CCTV footage outside a hotel in Pattaya captured teenage motorcyclists slapping foreign pedestrians on the head before speeding away.
The Facebook page อยากดังเดี๋ยวจัดให้ รีเทริน์ part 6 (translated as “tell me if you want to be famous, return part 6”) shared the video of these physical assaults on foreign tourists yesterday, January 15, accompanied by a caption that read…
“Ruining the image of Thai tourism. Parents always defend their children, claiming they are good boys, but they go around slapping foreign tourists on the head. This happens almost every day. These teenage suspects target foreigners.”
According to the page, teenagers frequently commit such offences on the road leading to the popular tourist attraction Khao Phra Tamnak in Pattaya, typically after 10pm. The footage showed the incident occurring outside the Citrus Grande Hotel in southern Pattaya.
In the video, two male teenagers can be seen riding a motorcycle. The rider approaches the foreign victims closely, while the passenger slaps them on the head.
The Facebook page expressed concern that such attacks could harm Pattaya’s reputation as a tourist destination and called on the police and relevant government officials to address the issue urgently.
As of now, the police have not yet identified the two attackers captured in the footage. Furthermore, no victims have come forward to file complaints against the assailants.
In a related incident last December, officers from Mueang Pattaya Police Station arrested four teenagers for brutally assaulting and robbing an 80 year old Belgian man. The gang ambushed the victim as he was walking home after a Christmas Eve party. They beat him, stabbed him with a knife, and stole 7,000 baht in cash.
Many Thai citizens have urged the government to treat juvenile offenders as adults and increase penalties. They hope that harsher punishments will act as a deterrent and reduce the number of teenage offenders.
For the recent case of slapping tourists, suspects aged 20 or above would face charges under Section 295 of the Criminal Code for physical assault, which carries a penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to 40,000 baht, or both. However, the punishment would differ for the underage offenders seen in the video.
The story CCTV captures Thai teens slapping foreigners’ heads in Pattaya (video) as seen on Thaiger News.
