Foreigners brawl on Patong Beach sparks criticism of Thai laws

A viral video showing two foreigners fighting each other on a road along Patong Beach in Phuket sparked criticism of weaknesses in Thai laws.

A Thai man shared the video of the altercation on his TikTok account, @aifkiatprasert, yesterday, November 5. He later shared it with the news Facebook page, Phuket Times, before deleting it from his account. The page posted the video with a caption that read…

“Foreigners fighting each other! Fights are available almost every night at Patong Beach boxing stadium.”

In the 16-second video, two foreign men can be seen brawling while one of them remains seated on a motorcycle. Their altercation caused a nearby parked motorcycle to be overturned. The report did not disclose details about the motive or specific circumstances of the fight.

The video sparked criticism from Thai netizens, aimed not only at the foreign men but also at Thai laws.

“This happened because Thai laws are so weak. Foreigners aren’t afraid. They just need to offer a gift basket or money to the police, and then both eyes and mouths are shut.”

“They would never do this in other countries. They’d be deported, blacklisted, or jailed. But everything is fine in Thailand. We spoil foreigners until they stop respecting locals.”

“Everything happens in Patong.”

“Everyone sees this, but the police don’t.”

Officers have not yet provided clarification about the incident to the public, and the two foreigners may have already resolved their conflict.

In a related story reported on October 28, a Thai national and two foreign men were seen fighting on Patong Beach, using a broom and wooden sticks as weapons. The foreigners were suspected to be tourists from an Arab country but no motive for the altercation was revealed.

Some netizens speculated that the Thai national in the video might be a transgender sex worker who argued with the two foreigners over a service fee. Others believed the Thai person could be a public transport service provider disputing a fare with the foreigners.

Police did not intervene in this case either.