Recently, the news of “Chinese fan beaten by Thai GMM staff” went viral, sparking concern among netizens. GMMTV is a film and television production and artist management company under the Thai entertainment group GMM Grammy, and in recent years, it has gained a large number of fans across Asia with several popular Thai dramas.
According to a report by Litchi News, on July 25th, at the GMMTV book fair event at the Siam Paragon mall in Bangkok, a Chinese female fan was subjected to violence by on-site staff.
The individual took to social media to post about the incident, and according to accounts from other netizens, the girl arrived at the venue around 6 a.m. with an umbrella and friends to save a spot in line. Upon returning, she found her umbrella moved, and nearby Thai fans reported her for “cutting in line” to the staff. The girl claimed to have a valid queue ticket and photos showing her in line, but the staff, without verifying, asked her to leave and confiscated her belongings.
Videos from the scene and the victim’s testimonies circulated online showed several GMM staff forcibly removing the girl, including snatching her phone, pressing on her neck, pulling her hair, and dragging her to the ground. Her tank top was torn, and her bracelet broke during the altercation, with multiple staff members surrounding her throughout.
The victim stated that she later went to the local police station to give a statement.
According to accounts from the victim and circulating information online, GMMTV stated that they would handle the incident through legal channels and mentioned the negative impact of the video spreading on Thailand’s tourism image. However, as of the 26th, GMMTV has yet to release an official statement regarding the incident.
As of now, the full details of the incident have not been made public. The reasons behind the dispute over saving spots, the communication between staff and attendees, and why the situation escalated to violence remain unclear to the public.
The incident continues to escalate on social media platforms in mainland China, with many netizens demanding that GMMTV release surveillance footage from the scene to reconstruct the sequence of events. They also urge clarification on whether staff resorted to excessive force. Many express sympathy for the girl’s ordeal.
Some netizens believe that regardless of any dispute over saving spots, staff should prioritize maintaining order through persuasion and coordination, instead of resorting to violent actions against audience members.