Indian Tourists Brawl with Thai People on Pattaya Beach Road

PHOTO: สยามชล นิวส์

Pattaya —

Foreign tourists, reported to be of Indian nationality, engaged in a violent brawl with Thai people right on Pattaya Beach Road early today, sending shockwaves through the city just one day before its New Year’s celebration.

On December 28th, 2023, at dawn, local residents and joggers running along Pattaya Beach captured the shocking incident on video, which quickly went viral on Thai social media. The roughly one-minute clip depicted Thai and Indian people, both men and women, exchanging blows in the middle of busy Pattaya Beach Road near Soi 13 in the Nongprue sub-district.

The video showed individuals wielding dangerous objects like sticks over a meter long, belts, glass bottles, and even metal kitchen ladles. The aggressive behavior brought traffic on part of Beach Road to a standstill as onlookers feared getting caught in the crossfire. Despite the distressed cries of women in the vicinity, no one dared intervene, and the brawl continued unabated for an unknown period.

An eyewitness, who asked to keep their anonymity, reported seeing a group of Thai men and women drinking alcohol near the road, before the incident unfolded. A group of foreign tourists, believed to be of Indian origin, were walking along the beach when an Indian woman, for unknown reasons, crossed the road and confronted a Thai woman, triggering the physical altercation.

An eyewitness stated that the Indian woman called for her peers after being overpowered by the Thai woman. This also led to the intervention of the Thai woman’s male companions, and soon, both sides were embroiled in a violent clash.

The cause of the initial confrontation remains unclear as of press time, but the incident has cast a shadow over Pattaya’s image as a peaceful tourist destination, particularly at a time when the town is gearing up for a grand New Year’s celebration, the eyewitness said.

Pattaya police have not yet disclosed if any complaints regarding the incident have been filed, but an investigation is underway. Police are expected to interview both parties involved and collect CCTV footage from the area as evidence for potential legal proceedings.