PATTAYA, Thailand: A 26-year-old Myanmar national suffered a split scalp and other injuries late Sunday after a group of transgender women attacked him and two companions on Pattaya Beach following what they said was a dispute over inadvertently filming them while walking down the beach, police said.
Officers from Muang Pattaya Police Station received a report at 11:40 p.m. on August 30th of an assault on the beachfront sidewalk opposite Soi 13/1. Rescue volunteers from Sawang Boribun Thammasathan Pattaya responded and found three men in a state of shock. One, identified as Mr. Khon Aye Maung, 26, of Myanmar, had a bleeding head wound along with bruises and other injuries. He received first aid at the scene.
A passing city official, Siriphong Namyu, 35, a Pattaya special affairs officer, said he saw three or four transgender women cross the beach road and attack the men. He stopped his car, tried to break up the fight and called in other authorities. The attackers claimed they had been sexually harassed earlier and returned in anger, but left the area before regular police arrived and could interview them at length.
One of the injured men told officers that his group had been walking along the beach road filming the surroundings on their phones. The footage included the transgender women, who became angry. After a verbal confrontation, the group came back and assaulted them, he said.
Pattaya police are investigating the conflicting accounts, seeking the suspects and taking statements from those involved and witnesses. No arrests had been announced as of Monday morning.
