A university student has accused a group of TV celebrities of ordering their bodyguards to beat him at a pub in Chiang Mai late Friday night.
The attack took place at Malin Sky in tambon Chang Puak in Muang district at 11pm Friday.
Issarajnuwat Wankawisan, 23, told police he had gone to the restaurant and pub alone. When he went to the washroom, he claimed he was blocked by four male security guards and told to wait while five or six actors and actresses used the bathrooms.
Media reports said the celebrities in the group included Channel 3 actor Mark Parin and his colleagues Nattaporn “Taew” Tameeruks, Nittha “Mew” Jirayungyurn, and Lakana "Aum" Wattanawongsiri.
The fourth-year Payap university student and son of an army general said he protested, saying he should not be barred or kept waiting because the washroom was a public space. Mr Issarajnuwat claimed that when the actors left the bathrooms, one of them ordered the guards to assault him.
Other customers tried to record video of the incident but another group of guards reportedly stopped them, saying they too would be beaten if they persisted.
The student was later brought to Lanna hospital in Muang district by a good Samaritan. Mr Issarajnuwat is being treated for a broken nose, two fractured teeth, a fractured jaw and some problems with his left eye.
But Taew told Daily News Online the men were not the guards of anyone in her group and they were hired by the pub to provide safety and ensure their privacy.
She said she and Mew had gone to the washroom and the guards helped shield them because people were trying to take their photos. After they returned to their table she saw that a man had been involved in an altercation but did not see any fist-fight.
She said a guard also accompanied Mark when he went to the bathroom.
Pol Col Adul Somnueak, chief of the Chang Puak police station, said a security guard identified as Thanomsak Pipatkijjakarn, 43, admitted beating Mr Issarajnuwat but said no one had ordered him to do so. The Phuket native also argued he was the only person involved in the fight with the 23-year-old customer.
Pol Col Adul said the pub owners did not cooperate with police as they claimed they were installing electrical wiring for new security cameras so they did not have footage of the incident.
Investigators are interviewing other customers who were present at the time of the incident, he added. Some media reports said some of the celebrities are co-owners of Malin Sky.