Italian students apologise to Thai woman over viral BTS row, pay fines

A dispute that erupted on a BTS Skytrain between a Thai woman and a group of Italian students and later went viral on social media was settled on Saturday night after the students apologised to the woman at a Bangkok police station.

The woman, identified only as Sugus, agreed not to pursue her police complaint and deleted videos and photos related to the dispute.

The video, recorded by Sugus during her verbal confrontation with the Italian students, quickly went viral on social media, sparking heated online debate and prompting both the Italian Embassy and the travel company organising the visit to issue public apologies yesterday.

The incident made headlines not only in Thailand but also abroad, including in Italy.

The Italian students and their supervisor met the Thai woman at Samre Police Station at about 10.30pm on Saturday to apologise over the dispute on the BTS Skytrain.

After more than an hour of talks with the complainant, the Italians offered a wai and apologised, describing the incident as a major mistake.

They expressed regret and admitted their behaviour had been inappropriate.

Both parties agreed to resolve the dispute and not pursue further legal action against each other. They also agreed to delete photos and videos of the incident from their mobile phones and social media accounts.

One of the supervisors accompanying the students said the group deeply regretted what had happened and respected Thai culture.

The supervisor said the incident would serve as a lesson to prevent similar behaviour in the future, adding that all five students and the supervisor involved had shown genuine remorse.

Sugus said she accepted the group's apology after seeing their sincere remorse and believed that people who admit their mistakes and apologise deserve a second chance.

She said her decision to file a complaint was intended to protect her rights and dignity while also sending a message that visitors to Thailand should respect the rights, culture and social etiquette of Thai people.

She asked that the matter now be considered closed.

Sugus' father, Prapat, said he had used the meeting to explain Thai customs and social etiquette to the students.

He thanked the public for supporting his family but urged people to stop harassing or criticising the Italian students online, saying they had acknowledged their wrongdoing and still had several days of educational activities remaining in Thailand.

Police initially charged the five students with insulting another person in their presence, an offence punishable by a fine. Each was fined 1,000 baht.

A sixth person, who was seen making an obscene middle-finger gesture in the video, faced an additional charge of committing an act causing public embarrassment.

That individual was fined a total of 2,000 baht before the case was formally concluded.