Thai man attacked at Bangkok bar for protecting Chinese tourist
A Thai man sustained a head injury after being attacked by a group of 10 men outside a bar in Bangkok for protecting a Chinese tourist.
The victim, 50 year old Rongrit Choomee, urged Thai news agencies to help him seek justice, as the gang that attacked him claimed to be powerful and well-connected with officers at Bangna Police Station in the Bangna district of Bangkok, where the incident took place.
Rongrit shared CCTV footage of the attack with the media but the video has not been made public. Screenshots from the footage, published by DailyNews, show Rongrit surrounded by a group of men in a car park. Women, believed to be Rongrit’s friends, were seen trying to intervene in the fight.
In an interview with Channel 3, Rongrit revealed that he went to a bar on Soi Udomsuk 56 in the Bangna area of Bangkok at around 2.30am on September 22 with two female friends. While they were drinking, a Chinese tourist approached them and asked one of his female friends to dance with him.
Rongrit allowed his friend to dance with the foreigner, as the man asked politely and did not appear to pose a threat.
Unexpectedly, a group of 10 men, aged between 30 and 40 years old, who were also customers at the bar, approached him and encouraged him to attack the Chinese man for taking his friend away. The group reportedly said…
“Beat up the Chinese man!”
Repeated assaults on partygoers
Rongrit refused to assault the Chinese man, which angered the gang. They insulted him with vulgar language. So, Rongrit decided to leave the bar and head to a nearby hotel. However, the gang followed him and punched him from behind near his ear.
Rongrit explained that he previously suffered an injury near his ear during a car accident. The accident resulted in a fractured skull, requiring the removal of a section. The attack caused him a serious injury.
Rongrit collapsed but managed to pull himself together and run to hide in the hotel. The gang attempted to follow him into the hotel but witnesses intervened. According to Rongrit, the gang waited outside the hotel for more than two hours before dispersing.
Later, Rongrit learned from locals that this group of men assaulted other patrons at the venue on multiple occasions previously. He warned that this group poses a threat not only to local partygoers like himself but also to foreign tourists and he believes such incidents tarnish Thailand’s reputation and tourism industry.
At the end of the interview, Rongrit provided an update on his health, saying that he recently underwent a brain scan due to persistent dizziness.
