British family savagely attacked by thugs in Hua Hin

A British family got more than just splashes of water, food and wine in the recent Songkran festivities in Thailand.

The British couple in their 60s and their adult son also received no-holds-barred Muay-Thai-like blows so hard that they were knocked out cold on a bustling street in the royal town of Hua Hin.

Onlookers just watched in horror as a group of presumably local thugs set upon the family in the April 13 brutal attack, The incident riled many expats and locals, used to Thai niceties, especially in the coastal town famed as a weekend getaway for middle-class Bangkokians.

ThaiVisa website reported that a video footage (below this article) from a CCTV camera placed at the Soi Bintabaht area captured a "serious argument" between the British family and a group of locals, which escalated to the assault.

The clip shows a man, who is seen as the main troublemaker, harassing another man. As the latter walked away, the troublemaker saw the British family walking past him and pushed the younger man, who stumbled and then fell onto the ground.

The elderly British woman walked to the troublemaker and seemed to be asking him why he had pushed her son. Soon after, a few men dressed in black as well as red T-shirts sprung out from nowhere and joined the troublemaker to attack the family with punches and kicks.

The free-for-all saw some vicious moves - one attacker stomped on his victim while another used a knee strike Muay-Thai-style. 

A foreigner, who probably tried to intervene, fell backwards after he was punched in the face. The younger British man, who is in his 40s, was seen clutching his head in pain.

Although some locals tried to restrain the attackers, they only stopped their assault after the victims were totally knocked down onto the ground.

They all looked as if they had passed out, but not before one of the attackers gave an epic kick to the face of the woman as she tried to get up. She fell senseless to the ground again.

The image above shows the British woman being punched in the face.

Muay-Thai style or not, it was certainly a shocking display of street violence in Thailand

A person, who claimed to be the foreigner who stepped forward to help, said he needed dental surgery for his injuries.

Calling himself 'Usual suspect' on the Hua Hin internet forum, he said a "group of Thai youths" was bent on looking for trouble in the area during the Songkran New Year holiday.

He said he tried to push away a youth who was beating up the woman, but was himself whacked so hard he needed medical treatment.

He wrote: "The girls in the bar I was in all night waved goodbye to two elderly customers and their son and my wife and I followed only seconds after them. Within 20-30 metres of leaving the bar, the Thais were punching the 65-yr-old-lady in the face! The elderly gentleman was down on the floor and their son was beaten very badly!"

At this point, he caught up with the group and pushed one of the youths away from the woman. But he "got severely punched".

The attackers disappeared into the sea of crowds while the victims, who were unnamed, were sent to the hospital.

3 arrested, police looking for 4th suspect

ThaiVisa reported earlier that Thai police has been sharing the video footage with the public to help catch the culprits.

Today, Thai police reported that three attackers have been arrested (two are shown in the photo above) and charged, and they are hunting the fourth suspect.

Khaosod English reported that the police had identified the four assailants as Yingyai Kwangkum-in, 32; Supatra Baithong, 32; Siva Yoksri, 20; and Chaiya Jaiboon, 20.

Yingyai, Supatra and Siva were arrestedon  April 16. Police are still looking for Chaiya.

The three arrested suspects claimed that they collided with one of the tourists in a bar on Soi Bintabaht near Wat Hua Hin temple. An argument soon broke out between the two parties.

The suspects claimed the younger British man had pushed and slapped one of them, so they jumped on the family and savagely beat them up, reported Khaosod English website in Thailand.

"The perpetrators said they were drunk. They have also apologised to the family," a police colonel said.

He added the younger Briton received seven stitches for a scalp wound, while his father had a swollen wound on his head. The mother suffered a head injury that has left her with occasional headaches, reported the Thai website.

Yingyai, Supatra and Siva will be tried for causing grievous bodily harm in a Hua Hin court. Their victims are still in Thailand to testify in the case, said the police.

Brawls in pub crawls in the touristy parts of Hua Hin are not uncommon, but the latest incident which saw an extreme case of violence has given travellers another reason to worry in a town, which is known to enjoy "high season" throughout the year.

Please note the graphic content in the gallery and video below.

chenj@sph.com.sg