Taiwanese YouTuber frightened by ‘groping’ men in Bangkok
A Taiwanese internet celebrity has complained that two Thai men frightened her by touching her inappropriately during a recent – and otherwise enjoyable – visit to Bangkok.
Many of Yi Zhi A Yuan’s followers, including Thais, described the experiences as groping and sharply criticised the men responsible.
Both incidents occurred while Yuan was being filmed visiting the Chao Phraya River, and one is shown in the video about her visit to Bangkok uploaded on her YouTube channel – “I am CIRCLE” – on February 28.
About five minutes into the video, she is startled by a man at a pier who places his hand under her left shoulder with his fingers nearly touching her breast as he is apparently helping her as she steps into a long-tail boat. She can be heard saying “okay” repeatedly in the video as the man touches her without her permission.
The video has been viewed over 270,000 times since it was uploaded.
In it, Yuan says she was frightened by another man – likely an older one because she uses the term “uncle” to refer to him – who grabbed her by the shoulder to pull her closer to him for a photo.
Yuan said she was too frightened to resist him.
The incident took place at a pier along the Chao Phraya River.
She said in the video that she was upset by the two experiences of men touching her without her permission but forced herself to smile because she felt she would be safer to do so.
Yuan’s video focuses on shopping and visiting landmarks. She tells her followers that shopping is inexpensive in Bangkok and sports a pink dress she bought during her visit.
“You really don't need to bring any clothes when you come to Thailand. It's so cheap to buy them here. If you bargain, it's even cheaper,” she says in the video.
In comments on the video, she thanks the Thais who expressed their concern for her.
Despite the unwanted touching she experienced, Yuan describes Thailand as a destination with many interesting things to do.
For example, the video shows her wearing Thai traditional attire while visiting Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) and Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha).
“We went to Wat Arun and Temple of the Reclining Buddha on this trip. Both are super fun! Remember to rent Thai attire first. It’s easy to take a lot of photos. It also fits into the architectural background!” says the video’s description.
