Thai netizens react after Japanese living statue hits actress’s son on head
A living statue street performer in Japan sparked backlash among Thai netizens after slapping the son of a Thai actress on the head. However, the boy’s parents later forgave the performer, saying the incident was a misunderstanding and confirming they would not pursue legal action.
The incident came to public attention after the family of Thai actress Sarocha “Bua” Viriuamettakul, shared footage from their family holiday in Japan on her YouTube channel, Buablink.
Bua travelled to Japan with her husband, Pipat Viriyamettakul, their twin sons, and her older brother’s family. A moment from the trip later sparked criticism online when one of her sons, Vayuphak “Vayu” Viriuamettakul, interacted with a living statue street performer.
According to the video, Vayu donated money to the performer before reaching his hand towards the performer’s coin bucket. The Japanese street performer appeared to misunderstand the action and reacted by striking the child on the head.
Vayu’s grandmother immediately rushed to help him and apologised to the performer before the family left the area.
Pipat later explained that he was initially very angry and almost confronted the performer physically, but restrained himself after realising that his son was also at fault for touching someone else’s belongings without permission.
Vayu later burst into tears, prompting both parents to comfort him. Pipat explained to viewers that his son had no intention of stealing the money and was simply behaving playfully as a child. He said he believed the performer may have thought Vayu was attempting to take money from the bucket and reacted out of fear or frustration.
Pipat added that his son did act inappropriately and acknowledged that children are not always seen as lovable in every situation. He also reflected that the performer may have encountered negative experiences with others in the past, influencing his reaction.
The couple stressed that physical violence is unacceptable but said they chose to treat the incident as a learning experience for their child.
Following the release of the video, many Thai netizens urged the family to take legal action against the performer, while others expressed concern about the boy’s emotional wellbeing.
Pipat later posted an update on his Facebook account, confirming that the family decided not to pursue legal action. He said they explained the situation to Vayu, who understood what happened and was coping well mentally.
He urged netizens to respect the family’s decision to end the incident peacefully and also thanked the Thai online community for their concern, encouragement, and support following the incident.
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