A British husband and his Thai wife were left furious after their extraordinary row with two Chinese tourists, which left his shirt ripped and the police called.
John, 51, and his Thai wife Pookie, 25, have slammed Chinese police for allegedly treating them unfairly while investigating an alleged assault in a mall in Phuket, Thailand.
The couple reportedly bumped into Chinese woman Zhang Yise and her mother Wu Kuiyun at the Central Phuket Floresta mall on August 19, sparking a fierce row that later led to police complaints and litigation.
Footage filmed by Zhang shows her following the pair out of the building as both parties hurled expletives at each other.
John warned the Chinese ladies not to touch him or he will ‘knock her out’ as a furious Zhang tried to stop him from leaving the mall. She replied: ‘You stay here! You kill me! You touched me! Stop here, you cannot go, I’ll kill you!’
John, 51, pictured with his Thai wife Pookie, 25, can be seen having an argument with two Chinese women
The argument broke out after John reportedly bumped into one of the Chinese women in a mall
The fierce row broke out at the Central Phuket Floresta mall on August 19
John called over security and spat more insults at Zhang and her mother, calling them ‘stupid Chinese women, crazy Chinese women’.
John said he called Ekapop Luangprasert, advisor to the Minister of Interior and founder of a social media complaint page, as he felt police investigations were ‘not balanced.’
In an August 30 press conference, the British man wearing a hoodie, shades, and a face mask to conceal his identity, said: ‘I asked my wife to order us a GrabTaxi because we were about to go home and then this Chinese lady bumps into me. I turn, I said ‘be careful’, then the younger Chinese lady said ‘you hit my mum, you hit my mum, fuck you, fuck you, I call police!’ So I said ok call police. But it made me worry a little bit, how is this police? So we wanted to leave.’
John claimed he ‘swept Zhang away’ with his arm when she allegedly lunged towards Pookie, prompting Wu Kuiyun to then charge at him and punch him.
He said Zhang fell down when he sidestepped her as she was running at him.
He continued: ‘I had two very aggressive Chinese women attacking me, trying to get around me to get my wife. I’m just trying to defend myself and protect my wife. Everything I did was to create distance. If I wanted to hurt somebody, they would be in the hospital.’
He criticised the police and described their investigation as ‘unfair and not balanced’.
One of the Chinese women can be heard shouting: ‘You stay here! You kill me! You touched me! Stop here, you cannot go, I’ll kill you!’
Meanwhile, John warned the Chinese ladies not to touch him or he will ‘knock them out’ as a furious Zhang tried to stop him from leaving the mall
John pictured speaking to media after the shopping mall rage attack in Thailand
He said: ‘What I couldn’t understand was it was just two people who bumped each other in a shopping mall. And suddenly the police, their only focus is me. Why don’t they look at the Chinese also? Why is the focus only farang, farang, farang?’
‘Farang’ is a Thai term for foreigners of Western descent.
John said that he and his wife were cooperative with police, but still felt they were treated unfairly. They were allegedly being pressured to settle and apologise as the Chinese side was reportedly influential and well-connected.
He said: ‘I don’t feel safe. We had to move rooms many many times. These people are very connected. We don’t feel safe, so when this situation is finished with the court, me and my wife are going to leave Thailand.’
In response to the press conference, Zhang presented video evidence which she claimed disproved John’s statements. She said she had tried to apologise to the couple after bumping into them, but John started cursing at her and insulting her.
Police Lieutenant General Surapong Thanomjit, Commander of Region 8 Police, said police have gathered evidence and that both sides will be heard in the court trial.
He said: ‘No party should present only their advantages and criticise the other side, nor should they excessively criticise the police officers’ actions beyond reality.’
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
