Horrifying footage has captured the moment an elderly tourist was set upon by a group while celebrating Thailand’s Songkran festival.
The man, believed to be European and aged in his 50s, reportedly confronted the group at the notoriously rowdy water festival after they sprayed water directly into his face on April 17.
In a horror turn of events, the group of men turned on the elderly reveller who appeared to be travelling alone.
The footage shows the shirtless tourist – wearing an orange drawstring bag – being punched and kicked by the younger men.
After initially attempting to fend off the group, the man is knocked to the ground, where he’s repeatedly kicked in the head.
Visibly horrified onlookers were seen rushing to intervene by pulling the men away from the traveller.
Witness Winechit Sukhanta said the confrontation went down on Pattaya’s infamous Walking Street, an area long-associated with late-night violence.
“The three men were the aggressors; it was three against one. I feel so sorry for the old man,” she said.
“It all started because they sprayed water directly into his face. Where are the police?”
Local police later confirmed that no formal complaints had been lodged over the alleged assault.
The following day, another tourist took to social media to claim he “almost went blind” after being sprayed in the face by a high-pressure water gun in Bangkok.
The Philippine tourist said the incident occurred on the second day of Songkran after joining a water fight against other revellers.
“Apparently, he was using a high-pressure water gun and the water directly hit my left eye,” he said on TikTok.
“After being sprayed on the eye, I couldn’t see anything for about 30 seconds,” he said.
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“Complete, pitch dark.”
After noticing black dots in his eye upon returning to the hotel, he visited an eye hospital where he was diagnosed with retinal haemorrhage, a condition involving bleeding inside the eye.
Songkran is a Buddhist festival marking the traditional New Year and is typically held between April 13 and 15.
Rooted in ancient customs, the celebration was traditionally a time for gentle rituals, with younger generations encouraged to pour water over the hands and feet of elders as a sign of respect and to wash away misfortune.
In recent years, Thailand’s growing tourism industry has transformed the once-quiet event into a large-scale party, encouraging massive crowds to take to the streets armed with water guns.
Thai authorities have faced growing pressure to rein in the festivities, with frustrated locals voicing concerns over increasingly unruly behaviour from intoxicated tourists.
