Khao San Road bouncers warned against use of violence after one slaps foreign tourist (video)
The Superintendent of Chana Songkram Police Station rounded up all the bouncers working on Bangkok’s notorious Khao San Road yesterday to remind them not to use violence against tourists and partygoers.
The warning follows a recent viral video of a security guard, working at a nightclub on Khao San Road, handcuffing a Westerner and repeatedly slapping him in the face.
The tourist – who is apparently a YouTuber – looks utterly confused by the guard’s violent behaviour.
It all started when the tourist reached for a bottle of water that he thought was complimentary. Turns out it wasn’t.
At 5.20pm yesterday, the Superintendent of Chana Songkram Police Station Pol. Col. Sanong Saengmanee met with 30 security guards working at venues along the Khao San Road, reports Matichon.
The police officer said he called the emergency meeting to remind bouncers of the rules following the inappropriate behaviour seen in the clip.
He said that kind of behaviour will make tourists feel unsafe and put them off coming to Thailand and will negatively affect the economy of Khao San Road.
The two bouncers seen in the clip were both fired from their positions. The venue – “The Club” – was ordered to close for three days to improve its management processes.
The police officer said that bouncers on Khao San Road may carry handcuffs and use them in cases of robbery or when it is appropriate. Sometimes, it is more than necessary to handcuff people to protect tourists’ safety.
The superintendent added that no charges had been filed against the offending bouncers since the tourist in the clip did not file a police report.
The Club issued a public statement apologising for the incident and said they were retraining their staff to improve their quality of service.
The superintendent added that another video surfaced last night of a Thai woman speaking in an Isaan dialect – a taxi driver – kicking a foreign tourist in an argument over a scratch on her car.
The foreigner did not do anything to the woman’s car, he was just trying to make her aware that he saw a Tuk Tuk driver crash into it. The events in the video took place, to no one’s surprise, at the entrance of Khao San Road.
