UDON THANI – Jirawat Sunthorn, also known as Tum, a 25-year-old gas station attendant at PTT gas station on Udon Dusit Road, Mak Khaeng subdistrict, Mueang Udon Thani district, filed a complaint on May 22, stating that he was assaulted by a drunken foreigner at the gas station. Tum provided photographic and video evidence of the incident.
The altercation occurred at 6:50 a.m. while Tum was serving customers. The foreigner, described as a 45-50-year-old man with white skin, a large build, and a bald head, appeared intoxicated and arrived in an SUV with new red license plates from Udon Thani province. After parking at the entrance, he threw garbage out of his car. Tum alerted the cashier to address the situation.
When the cashier approached, the foreigner responded aggressively in Thai with a northeastern accent, asking, “What’s the problem?” The cashier then walked away to avoid further conflict. The foreigner shouted that he was “Tormor” (a common abbreviation for immigration police in Thai) before driving to a gas pump.
Tum asked the foreigner to open the fuel tank cap, but the man, preoccupied with a phone call, did not comply. When Tum did not fill up the tank, the foreigner parked at the exit, returned, and punched Tum twice on the right side of his face, causing swelling, and once on his left arm, dislodging his wristwatch.
The cashier attempted to intervene but was also assaulted, receiving a punch on the right side of the head. The foreigner hurled curses in both Thai and English before driving off towards the Nong Khai Bypass Intersection.
Ms. Sirikarn Parawong, a 45-year-old gas station employee who recorded the video, expressed her shock. She noted that in her seven months of employment at the gas station, she had never encountered such an incident. “I had seen foreigners assaulting Thai people on the news, even though they live in our country. Working as a gas station attendant is a job with dignity, just like any other person, and it’s an honest profession because they don’t beg from anyone. This shouldn’t have happened,” she remarked.
The police officer who took the complaint sent Tum to Udon Thani Hospital for a physical examination, which will be included in the case file. The officer plans to gather detailed statements from witnesses and issue a summons for the foreigner to face charges.
Authorities and other officials involved are closely monitoring the case to ensure justice is served.
