Filipino transgenders 'working as prostitutes on Sukhumvit Soi 11', claim Thai group
After the Monday evening brawl on Sukhumvit, which local media dubbed the “Thai Katoey Veterans Day”, Thai immigration police were asked to find out if the Filipino perpetrators were working illegally in Bangkok.
Two members of the group of six Thai transgender women who were allegedly attacked by their Filipino peers on Monday spoke to the press on Tuesday.
At the conference, the duo expressed disappointment that the Filipinos, who they alleged had been "encroaching on their territory", were allowed to leave the country so easily.
They also expressed disappointment that police were only able to nab two of the 20 attackers, as the other two they detained had not been involved in the brawl.
Police only took the four Filipinos to face charges at Lumpini Police Station after the Thai side filed complaints, they said.
The two members of the Thai group also urged immigration police to find out why so many Filipino transgender women stay in hotels on Soi 11. They also wanted to know if their attackers had overstayed the 30-day visa stamp they received upon arrival.
News of the day
Social media and television channels were flooded with news about the so-called Thai Katoey Veterans Day brawl on Tuesday.
The “veterans day” moniker was inspired by the hundreds of Thai transgenders and LGBTQ members who had gathered at the mouth of Sukhumvit Soi 11 at about 9pm on Monday. It did not look like the gathering had been organised.
Three clashes broke out between this group and the Filipinos outside a hotel in the soi, even though police tried to step in and “rescue” them.
Many members of the gathering said they had not been asked to show up, but had come to support the six Thais who were attacked by their Filipino peers at 5am on Monday.
A clip of the row was posted on social media, but what sparked anger were the taunting comments posted by the Filipino group.
The two Thai representatives said they had not called for any backup, but had only gone to the hotel where the Filipinos were staying to settle differences.
“We think others saw the clips and wanted to be there to show us moral support,” one of them said.
Unwelcome guests
The two representatives said their group had been working in the Sukhumvit area for years, but Filipino transgender women had suddenly started showing up in big groups. They said the Filipinos were often seen standing outside one of the hotels on Soi 11.
“I don’t know what they are doing there,” one of the representatives said.
When asked to recount what happened, the duo said their group of six was walking past the hotel early on Monday, when the Filipino group began stomping, pointing at their feet and hurling abuses at them.
The Filipinos then tried to shoo away the Thais, before homing in and attacking them.
Follow-up attack
Clashes on Monday night began at 10pm when police tried to escort two Filipinos out of the hotel.
Several Thai LGBTQ members began hitting the two Filipinos with their shoes, while police officers begged futilely for them to stop.
The officers also ended up getting hit while trying to “save” the Filipinos.
The second clash took place at around midnight, when one of the Filipinos came downstairs to buy food and was assaulted.
Then at 4am, police tried to escort the rest of the Filipinos out of the hotel, but they were outnumbered by the Thai LGBTQ group. Many of them jumped on both the police and the Filipinos and repeatedly hit them.
After being escorted to Lumpini Police Station, one of the Filipinos posted a clip on social media asking for help from the embassy.
Wrong impression?
When asked if the Thai LGBTQ community would be perceived negatively due to the violence, the two representatives said the Thai side had only repaid the violence meted out to them first.
They said that if police checked CCTV footage in the area over the past 12 days, they would see that the group of Filipinos were working illegally.
Meanwhile, Pol Maj-General Witthawas Chinkham, commander of Metropolitan Police Division 5, said his division has coordinated with the Immigration Bureau to find out if the Filipinos on Soi 11 had breached the law. He added that the group had arrived in Thailand as tourists and were staying at the hotel as tourists.
“The immigration police will still check to see if they entered Thailand legally, and if they were working illegally,” Witthawas said.
He added that police were unable to identify the individuals who were behind the attack on the six Thai transgender women before they could conclude whether they had left the country or not.
