An appalling incident occurred in Patong, Phuket, where a van driver was 'attacked' by around 50 foreign tourists with water guns. The victim, driver Sathit, stated that he was driving passengers as usual when suddenly a group of foreigners playing with water on the street obstructed the road. He honked his horn to signal for them to move aside, but instead, this upset the group, who forcefully opened his car door and sprayed him intensively with water guns.
Earlier, on social media, it was widely circulated that during the Songkran Festival celebrations in the Patong area of Thailand, a group of about 50 foreign tourists surrounded a van driver with water guns, even opening the vehicle door to spray water inside, which sparked condemnation from Thai netizens. The local police received multiple complaints from the public and arrested seven foreign nationals involved in the incident on charges of 'causing a public nuisance.'
According to Thai media reports, the incident happened on April 13 (Monday) at around 4 p.m.
The 52-year-old victim driver Sathit later went to the police station to report. He recounted the truth to the police and media, stating that he had just dropped off passengers and was heading to his next destination when he encountered a group of foreigners playing with water in the middle of the road, blocking his way.
He revealed that the group of foreigners heckled him, approached to bang on his windows, forcefully pulled open his car door, and sprayed water directly into the vehicle. The driver was repeatedly attacked by water sprays, even being shot directly in the face and eyes, which for a moment made him lose his composure. He then picked up his shoe in an attempt to defend himself.
"If I hadn't managed to control my emotions at the time, I might be in jail by now."
Sathit said that although he eventually calmed down, the interior of the van was badly soaked and the sound system was damaged as a result.
Sathit strongly demanded that the police severely punish the group of foreigners, criticizing their behavior as a distortion of the original traditional meaning of Songkran Festival and saying it is extremely dangerous.
In addition, Weerawit Kruasombat, chairman of the Patong Beach Entertainment Venue Association, posted on social media condemning the behavior of these foreigners.
He said that these people not only disregard Thai laws and show no fear of law enforcement, but also act very violently, using water guns to forcefully spray at pedestrians' faces. He added that if this continues in the long run, it will scare away quality tourists.
He revealed that most of this group of foreigners are running various businesses locally in Phuket, including restaurants, marijuana shops, barbershops, and car rental services.
He said that the area where these people are active is like their 'base camp,' and it would not be difficult for the police to surround and check them.
He called on the police and government departments to intervene immediately and carry out a comprehensive crackdown.
He said that those with bad behavior and those who destroy the image of tourism must be recorded and blacklisted, and banned from entering Thailand.