A group of Italian students on a school trip in Bangkok apologized after a video showed them shouting and cursing at a Thai woman who asked them to quiet down aboard a BTS train, according to Thai media.
The video, widely shared on social media, showed the teenagers loudly talking and yelling in a Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) carriage last Friday (Jul 24). A Thai woman asked them to lower their volume. Some students responded with obscenities and middle fingers, with one making an alleged racist gesture and another saying, “Sorry for bringing money to your country.”
The Thai woman filed a complaint with police to protect her rights and dignity. Five students, accompanied by two chaperones and an interpreter, met with the Thai woman and reached a settlement. The students and their supervisor apologized for their behavior.
Police charged four students with public insult and fined them THB1,000 each. Another student, who was making obscene hand gestures during the incident, was charged with both public insult and committing an act considered offensive in public, and was fined THB2,000.
The Italian Embassy in Thailand issued a statement last Saturday (Jul 25) expressing “deep regret” and strongly condemning the inappropriate behavior, saying it “does not represent the Italian people” and does not reflect the friendly relations between the two countries.
The embassy also released a video of four students apologizing to the Thai public.
Thai media reported the students would return to Italy soon and receive counseling to ensure greater respect for different cultures.
