What began as a mere brush of shoulders unexpectedly escalated into a street scuffle.
According to Thai media reports, a fight broke out between a Chinese tourist family and a Thai man at Chiang Mai’s famous Tha Phae Gate. Footage of the incident spread rapidly on the internet, sparking public debate.
After a police investigation, it was confirmed that the incident stemmed from an argument after both parties collided on the sidewalk. Through police mediation, an agreement was reached: after the Chinese tourists compensated 30,000 baht (about RM3,800), both parties agreed not to pursue the matter further.
The incident occurred at noon on August 1st. A family group of nine Chinese tourists, including elders and children, were walking near Tha Phae Gate when they collided shoulders with an oncoming Thai man.
Police reviewed CCTV footage and found that after the collision, both parties stopped immediately and turned to confront each other. Although a Chinese tourist gestured to apologize, emotions ran high on both sides, leading to a heated quarrel that escalated into shoving and physical conflict. Family members accompanying the group quickly rushed in to separate them, preventing the situation from worsening.
After the scuffle, the Thai man used his phone to record the Chinese tourist family and called the police, later filing a report and turning over the surveillance video.
The related video later spread widely on social media, and the incident quickly went viral.
Both Parties Accuse Each Other of Throwing the First Punch
In his police report, the Thai man claimed he was merely asking the other party to make way, but was instead surrounded and beaten by two Chinese men and sustained injuries.
The Chinese tourists told the police that both sides simply collided on the sidewalk, after which the other party lost control emotionally and attacked first. As their family included elderly and children, they could only retaliate in self-defense, and they too were injured in the scuffle. He also emphasized that the viral video circulating online was incomplete, capturing only the latter half of the incident, which led the public to mistakenly believe he was the aggressor.
During the police investigation, one of the Chinese men admitted taking part in the altercation and fully cooperated with authorities, but did not file a counter-complaint against the Thai man.
The police also confirmed that the involved Chinese tourists had entered Thailand legally, and the man involved was staying on a valid business visa, refuting online rumors that they were overstayers.
Police Categorize Incident as Personal Dispute
Tourist police stated that this case was a personal conflict and not a security incident targeting tourists.
It is understood that on the night of August 3rd, both parties held over an hour of negotiations under police mediation.
Reports indicated that the Thai man initially demanded 500,000 baht in compensation. In the end, both parties reached an agreement not to press charges. The Chinese tourists paid 30,000 baht as compensation for a damaged pair of AirPods, officially closing the case.