PHUKET: A club on Phuket where two tourists were savagely beaten by bouncers has been closed for seven days with the victims telling their side of the story to Australian television.
The White Room, where two Australians with friends on an end-of-season football trip were kicked and elbowed by five ''guards'' in a beating captured on video, has been closed for seven nights with an official investigation likely.
One of the Australians told Channel Nine that the tourists were led to believe a White Room drinks voucher covered part of their bar bill.
But the giveaway could be a scam that carries a penalty of one year in jail or a fine of up to 20,000 baht.
The President of the Entertainment Association of Patong, Weerawit Kuresombut, told Phuketwan today that the White Room has been closed for seven days from last night as a penalty for the violence of the bouncers. He said he knew nothing about them being sacked.
''It's not legal in Thailand to dump or discount the price of alcohol so we will investigate this allegation,'' he said. Voucher cards are often used as a come-on for tourists in Patong, the nightlife hub of Phuket.
A White Room Nightclub ticket to the Open Bar Party produced by one of the victims says: ''This ticket gives you UNLIMITED DRINKS 10pm to 1am for only 800 baht.''
Illegal or not, the voucher appears to be against the spirit of Thai laws that discourage alcohol promotion and consumption.
Ninemsn reported today that one of the Australian men who were attacked, ''Aaron from Mildura,'' said his friends were confronted for standing on the steps of the VIP area at the White Room nightclub in Patong on Tuesday night.
Aaron and his friend Trev were still in the club but two other mates on the end-of-season footy trip were milling around outside after one of them was booted out for taking off his shirt.
''We were standing on the steps of the VIP area, and one of the security guards came over and he's being pretty aggressive from the word go,'' he told ninemsn.
''And he grabbed Trev from around the neck and pushed him down the steps.
''I went to go in between them and I was king-hit from the side, and that's all I remember.''
The report says that as Aaron lay unconscious in the club, his friend was taken outside and brutally beaten in an attack filmed on a mobile phone.
As the two other friends rushed in to intervene they too were attacked.
The security guards told police the group had refused to pay for their drinks, a claim Aaron rejected.
"That's garbage, we went in there with tickets with drinks," he said.
"We had drink cards that were 'drink-as-much as you want' from 10 until one for 800 baht."
Despite the beatings they received, none of the group were seriously hurt.
The Chief of the Kathu District, which oversees Patong, hit the White Room with a seven-day closure from last night that imposes a serious financial penalty for the violence of the guards.
Khun Weerawit said that further action will follow.
''All of the venue owners in Patong have been called to a meeting with police next Wednesday to discuss this needless violence,'' he said.
''Anyone who has a problem and who fails to deal with it in the right way will be subjected to a minimum two nights' closure.''
From time to time, Australians have become involved in serious incidents in Patong.
The worst came earlier this year when an Australian resident did just what the man who took the telephone video at the White Room did.
Mark Pendlebury crossed a road in Patong to film an eviction from the Taipan nightclub.
He found himself confronted by a security guard and pursued down the street by a gang of men for what's known as a ''pack attack.''
Beaten up and being stomped in the head, Mr Pendlebury drew a knife to save his life and waved it.
A murder change against him over the death of a security guard was later withdrawn when footage from security cameras proved what he said was true.
Before Phuketwan published the first of the footage from a security camera, police and security guards alleged Mr Pendlebury had started the attack.
Local newspapers mostly carried only the police and security guards' account.
In the past, young Australian tourists have been seriously knifed in pack attacks in Patong.
Retribution continues to be carried out by security guards and tuk-tuk drivers despite officials telling them to react in a non-violent manner and to call the police immediately.
Aaron told ninemsn the group decided not to go to police because they feared being locked up themselves.
The party of six tourists arrived back in Australia this morning.
WARNING: This video contains brutal violence
The original Facebook posting has been removed but a version can be found here:
http://goo.gl/lXjb8u
The White Room, where two Australians with friends on an end-of-season football trip were kicked and elbowed by five ''guards'' in a beating captured on video, has been closed for seven nights with an official investigation likely.
