Pattaya punch-up perplexes police: Viral video captures motorcycle taxi turmoil outside central mall

A viral video emerged on Thai social media over the weekend showing a brutal attack on a foreign man by two motorcycle taxi riders outside Central Pattaya shopping mall. Police said they had received no reports of the incident.

The Facebook user, เดฟร็อก ไทย, shared the video of the attack on December 30 with a caption that said: Pattaya motorcycle riders fight with a foreign tourist. #PattayaCountdown.

In the video, two motorcycle taxi riders can be seen punching, hitting, and kicking the foreign man outside the mall. The foreigner tried to fight back but could do little against the two men. A foreign woman believed to be his girlfriend, tried to help him but to no avail.

A great number of Thais and foreigners stopped to watch the fight from a distance. They were shocked and confused by the altercation but no one dared to intervene in the situation.

The video garnered significant attention from Thai netizens who criticized the behaviour of the Thai motorcycle riders. Some netizens contended that the actions of the two Thai riders tarnished the image of Thai tourism, while others raised questions about the motives behind the attack, speculating that the riders must have had their reasons.

The altercation allegedly occurred on Pattaya Sai Song Road, situated in front of the Central Pattaya shopping mall. The motorcycle riders featured in the video were providing services to shoppers and residents of a condominium adjacent to the mall. The impromptu shelter where they awaited passengers was near the incident.

Parking confusion

ThaiRath later interviewed one of the motorcycle riders at the shelter about the incident. The 57 year old rider named Jong revealed that the fight broke out around 8pm on December 30. The foreign couple parked their motorcycle at the motorcycle taxi shelter, so the riders asked them to leave, informing them that their shelter was not a parking lot.

Jong insisted that his colleagues were polite to the couple but the foreign man, who might have been drunk, pushed one of the riders to the ground. Then the physical attack began. Jong insisted that his colleagues did not mean to hurt the foreigner and that it was not in their nature to do so.

Mueang Pattaya Police Station officers told ThaiRath that they had not received a complaint about the fight from either side. Officers believed that both sides were willing to drop the case and did not want to pursue legal action against each other.