British tourist is attacked by locals after he's accused of trying to steal a drink from Thai supermarket

By TARYN KAUR PEDLER, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 13:12, 25 May 2026 | Updated: 13:23, 25 May 2026 A British tourist was attacked by locals after being accused of trying to steal drinks from a supermarket in Thailand - claims he strongly denied. Furious staff set upon the holidaymaker when he and his girlfriend reportedly tried to flee the shop with two energy drinks without paying. Footage captured the British man appearing to argue with two Thai men outside a 7-Eleven in the coastal destination of Pattaya on May 24. He then attempted to mount his motorbike, but staff were seen kicking the vehicle and grabbing hold of him, sparking a brawl in the car park. The British man appeared to dodge the locals' blows as he asked: 'Why are you hitting me? I'm not doing anything. Bro, all of you are hitting me for nothing. I've already paid.' He then tossed his bag towards his girlfriend, briefly wrestling with the Thai men before dashing away on foot. The couple reportedly left behind their motorbike and shoes at the store. An employee at the Thai shop claimed the two tourists allegedly stole two bottles of energy drink before they were said to be caught.  A British tourist was attacked by locals after being accused of trying to steal drinks from a supermarket in Thailand Staff set upon the holidaymaker when he and his girlfriend reportedly tried to flee with two energy drinks without paying Footage shows the Brit arguing with two Thai men outside a 7-Eleven in the coastal destination of Pattaya on May 24 He claimed: 'We stopped them before they could leave the store and tried to talk to them, asking them to pay the fine according to our store rules. 'But they refused, started arguing, and then tried to run away. Some Good Samaritans stepped in to help stop them, and that's when the fight broke out.' Many locals criticised the violence, saying staff should have called the police instead of attacking the tourists. While others claimed Thailand's visa exemption policies made it easy for 'low-quality' tourists to enter the country. Ministers have taken measures to reduce the number of tourist arrivals by reducing visa-free stays from 60 days to 30 days and restricting a number of other countries, including India. It comes two months after two Brits were knocked out during a drunken brawl with a bodybuilder on a street in Thailand. A group of friends was involved in the fight with the hulking tourist as he was leaving Walking Street in 'Sin City' Pattaya with his girlfriend on March 5. Footage shows the muscular fitness buff trading punches with the group in front of shocked bystanders. One of the Brits was knocked unconscious after trying to dodge a punch but losing his balance and stumbling backwards into a parked truck. The other was floored during the fight. Paramedics arrived and found one of the men collapsed on the pavement with a dislocated hip, abrasions, and cuts on his face.  Another man, aged 25 to 30, was lying out cold nearby. The pair were given first aid and taken to Pattaya Bhattamakun Hospital for treatment. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.