Pattaya —
A Russian tourist was attacked by a woman on Pattaya Beach after she wrongly assumed he was filming her during a live stream. The tourist suffered minor injuries.
At 4:30 AM on January 22nd, Mr. Evgenii, a 45-year-old Russian national, filed a complaint with Pattaya police, claiming he was physically assaulted by a woman on Pattaya Beach. The incident occurred in front of the police station. Officers then immediately went to the incident scene to detain the suspect for questioning.
The Pattaya News reporters were able to capture the altercation, which showed a middle-aged woman shouting and running across the street toward the tourist. The woman ignored warnings from her friends and aggressively pulled Mr. Evgenii off his vehicle, causing minor knee injuries. Mr. Evgenii was live-streaming at that time, and it was believed that the woman might misunderstand that she was being filmed.
However, the victim provided video footage to the police showing he had not recorded the woman. He also alleged he did not disturb the woman in any way and was surprised that the woman suddenly attacked him. Mr. Evgenii said he was only recording himself and not specifically the woman.
It is legal to film in public for personal use in Thailand, notes TPN Media, although if someone specifically requests not to be filmed the request should be honored as it could potentially violate Thailand’s Personal Data Privacy Act. In practice, however, unless someone is aggressively filming someone without their permission and/or slandering or defaming the person, filming in public is generally accepted by police and the courts. As a result, Mr. Evgenii faced no charges.
TPN Media also notes, however, that filming for a profit or monetization on various social media platforms requires a work permit in Thailand. It was not immediately clear if Mr. Evgenii had one or if police asked about this requirement. Again, in practice, this often faces enforcement issues.
Authorities took the suspect into custody for legal proceedings. In November of last year a Korean man in Pattaya was arrested for allegedly live streaming without permission in a private business, a massage shop, and getting into a physical altercation with the owner as we reported here.
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