Transwoman attacked by pub guard in southern Thailand

A transwoman filed a complaint against a guard who attacked her at a pub in the Hat Yai district of Song Khla province in southern Thailand. The suspect said she was out of control while she was dancing while the victim insisted, she did not annoy any other partygoers with her moves.

The 19 year old transwoman, Arwut, also known as Sunny, told Hat Yai Focus that the incident happened when she and her five friends visited the pub on Friday, May 5.

Sunny claimed that they were dancing without bothering anyone when two to three guards rushed over to their table and asked them to dance with manners, threatening to kick them out if they refused to do so.

Sunny said they were confused because they were not annoying other people. Some Malaysian tourists sat nearby and even applauded them.

According to Sunny, the guard and a staff member returned to her table and asked them to leave claiming that they were underage. Sunny said she did not understand because there were many others under 20 years old enjoying the pub that night. She questioned the guard…

“We are banned due to our ages? Why is it that the others the same age can stay? Do you dare to check the ages of all the partygoers? If no one is underage, I am willing to bow down to you.”

Sunny said her response angered the guard, who then struck her on the head with a baton and dragged her out of the pub.

Sunny said she waited in front of the pub and called for the security team and pub owner to take responsibility for her injury but no one came. Sunny and her friend then went to Khor Hong Police Station to file a complaint.

The manager of the pub later gave an interview with Hat Yai Focus and insisted that Sunny and her friend always caused chaos when they were drunk. The manager said…

“We asked Sunny and her friend to leave because they climbed on top of tables to dance. Our pub did not ban dancing on the table at first, but we just introduced a new rule because it looked out of place. We warned them a few times, but they ignored us.

“I admit that the pub broke the law by allowing Sunny and her friends to enter because they were under 20 years old. The pub allowed only this group, the other patrons were over 20 years old.”

The manager explained that the guard who attacked Sunny was a former employee who had already resigned and was merely visiting the pub as a customer. The manager insisted that this was a personal issue between the guard and Sunny and that the pub would not be held responsible for it.

The Deputy Superintendent of the Khor Hong Police Station, Chatchai Bamrungkorn, promised that the police would question both parties and provide justice to them. Sunny had to get a health check at a hospital and submitted the medical document to the police to confirm the assault.