Surat Thani—
On March 18th, 2024, Thai social media posted a story of a Russian female tourist allegedly kicking an 8-month pregnant shopkeeper after refusing to take her shoes off at Koh Phangan, Surat Thani.
At 1:00 PM, Koh Phangan police received a report from Mrs. Satika, a pregnant 34-year-old shopkeeper at a natural products store in Koh Phangan that she allegedly was physically assaulted by a foreign tourist.
According to Satika, she told the police that on the incident day, a foreign tourist visited the store, however, the store does not allow visitors to wear shoes and bring drinks inside. Meanwhile, the foreign tourist was politely asked twice by Satika to remove her shoes and keep her coffee drink outside the store.
The foreign tourist reportedly ignored the shopkeeper’s instruction and gave a short answer to the shopkeeper that her shoes were clean. The foreign tourist was infuriated after being warned a second time and allegedly kicked at the shopkeeper’s right leg, according to Satika. After that the foreign tourist fled from the store, said Satika.
Satika then filed a report to Koh Phangan police with a video recording of the incident as evidence.
On March 19th, Koh Phangan police were able to track down the foreign tourist in question who was identified as a 41-year-old Russian national (the police withheld her name).
The Russian tourist reportedly confessed her wrongdoings and apologized to the shopkeeper, blaming her month period for the short fuse and behaviour. She is also reportedly a social media influencer with over 275,000 followers on Instagram.
Initially, Koh Phangan inquiry police pressed charges against the Russian tourist for using force to harm another person causing minor damage to physical and mental well-being.
A number of similar cases of foreign tourists behaving badly have dominated the Thai press recently that started with a case of a Swiss expat allegedly kicking a Thai doctor sitting on steps on a public beach in front of his rented villa in Phuket.
Another major incident took place when an American teen allegedly sexually assaulted a horse at a Phuket stable, shocking the Thai public.
A Russian man involved in a cannabis farm business was brutally murdered in Phuket by his alleged business partner, a Tajikistan man, who later fled Thailand.
Most recently, two New Zealand men have made international headlines after allegedly assaulting a traffic cop in Phuket and taking his gun. They have denied all charges despite a widely shared viral video.
All of these incidents have dominated Thai media with many Thais asking for officials to take further action and better scrutinize the backgrounds of foreign tourists and expats.
