A drunken British tourist was brutally attacked by two locals who claimed they were annoyed that he called one of their girlfriends in Thailand’s ‘Sin City’ Pattaya.
Steven Lord, 35, visited a convenience store to buy a bag of ice for his beer, but started an argument outside the shop at 5:10 am on Sunday morning with two Thai men who were drinking alcohol.
The “heavily drunk” Brit reportedly began harassing them, despite the shopkeeper’s attempts to steer him away.
The locals lost their temper when the holidaymaker reportedly called one of the men’s girlfriends, prompting them to charge at him and brutally beat him on the sidewalk.
Paramedics from Sawang Boriboon Thammasat rescue team said they had received a report about the injured tourist in Bang Lamung district in the early hours of the morning.
Mr Lord is treated after being attacked in the street
Steven Lord (pictured after being beaten), 35, visited a convenience store to buy a bag of ice for his beer
They found Lord bleeding profusely, with a swollen face, a broken front tooth and cuts to his eyebrows and head.
However, the enraged Briton initially refused help and tried to attack the rescuers while yelling at them.
They managed to calm him down and administered first aid before rushing him to a hospital.
Shop owner Euaamporn Rattanamethakoson, 36, said: ‘The British man came to buy ice cream, but I noticed he was very drunk.
“I saw him disturbing some men in front of my store, but he wouldn’t listen to me when I tried to tell him to leave.”
Police Colonel Thanapong Phothi, Superintendent of Pattaya Police Station, said a search was launched for the suspects who fled the scene before officers could arrive.
They reviewed the store’s CCTV footage and located Apichai Prawe and Denchai Khanteetao, both 28, in a nearby rented room in the city.
The pair reportedly admitted to police that they assaulted Lord.
They claimed they tried to get him to leave, but he was “too stubborn” and refused to listen to them. They added that they lost their temper when he called Prawe’s girlfriend.
Both were placed in police custody on legal charges.
Paramedics from the Sawang Boriboon Thammasat rescue team said they had received a report about the injured tourist in Bang Lamung district in the early hours of the morning.
Paramedics managed to calm him down and administered first aid before rushing him to a hospital
Meanwhile, Lord was believed to be under close medical supervision due to his injuries, including intracranial bleeding
Meanwhile, Lord was believed to be under close medical supervision due to his injuries, including intracranial bleeding.
The police officer added: “The two attackers have confessed and will be prosecuted. Being drunk is not illegal and does not justify the assault.
“We are now waiting for the interview with the victim to receive his account of the incident and get more evidence from him.”
The attack on the British holidaymaker comes just a month after a British father and his son were brutally beaten by bouncers outside a bar in Pattaya.
Holidaymaker Ian Thomas, 60, and his son Gregory, 37, had entered the Matador Bar on the city’s red-light street Soi Buakhao, but were said to have been asked to leave by the bar owner at around 1:35am on August 5.
The pair were ushered out by bouncers when their heated argument turned into a physical brawl, with Gregory being beaten up first. CCTV footage shows him being hit and pulled to the ground, where he was then kicked repeatedly.
This is the shocking thing that a British tourist and his son were attacked by bouncers outside a bar in Thailand’s ‘Sin City’ Pattaya
Footage shows elderly Briton Ian, in a black shirt, then punching a guard in the face, causing further chaos as staff pushed him to the ground and kicked him repeatedly in the head.
Gregory, in a plaid polo, tried to help his father, but was attacked and beaten again, leaving his father in a heap on the road.
Police found Gregory tending to an injured Ian, who was lying on the floor with an injured left eyebrow and broken glasses.
Thailand’s current military government has made an effort to clean up Pattaya after it was dubbed the “sex capital” of the world and modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah.
However, the city’s lucrative shadow economy, based on sex, crime, booze and drugs, is proving difficult to tame in the once sleepy coastal city.
A large number of British expats have also set up bars in the sun-soaked resort, which has become an attractive place for retirees to retire.