A foreigner lost a tooth and suffered a mouth injury after a Thai homeless man punched him while he was smoking on the roadside in Pattaya on August 6.
CCTV footage of the incident has since circulated on Thai social media. The footage timestamp indicates that the incident occurred at around 6.30pm on August 6 on Pattaya Sai Song Road.
The video showed the foreign man standing and smoking on the footpath while his Thai girlfriend stood nearby. As the man spoke with his girlfriend, another Thai man approached and allegedly punched him once in the face.
The foreign tourist moved away from the footpath after the alleged assault. The Thai man did not appear to make another attempt to strike him before walking away and later sitting on the road.
The victim’s girlfriend told Channel 7 that she had previously seen the same man regularly approaching people in the area to ask for cigarettes.
She said her boyfriend had not done anything to provoke the man before the incident. She suggested that the man may have been seeking cigarettes and believed he might have a mental health condition, although this was not independently established.
The foreign tourist reportedly lost one tooth and suffered a bleeding injury to his mouth. Witnesses contacted Mueang Pattaya Police Station, and officers took the injured tourist to hospital for treatment.
There has been no report confirming whether the tourist has filed a formal complaint or taken legal action against the alleged attacker. Police have not issued a statement on the incident in the supplied information.
People in the area told the media that Pattaya has a significant number of homeless people and beggars, with some claiming that violent incidents occur among people in these groups.
The incident follows previous operations by local authorities aimed at managing homelessness in Pattaya. Officials acknowledged that many homeless people offered assistance refuse the support and return to public areas where they can seek money through begging.
Authorities urged both Thai and foreign tourists not to give money or other assistance directly to homeless people. Officials said the approach is intended to encourage people in need to seek support through government welfare and assistance services.
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