Beach vendor bullies tourist; video goes viral (Updated)

A video of a beach vendor on Koh Larn chasing away a woman tourist who refused to rent a chair and umbrella has gone viral and sparked a quick police investigation and arrest.

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Yesterday, police took the Cambodian vendor seen in the viral video "Ping" back to Koh Larn to re-enact his "crime".

Monday morning update

The Cambodian beach vendor, "Ping" who has admitted to bullying a Russian tourist was taken back to Koh Larn yesterday to re-enact his "crime". Actually, he is being held for illegal entry into the country. Police say the bullying offence would be hard to prosecute since the victim is no longer in the country.

Sunday story

A Koh Lan beach vendor kicks sand onto the towel of a Russian tourist who refused to rent a chair and umbrella from him.

Beach vendor bullies tourist; video goes viral

The junta's forced cleanup of public beaches hasn't reached Chon Buri yet, but after the release of a Youtube video showing a vendor bullying a tourist, it may not be necessary.

The video, which has had more than 150,000 views as of this morning, has sparked outrage at a vendor apparently claiming ownership of an area clearly open to the public. 

Shot on Nang Nual Beach on Koh Larn, a popular island off Pattaya, the video shows a woman being approached by a beach chair and umbrella vendor as she sits on a towel on the sand. The man tells the woman she has to leave the spot and rent a chair and umbrella from him instead.

The tourist initially refuses but later starts to pack up her things. The man walks around her, kicking sand into her beach towel.

The angry tourist gets up and flings her sand-filled towel at the man, who responds by pushing her away. The pair argue briefly and the woman walks away.

According to the Manager website, when news of the video reached Ronkit Akesingh, Pattaya's deputy mayor, he ordered an immediate police investigation.

The vendor in the video turned out to be a 28-year-old Cambodian man identified only as "Ping" who was working illegally. He was promptly arrested.

Mr Ping told police that the incident in the video actually occurred in October of last year. The woman tourist was a Russian and he said he had been ordered by the owner of the chair and umbrella service to chase her away.

Judging from the comments below the Youtube video, the actual facts matter little, and the Thai tourist industry has taken another hit.

At a minimum, we can expect tight control of the chair and umbrella business.

Includes information from stories on bangkokpost.com plus manager.com

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