Drunken foreigner and Thais trade punches in viral Pattaya brawl

A drunken foreign man was arrested after a chaotic street brawl in Pattaya that left an Indian tourist injured before dawn, in a confrontation that spread quickly across social media.

Pattaya City Police were alerted at about 4 a.m. on June 20 and rushed to Soi VC in South Pattaya after reports of a fight, the Pattaya News reported. Officers found crowds of foreigners and Thais still gathered in the narrow lane.

A foreign man with a head wound was treated by rescue workers from the Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan Pattaya Foundation and taken in for questioning. He was an Indian tourist, identified as Karan Kumar, about 35, the Thaiger reported.

A second foreign man, shirtless and visibly enraged, was too intoxicated to answer questions and was detained, then arrested. His nationality was not immediately confirmed.

He was initially charged with public intoxication and disorderly conduct, and subduing him took more than 10 officers and over 10 minutes.

A songthaew, one of the shared pickup taxis known locally as baht buses, was damaged in the chaos, and its driver filed a police report seeking compensation, Thailand News reported.

Videos circulating online showed foreigners and Thais trading punches in the street as bystanders tried to pull them apart, with the fighting lasting several minutes.

A witness who filmed one of the clips, identified only as Ben, 31, said he first saw a foreign woman and a foreign man arguing before the dispute spiraled into a chase that spilled into Soi VC, the Pattaya News reported. Motorcycle taxi riders and songthaew operators who stepped in to break it up were struck by stray punches, he said.

What triggered the violence is disputed. The detained man's daughter said the family had been celebrating her birthday and that the Indian tourist had inappropriately touched her as they left a bar, prompting her father to confront him, according to Thai media reports.

A friend of the injured man rejected that account, saying the intoxicated foreigner accused the group of staring at his family and attacked without provocation.

Investigators said everyone involved had been drinking, and police had not determined who caused the head wound.

The clash is the latest in a run of viral confrontations between foreigners and locals in the resort city, which the Thai Examiner said has renewed scrutiny of Pattaya's recurring street-violence problem. Similar fights drew attention in May, including a brawl on Walking Street and another near Bali Hai Pier.

Police said they had taken statements and were reviewing CCTV footage to piece together the sequence of events and the cause, according to Khaosod English. Authorities said legal action would be taken against anyone found responsible.