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A court in Thailand has sentenced four men to two years in prison for a vicious assault on a holidaying British couple in their 60s and their 43-year-old son that left them unconscious in the street.
Lewis and Rosemary Owen, aged 68 and 65, were visiting the beachside resort town of Hua Hin with their son, Lewis, for Thai new year celebrations when several men attacked them in the early hours of 13 April.
Hua Hin provincial court sentenced the Thai men on Sunday to four years in prison but reduced the jail term by two years after the accused confessed. Two were aged 32 and two were aged 20.
Orasa Awutkhom, director of the Prachuap Khiri Khan tourism office, was quoted in the Bangkok Post as saying that officials from the Tourism Authority of Thailand would inform the family of the court’s decision.
The assault was largely unknown until shocking CCTV footage was released to the public in late April, focusing international attention on Thailand. The video showed a brutal assault as the family are set upon, with their attackers repeatedly punching the trio and kicking them in the face even after they were knocked to the ground.
Witnesses said the men, one of whom was holding and bottle and swaying in the video, were drunk and looking to fight. One man who tried to stop the altercation was also punched. After the attack, multiple onlookers rushed in to help.
The son and father both received stitches and Rosemary spent several days in hospital after undergoing surgery when doctors found brain swelling.
The parents have been regular visitors to Thailand for many years but the family vowed never to return after the assault, which took place during the Thai new year’s Songkran festival, also known as the water festival, where street parties turn into giant water fights.
Some 1 million Britons visited Thailand in 2015, the highest ever number of UK visitors.
(THE GUARDIAN)
