Thanawat Sareephat, 52, and Warin Dokbua, 51, reported the case to police yesterday morning (Apr 4) following a violent encounter with the foreign man.
The incidents began around 7am in front of a local grocery store in Tambon Thepkrasattri.
CCTV footage from the shop showed the man first seen attempting to take something from a ‘samlor’ (motorbike with sidecart) parked in front of the shop.
The woman shopkeeper comes out to see if she can help. The man refuses the offer, and instead walks uninvited in the back area of the shop.
The woman retrates when she sees the man is carrying a large knife he had taken from the back area.
The man then attempts to force open the seat to the parked samlor, to no avail. He continually refuses the woman’s offer to help, and she is seen repeatedly gesturing to bottles of petrol sold at the store.
The male shopowner soon arrives and confronts the foreigner, and the foreign man violently reacts to the shopowner recording him on video.
The foreign repeatedly attempts to punch the shopowner, who easily blocks the punches while still recording his video. Meanwhile, the shop dog looks on, with tail wagging.
During the scuffle the foreign man drops a set of keys and a passport identifying him as George Patterson, 40, from Glasgow.
The shopowner picks up the keys and passport, inspiring the foreign man to yet again attempt to hit him.
Repeatedly failing to land a punch on the shopkeeper, the foreign man then retrieves two empty petrol bottles from a small stand in the shop, and chases the shopowner, who retreats.
The foreign man, in two separate attempts, then throws the empty glass bottles at the shopowner ‒ twice failing to hit their target.
Frustrated, the foreign man then storms off.
But as he does so, a woman with three children, including a baby, pull up at the shop on a motorbike.
The foreign man first hits a child sitting on the back of the motorbike, knocking the child ot the ground.
The foreign man then pushes the motorbike over, with the mother scrambling to protect the baby from the fall. Luckily, the baby remained unharmed.
As the man reportedly moved to attack again, the shopowner intervened, prompting the foreign man to flee.
Online, the footage sparked outrage from local netizens, with many criticizing the behaviour of some foreign tourists and calling for stricter immigration controls.
“If you encounter an incident like this, it’s difficult for Thai people – foreigners come to steal and assault without regard for the law,” one post read.
In a separate but possibly related incident just minutes later, the girlfriend of Mr Warin, who was one of the two people to file the complaint with police yesterday, reported seeing a foreign man attempting to tamper with a parked motorcycle in front of their home.
The man allegedly tried to pry open the headlight and lift the seat, causing property damage.
Both men told investigators they had never met the suspect before. The man was last seen leaving the area on a blue Honda Wave motorcycle bearing Phang Nga license plate 1 Kor Jor 3315.
Police are now reviewing CCTV footage and gathering additional evidence to identify and locate the suspect.
Authorities have yet to confirm whether the man entered Thailand under a visa-free policy, which has been the subject of increasing scrutiny amid rising complaints about tourist behaviour.
Police say the investigation is ongoing.