PATTAYA, Thailand: A late-night brawl between a group of motorcycle taxi drivers and a Bolt app rider erupted in the crowded area of Pattaya Soi Six early Sunday morning, drawing tourists attention and bringing sharp debate online after a video of the melee spread on social media, reportedly over insults and driving the wrong way. The fight did not involve any tourists.
The fight broke out around 2:30 a.m. on August 29th in Soi 6 off Pattaya Beach. Footage circulating online shows a chaotic scuffle amid bystanders, with one poster captioning it: “Bolt guy vs motorcycle taxi guys (when they can’t talk it out, they settle it with force) at Soi 6 Pattaya.”
A local motorcycle taxi driver who identified himself only as Pok, 33, and works at the mouth of Soi 6, told local reporters he was one of those involved. He said the clash was not over customers and didn’t involve any specific bars or venues.
Pok said that earlier he had been celebrating an American friend’s birthday at an unidentified beer bar in the soi. After leaving, he and a younger colleague stopped to buy chicken before walking back towards their taxi stand. As they shared the food, a motorcycle ridden by a Bolt driver came the wrong way down the soi at speed, he said, cutting through their group and striking the younger man’s arm.
Pok said he called out after seeing the rider mouth something. The rider then picked up a passenger and later passed the group again, looking over with a glare, according to Pok. When Pok stopped him and asked what he had said, the rider allegedly replied with a vulgar insult referring to an action involving male genitalia rather than an apology.
The two men then traded punches in a first, one-on-one confrontation that was not filmed. Pok said that encounter ended, but a second argument followed involving friends and younger colleagues. He said the Bolt rider punched his junior, causing him to get involved again. That second clash is the one captured on video.
Security staff from nearby entertainment venues tried to break up the fight, Pok said. Both sides suffered injuries. Afterward they went their separate ways.
Pok maintained the dispute began because the rider drove against traffic and struck someone in the group, not because of competition for fares. He said he and his colleague were willing to settle the matter with the other party and did not want the incident to harm Pattaya’s image as a tourist destination. An apology at the time, he added, would have ended it.
Reporters were unable to reach the Bolt rider seen in the video for comment.