One of the Australians told Channel Nine that the tourists were led to believe a White Room drinks voucher covered part of their bar bill.
But the giveaway could be a scam that carries a penalty of one year in jail or a fine of up to 20,000 baht.
The President of the Entertainment Association of Patong, Weerawit Kuresombut, told Phuketwan today that the White Room has been closed for seven days from last night as a penalty for the violence of the bouncers. He said he knew nothing about them being sacked.
''It's not legal in Thailand to dump or discount the price of alcohol so we will investigate this allegation,'' he said. Voucher cards are often used as a come-on for tourists in Patong, the nightlife hub of Phuket.
A White Room Nightclub ticket to the Open Bar Party produced by one of the victims says: ''This ticket gives you UNLIMITED DRINKS 10pm to 1am for only 800 baht.''
Illegal or not, the voucher appears to be against the spirit of Thai laws that discourage alcohol promotion and consumption.
Ninemsn reported today that one of the Australian men who were attacked, ''Aaron from Mildura,'' said his friends were confronted for standing on the steps of the VIP area at the White Room nightclub in Patong on Tuesday night.
Aaron and his friend Trev were still in the club but two other mates on the end-of-season footy trip were milling around outside after one of them was booted out for taking off his shirt.
''We were standing on the steps of the VIP area, and one of the security guards came over and he's being pretty aggressive from the word go,'' he told ninemsn.
''And he grabbed Trev from around the neck and pushed him down the steps.
''I went to go in between them and I was king-hit from the side, and that's all I remember.''
The report says that as Aaron lay unconscious in the club, his friend was taken outside and brutally beaten in an attack filmed on a mobile phone.
As the two other friends rushed in to intervene they too were attacked.
The security guards told police the group had refused to pay for their drinks, a claim Aaron rejected.
"That's garbage, we went in there with tickets with drinks," he said.
"We had drink cards that were 'drink-as-much as you want' from 10 until one for 800 baht."
Despite the beatings they received, none of the group were seriously hurt.
The Chief of the Kathu District, which oversees Patong, hit the White Room with a seven-day closure from last night that imposes a serious financial penalty for the violence of the guards.
Khun Weerawit said that further action will follow.
''All of the venue owners in Patong have been called to a meeting with police next Wednesday to discuss this needless violence,'' he said.
''Anyone who has a problem and who fails to deal with it in the right way will be subjected to a minimum two nights' closure.''
From time to time, Australians have become involved in serious incidents in Patong.
The worst came earlier this year when an Australian resident did just what the man who took the telephone video at the White Room did.
Mark Pendlebury crossed a road in Patong to film an eviction from the Taipan nightclub.
He found himself confronted by a security guard and pursued down the street by a gang of men for what's known as a ''pack attack.''
Beaten up and being stomped in the head, Mr Pendlebury drew a knife to save his life and waved it.
A murder change against him over the death of a security guard was later withdrawn when footage from security cameras proved what he said was true.
Before Phuketwan published the first of the footage from a security camera, police and security guards alleged Mr Pendlebury had started the attack.
Local newspapers mostly carried only the police and security guards' account.
In the past, young Australian tourists have been seriously knifed in pack attacks in Patong.
Retribution continues to be carried out by security guards and tuk-tuk drivers despite officials telling them to react in a non-violent manner and to call the police immediately.
Aaron told ninemsn the group decided not to go to police because they feared being locked up themselves.
The party of six tourists arrived back in Australia this morning.
VIDEO Guards Evict Aussie Tourists
WARNING: This video contains brutal violence
The original Facebook posting has been removed but a version can be found here:
http://goo.gl/lXjb8u
This place is the one that employs annoying Farang touts to hand out those tickets I presume. If it says 800 baht for unlimited drinks to get you in but doesn't honour that, well they are inviting trouble and disputes. Add in over-zealous bouncers and you have the perfect storm for violence. Nobody likes being chiseled on their bar bill.
Posted by Arun Muruga on October 10, 2015 13:16