Phuket boxing coach says foreigner returned home after road altercation turned violent

A foreign man believed to be British was injured in a sword attack and later returned to his home country after a road altercation with a Phuket boxing trainer, according to Channel 8 and accounts cited in the source material.

Viral video of the incident showed a shirtless foreign man holding an iron bar while a Thai man carried a sword. The footage captured the two confronting each other before a physical clash. The foreign man suffered an arm injury and was later seen walking away.

The Thai man was identified as 50-year-old Waikoon, a boxing coach and krabi-krabong instructor known to students as Teacher Oh. He told Channel 8 that the dispute began while he was riding his motorcycle on Soi Ta Iad in Chalong, Phuket.

Waikoon said he encountered two foreign motorcyclists travelling slowly side by side while talking, which he said blocked traffic lanes. He said he warned them about road safety, argued with them, and then left and returned home.

According to Waikoon, one of the foreigners later arrived at his residence carrying an iron bar. He said he was concerned for his family's safety and tried to move the confrontation away from his home. The events that followed were recorded in the viral video.

Waikoon said he later reported the incident to police and was prepared to face legal proceedings related to the foreign man's injury. He added that no complaint had been filed against him at the time of the interview.

He told the media that he regretted the injury but said he acted in response to the situation. In the interview, he cited a line from the Thai national anthem, saying, “Thais love peace, but are never cowards in war.”

Channel 8 later reported that a friend of the injured foreigner said the man had returned to his home country for medical treatment. The friend said treatment in Thailand was expensive, including more than 13,000 baht for wound care.

The friend also said legal action would be taken against the Thai trainer, arguing that the trainer's actions went beyond self-defence. He said the case would be reported to the British Embassy and that further updates would follow.