TimsBlog

I was reading this article this morning.

Tourists beaten by 30-man gang

Police arrested a Thai soldier for participating in an attack by 30 men on three British tourists as they ate at a food stall north of the Thai capital, police said Thursday (July 19th).

Thomas Donald Patrick suffered a cracked skull after he and two friends were attacked in Nakorn Sawan province, about 210 kilometers (130 miles) north of Bangkok, said police Col. Pranom Manmuang.

A group of about 30 Thai men, including a soldier, began kicking and punching the three Britons as they dined at a roadside food stall Sunday (July 15th) morning, Pranom said.

An arrested attacker confessed that he was in the group that attacked the British tourists including Patrick – a staff coach of the London-based Tottenam Hotspur youth team.

He said his group did not intend to hurt Patrick but the fighting erupted after a conflict between his group and Patrick’s Thai friends.

Responding to questions about the attack, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said the incident must be thoroughly investigated by police and the army.

“I believe it will not affect the image of the Thai army as it was more of an isolated incident that involved individuals. The Thai army does not encourage their men to act like hooligans,” Surayud said.

Patrick and two other men _ William Paul Stone and Francis Benjamin Peter _ were taken to a hospital. But the same group of attackers stormed the hospital room and continued to beat them until police arrived, Pranom said.

Pranom said Patrick’s condition was stable, adding the two other Britons were slightly injured.

On Thursday police arrested and charged Sgt Chinaphong Prakobketkorn and another Thai man, Nattapan Jirapong, with assault. The suspects face a maximum seven years in jail if found guilty.

I have told people before that you jsut don’t start or finish fights in Thailand. You avoid them at all costs. Its jsut as safe in Bangkok as in the states in most cases. The main difference is if your in a fight with a Thai person expect other Thai’s to join in and they will not stop till your finished. This is explained perfectly with the line from the article saying that they followed the tourist to the hospital and beat him some more till the cops came.

I’m sure this was not random. The tourists had to have said something to piss of these guys. There are ways to avoid these situations. Shut your loud mouth and walk away everytime. Don’t raise your voice. Remember if you end up fighting it will not stop and every Thai on the street will join in to make sure you get beat and it will not stop.

I can’t say why this happens in Thai culture. I can only speculate that its form big loud obnoxious foreigners in their country all the time. If someone twice your size was treating you you’d get a bunch of people to stomp the guy too. Its all smiles all the time till you push them to far.

More proof that learning the basics in a foreign language are key. Thank You, Please, and I’m sorry go a long way.