the Thai guy took offense to the bump and spilled beer. When the mom was talking to the guy, she slapped him at 00:50 sec mark.

But yes, the Thais were cowards for beating up an old couple, but the grandma really esculated the situation by hitting the guy. Quite frankly both parties are to be blame for their own actions.

[Prbkk]

It simply defies belief that these thugs have been released on bail: that says a lot about the Thai view of justice for foreigners ( and no TAT bunches of flowers/hospital room photo ops will change that ). Roles reversed and it would be a very different matter.

When the Austrlian woman was hacked to death in Phuket a couple of years ago in a purse snatching gone wrong, many people , although horrified by it, felt that it an event in a million.

However, these gang/thug attacks, often a consequence of someone feeling insulted by an innocent brush or bump, or someone looking at them, are all too common: many, many reports of those things happening in Pattaya recently. And the common theme: an indecent rush to cover it up: and that goes right back to the Charles Sobraj murders in the 70s, the Chiand Mai death hotel, Kirstie Jones, the Lunatic murderous cop, many other examples.

I like Thailand, I like Thais : but Thailand needs to get discussion of these events out in the open: trying to hide them is suicidal. Tourism IS DOWN from non-Chinese markets ( any back of the envelope look at the figures released the other day shows that: Chinese arrivals up 32%, Chinese visitors= 25% of total, overall numbers up 10%= some markets are down, and a cursory glance at the airport and around town, one would say that is Caucasian markets).

Maybe tourists have a short memory: I suspect this video clip and associated news reports is going to stick around for a considerable time. Very nasty indeed.