BANGKOK: An incident of tourists from France who were arrested after getting caught on camera aggressively spraying a van and then ignoring the police who told them to disperse during Songkran made the news, and commenters online have slammed the tourists for their disrespectful behaviour.
The incident occurred earlier this week at Patong, a beach resort town on the west coast of Phuket Island, as the nation celebrated New Year festivities.
According to a report in The Nation Thailand, the local police received a complaint on April 12 regarding a group of tourists whose water play was obstructing traffic and disrupting the activities of other road users. The police found foreigners at the scene who were blocking the road and spraying people and vehicles with water using spray guns.
One video from the incident shows the driver of a van, who was dressed for work, unlike the group that blocked the road, most of whom were wearing only shorts. Even when the driver alighted and asked the crowd to stop, they continued to forcefully spray him with their water guns. Loud shouts and cheers could be heard throughout the clip.
When the authorities told the group to disperse, however, some refused to do so. This led to the arrest of seven French nationals, who were charged with causing a public nuisance. They were then fined and formally warned not to repeat their actions.
Individuals who force others who do not want to engage in water play during Songkran may be fined up to 60,000 baht (S$2,381).
What commenters are saying
Understandably, commenters online, many of whom are from Asian countries, called the French tourists out.
“Why do trashy tourists ruin everything? Don’t come to Thailand if you’re not going to respect the locals during their annual festival. Opening his car door and soaking his van is property damage. Stop treating Songkran like a free-for-all event to behave like pieces of ****,” an X user wrote.
On Threads, meanwhile, another added, “Who raised these morons? This behaviour is absolutely disgusting, nothing worse than tourists who think they can do whatever they want and that basic decency no longer applies.”
Another shared, “After seeing how tourists act during Songkran in Thailand, I’d rather Malaysia stay unpopular, underrated and boring.”
“The bad behaviour of foreigners in Phuket (especially those from countries that can now enter visa-free) is becoming increasingly conspicuous, but even during Songkran, they’re shooting water at police stations or dousing the insides of operating vans that aren’t even participating in the water fights, thinking ‘anything goes’ in Thailand is a huge mistake, got that?” an X user commented.
In a much-liked post, a woman wrote, “You really start to see the coloniser come out in a white man when he gets his hands on a water gun in Thailand during Thai New Year… Songkran is supposed to be fun. There’s etiquette. Yes, it’s a big, multi-day water fight, but people largely take care of each other. That’s why behaviour from white tourists stands out so much by contrast: it’s aggressive, domineering, and reckless.” /TISG
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