Pattaya —
A lone Indian tourist engaged in a physical altercation with a group of transgender people on the Pattaya beachfront Thursday night, August 10th.
Tourist police received a report of the altercation between a group of transgender people and one Indian tourist in front of the Baywalk shopping center on Beach Road, Banglamung district, Chonburi. They rushed to the scene to find both sides wrangling and physically fighting.
Local media reported that the Indian man, identified as Mr. Ankit Tibrewal, 39, suffered a wound to his mouth, lacerations on his arms and hands, and a cut on his head that may have been caused by a sharp object. Blood was also splattered on his shirt.
The transgender people, meanwhile, did not suffer injuries.
The police summoned both sides to the Pattaya police station, where the tourist received preliminary treatment to his wounds by Sawang Boriboon rescue services.
Upon questioning, Mr. Ankit told police that he was walking to his accommodation along Beach Road when he was approached by a group of transgender people who started a conversation with him. For an unspecified reason, he let the group see his phone, and when he asked for it back, they refused. This led to a physical altercation.
It was reported that for some reason Mr. Ankit refused to be taken to the hospital to receive stitches for his head wound and asked the police to just let him return to his hotel, without taking legal action. The police obliged.
On the other hand, the transgender people, who were not identified by local media, insisted on filing a report against the tourist for assault. They also reportedly intimidated a local journalist not to film them.
Eventually, the group backed down from filing a report after the police informed them that it was a case of mutual consent to engage in a fight and that both parties would be fined if they proceeded. The group then left the station without being fined.
In another incident, nearly 20 Thai transgender people physically assaulted Saudi Arabian and Palestinian tourists at the Pattaya beachfront recently.
The group was peeved reportedly after being misgendered and offended by the tourists who allegedly called one of them a man. Both the tourists and the transgenders were fined in this case.
