Whenever we’re visiting another country, we are expected to be on our best behaviour and follow the country’s laws.
A Polish tourist is now facing jail time after he refused to apologise for physically harassing a woman in Thailand despite being caught on camera doing so.
Tourist caught smacking woman’s butt in Thailand
In a clip posted by the Metropolitan Police Bureau on Facebook, it showed a woman surveying several items at a convenience store on Dec 21, 2024.
While doing so, the tourist, later identified at 31-year-old Piotr, walked up to her from behind and slapped his hand on her buttock before walking away nonchalantly.
According to Thai media outlet The Nation, Piotr’s actions had caused the shop staff and other customers to look at the woman, which brought great embarrassment to her.
Following the incident, the woman, who was a Thai national, filed a report against Piotr at the Thung Maha Mek police station in order to get him to publicly apologise to her.
However, Piotr refused and said the following through a rental agent:
I did not hit the woman very hard and I had made similar gestures at entertainment venues without receiving complaints. I don’t believe I had broken any Thai laws and I’ll be returning to my home country soon.
Police turn up at tourist’s unit
Upset by Piotr’s lack of remorse, the woman proceeded to press charges against him, leading to an arrest warrant being issued for charges of committing obscenity against a person above the age of 15.Â
A video shared by the Metropolitan Police Bureau showed police officers turning up at Piotr’s rented unit to inform him of the arrest warrant before taking him to the Thung Maha Mek police station.
While Piotr acknowledged that he was the person in the CCTV clip, he declined to comment further on the charges.
He now faces up to 10 years in prison and/or a 200,000 baht (approx. RM26,300) fine if found guilty under Article 278 of the Criminal Code.
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