Scots tourist arrested after 'rampage' on Thai holiday island
A teenage boy and a shopkeeper were allegedly attacked by a Scots tourist on the Thai island of Phuket.
A Scots tourist has been arrested for allegedly attacking a teenage boy in front of his mum and a shopkeeper on the Thai island of Phuket. George Paterson from Glasgow, allegedly rampaged past nearby homes before vandalising a motorcycle outside the store.
CCTV shows the angry owner, Warin Dokbua, 51, shouting at George to leave after he attempted to tear the seat from the vehicle. However, the 40-year-old retaliated and began throwing punches at the smaller local man.
Shockingly, he then picked up two glass bottles and hurled them at the terrified father-of-three on Friday morning. During the scuffle, a mother and her three children, including a baby girl, pulled up on a scooter.
George is then seen on the surveillance camera striking the young boy and throwing him to the ground before pushing the mother and two little girls off the motorcycle.
Warin called the police before George was caught in a nearby street. He was arrested and taken into custody, but officers said he was too agitated to be questioned.
Shaken shopkeeper Warin said: "I was working inside my home when I heard some noise outside. There was a tall foreigner and it looked like he was attacking my motorcycle, so I went to confront him.
"I had never seen him before and I didn't know who he was. But he looked like he was drunk or had taken drugs.
"He attacked me and I fought back while holding my phone. I wanted to record it as evidence but I was also trying to stop the man."
Police said the youngster who was flung to the ground suffered minor injuries. His mother has demanded that the Brit be prosecuted.
Lieutenant Colonel Kraisorn Boonprasop, the Deputy Chief of Investigations at the Thalang district station, said: "The British man has been held in a cell while he calms down.
"He is too aggressive to be questioned or do any tests on, but we believe he is under the influence of some kind of substance.
"We have also discovered that the man stole a motorcycle from outside a home in another district. He will also be prosecuted for that.
"Now we are coordinating with the Immigration Police so that he can be deported."
Following the barren pandemic years, the once-pristine island of Phuket has been marred by over-tourism as the Thai government implements a visa-free scheme to boost revenue. The island saw 800,000 foreign visitors last year alone.
Combined with the legalisation of cannabis and proliferation of other drugs, it has caused a perfect storm, with visitors often suffering side-effects from the strong substances.
Doctors believe that the effects on tourists of a sudden intake of alcohol or cannabis can be amplified by dehydration from the hot weather, fried food, jet lag, tiredness and feeling of freedom that comes with being in a culture less restrictive than their homeland.