A drunk Thai man was arrested after kicking a seven-year-old special needs boy and his aunt outside a Chiang Mai shopping mall, claiming a barking dog sent him over the edge.
The shocking incident unfolded in the Bo Sang area of San Kamphaeng district at 4am on July 13, and the autistic child’s devastated family filed a complaint the following morning.
CCTV footage of the unprovoked assault quickly spread online, prompting an urgent investigation by San Kamphaeng police. Officers scoured footage from the scene and traced the attacker’s escape route through local streets.
By 6.30pm that evening, police tracked the suspect down to his home in a nearby housing estate in Ton Pao. He was identified as Ek, a 35 year old man from Mae Ai District, Chiang Mai.
Police say Ek admitted to being the man in the viral video. In his rambling statement, he claimed he had been drinking and became enraged when a stray dog barked at him. He lashed out at the child and his 25 year old aunt without thinking.
“I was drunk… angry that the dog would bite me,” he told officers. “Then my hands became weak… I bowed beautifully and apologise to the victims and society.”
Despite his theatrical apology, police weren’t impressed.
He was slapped with charges of “causing physical harm to another person, resulting in physical or mental damage” and taken in for formal legal proceedings, reported Amarin TV.
Colonel Nattapol Chanmano, Superintendent of San Kamphaeng Police Station, personally ordered the fast-tracked investigation, and accompanied both victims to San Kamphaeng Hospital for medical checks.
Locals expressed horror at the incident, describing it as “senseless” and “vicious.”
“The boy didn’t do anything. He just got kicked because this man was angry at a dog,” one witness said. “It’s madness.”
The case has reignited debate online about mental health, alcohol abuse and why vulnerable people always seem to suffer most from public violence.
The story Bark and spite: Drunk Thai man kicks autistic boy after row with dog as seen on Thaiger News.
