A district chief in Phuket clarified details about a physical altercation involving nearly 20 foreigners and two Thai men in a dispute over a rental motorcycle, promising to ensure justice for both parties.
Kathu District Chief Akkaraphon Sutthirak, yesterday, August 14, addressed the viral incident between a group of foreigners and two Thai men, one of whom was the owner of a motorcycle rental shop in Patong, Phuket.
Akkaraphon did not confirm the exact nationalities of the foreigners but stated that they were Middle Eastern. He explained that the incident occurred at around 9pm on August 10 outside the Rolling Stone All Tour motorcycle rental shop on Phra Metta Road.
One of the foreigners expressed interest in renting a Honda X-ADV 750cc and asked to try the motorcycle first. The shop owner agreed, but the foreign man crashed it.
Akkaraphon did not specify the extent of the damage, but the shop owner sought 50,000 baht in compensation. The foreigner attempted to negotiate the amount down to 10,000 baht, but the owner refused. The disagreement escalated into a heated argument, which then turned into a physical altercation.
The foreigner called five friends to the scene, further intensifying the situation. Akkaraphon stressed that only six foreigners were involved in the altercation, not 20 as reported by some news agencies. Other foreigners seen in the video were bystanders.
The shop owner and another Thai man injured in the incident filed a complaint against the six foreigners at Patong Police Station, while the foreigners also lodged a counter-complaint against the two Thais.
The district chief vowed to closely monitor the police investigation and assured the public that both parties would receive fair treatment.
In a separate incident, a confrontation occurred between Thai security guards at a bar in Soi Buakhao, Pattaya, and a Swedish man. The guards claimed they intervened after witnessing the foreign man act violently towards his Thai girlfriend.
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