Tourists lounge along Patong Beach in Phuket. Brothers Hamish Day and Oscar Mattson Day were charged with offences including robbery, causing physical harm to an on-duty officer, attempted bribery and driving a motorcycle without a licence. - Photo: AP
BANGKOK (AP): Thailand’s immigration authorities have revoked the visas of two New Zealand tourists accused of assaulting a traffic police officer on a popular resort island in an incident widely shared online, police said Monday.
Brothers Hamish Day and Oscar Mattson Day were charged with offenses including robbery, causing physical harm to an on-duty officer, attempted bribery and driving a motorcycle without a license, Phuket provincial police chief Sinlert Sukhum told a news conference. The chief said police would request the court to deny their release on bail.
Police said officer Somsak Noo-iat on Saturday spotted the men speeding on their motorbikes and tried to stop them. They allegedly tried to speed away then tried to offer a bribe to Somsak, who refused to take it. He tried to film the two men on his phone, and they allegedly tackled him and wrestled the gun away from him, causing a bullet to be fired. No one was injured by the bullet, police said.
In the video, bystanders could be heard shouting at them to stop. The footage went viral online and was broadcast by Thai news outlets.
The police chief alleged that the man who attacked the officer is a mixed martial arts fighter.
The chief said the brothers denied all charges and declined to give any statement.
The brothers could not immediately be reached. The video did not show what happened before the tussle.
The Chalong police chief Ekkarat Plaiduang, Somsak's supervisor, said the officer was injured but recovering well.
Phuket Governor Sophon Suwannarat said such attacks were unacceptable and that officials will tighten scrutiny of tourists who may "behave inappropriately or break the laws." - AP
