A man was violently assaulted after entering a near-empty barbecue restaurant and making an innocuous remark about the lack of customers.
The sole diner in the room responded aggressively, hitting him with a glass and shouting, "Do you think I'm a dog?"
The incident occurred on Monday at a restaurant in Lat Krabang district of Bangkok.
The victim, a young man, went to dine there with friends. According to a formal complaint made by his family, he casually observed, “It’s not very busy here today,” as they sat down.
A man seated at the next table abruptly stood up, pointed at him and shouted, “So I’m not a person, then? Or do you think I’m a dog?” He then grabbed a glass and struck the young man on the head, causing a laceration.
Stunned and bleeding, the man said, he immediately apologised, saying, “No, that’s not what I meant. I’m sorry.”
Other people confirmed the remark had not been directed at anyone in particular, nor was it said in a confrontational manner.
The victim’s mother expressed disbelief and distress over the unprovoked nature of the assault. “He’s just a kid. He didn’t mean anything by it. Everyone in the restaurant saw what happened. I don’t even know what to say,” she said.
Ekaphop Luangprasert, a local activist known for assisting victims of injustice, has taken up the case. He contacted the superintendent of Chorakhe Noi police station and asked that police swiftly investigate and press charges against the assailant.