UPDATE
An Australian man was arrested by the Patong Police on Tuesday after a fight broke out in front of a bar/restaurant in Patong earlier this week. The 34 year old man, identified as Mr. Karen, was a customer at the restaurant and became agitated when he had to wait for his food.
You can watch the video HERE. (Warning about violence depicted in the video)
Police say that he threw a bottle at two foreign staffers, a 25 year old Jordanian Mr. Alomari, and 26 year old Egyptian Mr. Ahmed, before the street fight kicked in.
When questioned by police, “Karen” admitted to starting the fight, but claimed that “alcohol was a factor” and that his “behaviour was out of character”. Both parties apologised to each other in the wake of the altercation.
Police say that all parties involved will face charges of fighting and could receive yellow or red cards under a new system being tested in Phuket.
ORIGINAL STORY
A group of foreign tourists is being sought by the police after they assaulted staff at a restaurant in Soi San Sabai around 1am this morning. According to reports, the tourists, who are believed to be Jordanians and at least one Egyptian, were drunk, agitated and unruly when they were asked to queue properly.
They started throwing water bottles and attacked Thai staff before fleeing the scene.
The incident has gone viral on social media, with video footage of the brawl showing both foreign staff and tourists involved. Police say that they were notified of the fight at a bar/restaurant in Patong after midnight on Sunday.
The staff told police that there were five foreign tourists who were extremely intoxicated and caused the brawl. The tourists demanded to be moved ahead in the queue for their food, but the staff declined, stating this would be unfair to other customers.
This allegedly led to the tourists throwing bottles at the restaurant staff. The staff fought back with the tourists, and both sides used various weapons such as kitchen utensils, chairs, pipes and more.
The staff claimed that their actions were in self-defense, and the tourists had attacked them first. The staff immediately called the police, but the tourists had fled before the officers arrived at the scene. The Patong Police are investigating the incident and reviewing CCTV footage to determine the validity of the staff’s story and to help identify the group of tourists.
The actions of those involved will likely to earn them a yellow or red card under a new system designed to penalise and deport misbehaving tourists. That’s of course, if they can be identified.
SOURCE: The Phuket Express
