bust Posted March 18 Report Share Posted March 18 New Zealand tourists charged with attacking a Thai police officer in Phuket In short: Investigations are ongoing after Thai police accuse two New Zealand brothers of allegedly attacking an officer and attempted to steal his firearm. Police say the pair's visas will be revoked and they will be banned from entering Thailand again following the investigation. What's next?: A New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said consular officials were assisting the family of the men. Two New Zealand tourists have been detained in a Thai prison after being accused of assaulting a police officer, authorities say. Investigations are ongoing after brothers Hamish Art Day, 36, and Oscar Matson Day, 34, allegedly attacked an officer and attempted to steal his firearm in Phuket, Thai police said in a statement. Police officer Somsak Noo-iad had stopped the two men for reckless driving before they allegedly assaulted him as he tried to take photos and evidence. The brothers then allegedly snatched the officer's phone and firearm, the statement said. A photograph released by police on Sunday local time showed a man pushing a traffic policeman to the ground while another man looked on. Tourists from New Zealand scuffle with a police officer in Phuket, Thailand, in this photo from Thai police. (Reuters: Chalong Police Handout/Handout) Their visas will be revoked and they will be banned from entering Thailand again after the investigation concludes, the police statement added. Thai outlet the Bangkok Post reported the two men have been charged with robbery, obstruction of police duty, physical attack against a policeman, driving without a licence and bribery. The two men and their lawyer could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters. The parents of the brothers called for calm and privacy amid the incident. "It's very, very concerning," father Laurence Day told the New Zealand Herald. "The family is distraught. We're praying for a good outcome." New Zealand media outlet RNZ reported a spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said consular officials were "providing assistance to the family of two New Zealanders who have been arrested in Thailand". Reuters/ABC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bust Posted March 18 Author Report Share Posted March 18 1 minute ago, bust said: Tourists from New Zealand scuffle with a police officer in Phuket, Thailand, in this photo from Thai police. (Reuters: Chalong Police Handout/Handout) So another officer was happy to take a photo rather than assist he colleague? Bit confused as to who took the pic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted March 18 Report Share Posted March 18 Complete morons - we'll be revoking their NZ citizenship and/or sending them to some sort of rocky outcrop in the middle of the Southern Ocean. If they don't get themselves deceased in the mean time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bust Posted March 19 Author Report Share Posted March 19 7 hours ago, Coss said: Complete morons - we'll be revoking their NZ citizenship and/or sending them to some sort of rocky outcrop in the middle of the Southern Ocean. Nah...they will just take a trip across the ditch and settle in Bondi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted March 19 Report Share Posted March 19 Quote from the guys Father “Who would have ever expected this? Just a couple of kids on a tourist trip.” Kids? They are 36 and 34, maybe you as their father treating them as kids cause them to act like kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bust Posted March 19 Author Report Share Posted March 19 Gotta say....bit embarrassing for the MIB Loss of face for the world to see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted March 19 Report Share Posted March 19 14 hours ago, Mekong said: Quote from the guys Father “Who would have ever expected this? Just a couple of kids on a tourist trip.” Kids? They are 36 and 34, maybe you as their father treating them as kids cause them to act like kids. Also as heard on NZ radio - Parents are local multi millionaire Business persons and the "boys" are in Thailand on a "Wellness" trip. At least one of the boys reckons he's a MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter. I'm reading this last as two boys, still living at home, sent overseas to get some life experience. Mission accomplished, they'll be wanting to get home to their hipster lifestyle, pronto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stickman Posted March 19 Report Share Posted March 19 1 hour ago, Coss said: Also as heard on NZ radio - Parents are local multi millionaire Business persons and the "boys" are in Thailand on a "Wellness" trip. At least one of the boys reckons he's a MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter. I'm reading this last as two boys, still living at home, sent overseas to get some life experience. Mission accomplished, they'll be wanting to get home to their hipster lifestyle, pronto. Both of these men are married and have family back in NZ. They're brothers who worked in the family business. Multiple reports in the local pres said they have travelled many times through Asia. My best guess as to what happened is that they saw a police checkpoint and decided not to stop because they didn't have motorbike licences. This was beyond dumb. They were chased and things escalated from there. What they did next was pure madness. You really get the impression the Thais are fed up with misbehaving foreigners and they could be sentenced to a few years behind bars. The maximum penalty for the most serious charge is 7 years and, amazingly, it seems they wish to fight the charges. That seems like a dumb idea. Plead guilty which comes with an automatic discount on sentencing and get it over and done with. Fight the charges and the sentence might get ugly. Whatever way, I can't see them being back in NZ with their families for some time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted March 20 Report Share Posted March 20 4 hours ago, Stickman said: You really get the impression the Thais are fed up with misbehaving foreigners Isn’t that true, look at the outrage on Phuket just last week, the Swiss owner of an Elephant sanctuary kicked a woman sat on the steps of his property at the beach. Candle lit vigils, singing of the anthem, placard Wielding protesters and his visa was revoked so he and his Thai wife have to leave Thailand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted March 20 Report Share Posted March 20 There is the other side of the story coming out such as hy does the video only playing from a few moments in, what happened before. Allegedly, this is hearsay so don’t quote me on this, the cop pulled them over and demanded a cash fine (does happen A LOT) Brothers refuse, Cop pulls the gun on the Brothers waving it about screaming at them, one of Brothers uses his MMA experience to disarm the cop, they empty the gun and chamber of bullets and offer the gun back to cop. They are still dickheads mind, but I’ll be interesting to see if/when full video is released. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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