Say what you will about "loud pipes save lives", but beating up a teenager, or anyone for that matter, isn't the way to deal with your issue—especially if you're a police officer. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened to a 13-year-old boy in Sattahip, Chon Buri, Thailand, recently.
The police officer thought the boy was purposely revving the motorcycle to annoy him and proceeded to chase the teenager down before punching him four to five times in the face. This left the rider's face swollen and bruised. The boy tried explaining to the officer that he wasn't intentionally revving the bike loudly to irritate him but rather that his exhaust was damaged, causing it to make more noise than usual.
This frankly disgusting act didn't go unnoticed, thankfully, and it's all down to the boy's mother. The 35-year-old mother, Pornlada, confronted the police officer after learning about the incident, which led to the Superintendent of Sattahip Police Station instructing the police officer involved to apologize to the boy.
Pornlada said, “As a mother, I can’t accept someone hitting my child. If my son did something wrong, there should be evidence, not this kind of behavior.”
According to the rider, he was going to buy food for his younger sibling when the officer, who was also riding a motorcycle, started shouting obscenities at him. Although the family accepted the apology of the officer, this ordeal might not be over. And rightly so, I might add.
The complaint was documented by the police station. So, the superintendent is aware of the incident and will investigate and summon the officer involved for questioning. If the result of the investigation shows misconduct (how can it not?), then disciplinary action will be taken against the officer.
What a bloody injustice it would be if there's no further disciplinary action taken against the officer. Do you think the police treat motorcyclists with more harshness than our four-wheeled friends? Have you ever been on the receiving end of an unfair interaction with the police while riding? Let us know in the comments.
