Italian school forced to apologise to whole of Thailand for bad behaviour

A group of Italian students were fined by police after sparking outrage with their public behaviour.

The five teenagers were accompanied by a chaperone on a trip to Thailand, which descended into anarchy with an altercation on a BTS skytrain, which has since gone viral.

Visiting as part of an educational trip, the young tourists were asked to quieten down by a Thai woman.

Instead of politely complying, though, they began laughing and mocking her.

Ultimately, the Italian Embassy in Bangkok had to issue a statement, condemning the teens’ actions and apologising profusely to the Thai public.

Shared over the weekend following the incident on July 23, the post began: ‘The Embassy of Italy in Bangkok expresses its deep regret over the incident and strongly condemns the inappropriate behaviour of a group of Italian underage tourists participating in a school educational trip, as shown in a video circulated on social media.

‘The embassy extends its sincere apologies to the people of Thailand and to everyone affected by this incident.’

‘Italians deeply understand and appreciate the values that Thai society places on respect for others, courtesy and harmonious coexistence – values that are equally cherished and upheld by the Italian Republic,’ it added.

The embassy insisted that their behaviour wasn’t reflective of the Italian populace as a whole, nor should it impact on the ‘mutual respect, friendship and courtesy’ forming the basis of Italy’s relationship with Thailand.

In its own statement, the trip’s operator apologised, too, acknowledging that the group’s actions contradicted the organisation’s values.

Still, after the authorities were involved at Samre police station, it took more than an hour for an amicable conclusion to be reached by the two sides

It was decided that four students would be charged with public insult and fined 1,000 baht (£22.34) each.

A fifth student, seen making an obscene hand gesture, was charged with both public insult and committing an act considered offensive in public. They were fined 2,000 baht (£44.67).

In the original clip, the lady, known as Sugus, is heard requesting that the youths lower their voices to a ‘normal’ volume and ‘not scream, OK?’

A student then says sarcastically, ‘Sorry for bringing money to your country,’ to which Sugus says they have ‘no manners’.

She proceeds to pan the camera around and identify the youths, who are standing on the train while she sits, and tells them to ‘shut the f**k up’.

When she asks where they are from, a boy replies, ‘Thailand’, to which she says, ‘No, you’re not.’

As the footage continues, the group laughs loudly and appears to make fun of Sugus, who asks, ‘Where do you want to go?’, responding with, ‘Your mum’.

Sugus attempts to get them to leave the train, telling them that they are on the wrong line for travel, but is unsuccessful, as are her efforts to get the teens to tell her their names.

Several minutes into the video, the group begins filming Sugus herself, and she grows more irritated while they point and giggle.

Finally, another passenger steps in, declaring that she is going to ‘call the police’ for Sugus, much to the group’s shock.

Upon reaching a settlement with the students, Sugus accepted their apologies.

‘I’m personally extremely sorry for what has happened,’ said one student representative. ‘I perfectly know that money can’t buy respect, and I’m really sorry for all the people offended and for having offended Thai culture.’

Another added that their behaviour was ‘wrong’ and said they are ‘very sorry to all Thai people’.

The students are set to undergo further lessons on cultural respect.

As for Sugus, she now hopes that future visitors to Thailand will adhere to its culture and social norms.

‘I filed the complaint to protect my rights and to ensure that no one violates them,’ she said.

‘I know the other side sincerely regrets what happened and accepts responsibility. They deserve a break.’

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