[VIDEO] A Man Was Beaten Up By Thai Street Vendors Because He Refused To Buy Fake Watches
The soldier was on holiday in Pattaya after a military exercise.
By Jia Vern Tham — 28 Feb 2018, 05:57 PM
On 24 February, an American soldier was beaten up by a group of street vendors allegedly selling counterfeit watches in Pattaya
The soldier, who attended the multinational Cobra Gold Military exercise earlier this month, and a group of Thai men were seen pushing each other outside Red Cat Bar, close to the Muang Pattaya police station.
A video of the fight was uploaded onto Facebook, attracting over 567,000 views and 800 shares.
Bangkok Post reported that the soldier was approached by watch sellers who were aggressively trying to sell counterfeit watches to him
According to the report, the soldier fought back after being punched in the face by one seller. A group of watch sellers then assaulted him.
In the video, people tried to separate the soldier and the sellers, but to no avail. One Thai man also ended up with a bleeding nose.
Observers of the incident said that foreigners are commonly targeted by street vendors
Bangkok Post wrote that according to observers, vendors would become angry and threaten foreigners who point out that their watches are not authentic.
Furthermore, the problem has yet to be taken seriously by local authorities.