Thai men deny sexual harassment charges against Taiwanese YouTuber
Two Thai men denied sexual harassment accusations after a photo and video emerged of them hugging and inappropriately touching Taiwanese YouTuber Ar Yuan (一隻阿圓).
The Two Thai men were condemned by Thai and Taiwanese netizens after they were spotted in the picture and video that they touched the Taiwanese YouTuber, Ar Yuan, without her consent.
One man was seen hugging Ar Yuan without her permission while taking a picture, while the other was spotted in the video touching her improperly close to her chest. The YouTuber also stated on her Instagram account that she was very scared by their actions.
Responding to complaints on social media, officers from Pak Khlong San Police Station summoned one of the Thai men, identified as 50 year old Auan, for questioning on the sexual harassment accusation yesterday at 11pm.
Auan explained that the incident happened at noon on February 12 at a pier in Soi Charoen Krung 32 in the Bang Rak district of Bangkok. He asked to take a picture with Ar Yuan when she and her male friend came to the pier but did not have any intention to harass her.
Auan said…
“I did hug her but did not mean to harass her. She did not show any discomfort or unfavourable feelings at the time. I am willing to apologize if I made her feel bad.”
As Ar Yuan did not file a complaint with the Thai police, the officers did not file any prosecution against Auan. However, they have stated that they will contact Ar Yuan to ask if she desires to prosecute Auan or not.
The other Thai man who touched Ar Yuan near her chest was not summoned by the police officers.
ORIGINAL STORY: Thai men condemned for inappropriately touching Taiwanese YouTuber
Thai and Taiwanese netizens condemned two Thai men for inappropriately touching a Taiwanese YouTuber, Ar Yuan, while she was travelling in Bangkok.
The Taiwanese YouTuber, Ar Yuan ( 一隻阿圓) runs a YouTube channel called I am CIRCLE (一隻阿圓) which promotes travel and lifestyle videos and draws over 762,000 subscribers to her channel. According to the Taiwanese news agency, ETtoday, Ar Yuan travelled to Bangkok in the middle of February and shared her experience in a video that was published three days ago.
In the video, Ar Yuan can be seen looking uncomfortable as a Thai man, who works as a pier staff, attempted to hold her hand. She later expressed her discomfort with the audience saying…
“Why do they always want to touch me?”
As she attempted to board a long-tail boat, the same member of staff appeared by her side again but too close to her chest, prompting Ar Yuan to say “Ok, Ok,” in an attempt to make him stop.
The YouTuber also posted a picture on her Instagram account, where she can be seen with a Thai man who asked to take a photo with her. He hugged her without consent. She expressed her fear in the caption saying…
“This man came to me and asked to take a picture with me. I was really scared because he hugged me!” See the picture here.
Ar Yuan’s fans commented on her picture and video expressing their concern about the behaviour of the two Thai men. Thai fans apologized on behalf of their fellow countrymen. They commented…
“I’m from Thailand. I write this comment to say sorry about the bad men that don’t make you feel good.”
“Thank you for coming to Thailand. As a Thai person, female travellers must be careful even if Thailand is friendly to tourists. Hope you enjoy your trip. Be careful too!”
“I experienced the same thing. The Thai man tried to help me, but I think it was sexual harassment!”
Ar Yuan later informed her fans that she was accompanied by her cameraman when the incidents occurred and thanked her followers and the Thai people for their concerns. Despite these unfortunate events, she stated that she had a great time in Thailand.
This incident drew comparisons to the case of Taiwanese actress An Yu-Qing, also known as Charlene An, who was extorted by Thai police officers for 27,000 baht. Many said these incidents ruin the image of Thai tourism.
