Thailand promises to improve tourist safety after a Malaysian tourist couple was burned alive by a Thai man in Bangkok.
See: Thailand: Tourists doused with flammable liquid and set on fire in Bangkok
This attack, widely reported in Malaysia, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, inflicts a new blow to a Thai tourist image already weakened by other incidents.
Violent attack on tourist couple in Bangkok
People help Malaysian tourists set on fire by a Thai man outside a shopping mall in the Ratchadamri district of Bangkok on August 7, 2025.
A Malaysian tourist couple, One Yik Leong, 26, and his girlfriend Gan Xiao Zhen, 27, were doused with flammable liquid and then set on fire by an unemployed man who was arrested on the spot on Thursday, August 7.
They were burned by Varakorn Pubthaisong, 30.
He threw paint thinner on their bodies from a bottle, then chased them and set them on fire.
They were seriously injured and rushed to different hospitals.
The attacker was restrained by other people at the scene and then handed over to Lumpini police upon arrival.
The couple were attacked while sitting on the steps of the Big C store on Ratchadamri Road in downtown Bangkok, one of the city's most popular shopping districts.
The suspect, a former boxer from Sa Kaeo province, reportedly told police he acted out of frustration at being unemployed.
According to the Malaysian news agency Bernama, quoting Bong Yik Jui, acting chargé d'affaires at the Malaysian embassy:
Yik Leong suffered second-degree burns to his upper body and was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Police General Hospital, where his condition was listed as stable.
Xiao Zhen suffered second-degree burns on 36 percent of her face, chest, and one arm and was admitted to the intensive care unit at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital.
Both victims remain in intensive care at the hospital.
Thailand's tourism sector hits another blow
Rescuers provide first aid to a Malaysian man injured after he was doused with paint thinner and set on fire by a Thai man outside a shopping mall in the Ratchadamri district of Bangkok on August 7, 2025.
The attack is seen as a major setback for efforts to return tourism to pre-pandemic levels.
Chinese and Malaysians are among the largest foreign tourists in Thailand.
The number of Chinese tourists has already seen a sharp decline due to the kidnapping of Chinese people in Thailand by fraudulent call centers in Burma.
See: Thailand: Tourism collapses as Chinese visitors fall
The arson attack by the two tourists made headlines abroad, not only in Malaysia, but also in media outlets such as South China Morning Post and UK's The Independent
Thailand tries to reassure travelers
Malaysian tourists visit Betong, Yala Province, in June 2025. Photo: Khaosod
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports has promised to strengthen safety measures for tourists in Thailand .
The ministry made this commitment in a press release published on Saturday, August 9, on its Facebook page.
The statement said the increased security measures in tourist areas will help reassure visitors and residents after the attack on tourists in Bangkok .
Lt. Gen. Saksira Phuak-um, chief of the tourist police, echoed the ministry's promise.
Security measures in key tourist areas will be strengthened to boost the confidence of international visitors, he said in a post on the tourist police's Facebook page.
The need to also act on mental health
The tragedy that struck this couple rekindles an essential debate: beyond strengthening tourist security , we must also tackle the mental health issues that affect Thai society.
A study by Bangkok Mental Health Hospital (BMHH) reveals that 10 million Thais suffer from psychological disorders, but only 2 million have consulted a professional.
In 2024, the most alarming figures show that 15.5% of Thais experienced high stress, 17.2% were at risk of depression, and 10.6% were considering suicide.
At the same time, national authorities and the WHO are reporting growing concern:
Between 2020 and 2024, more than 8% of the population experienced extreme stress, nearly 10% were at risk of depression, and more than 5% were at risk of suicide ( WHO ).
In 2024, there were an average of 42 violent incidents per day related to mental health and drugs ( WHO ).
Faced with these figures, the Thai government has launched concrete initiatives.
The “Mind Month” program (May 2025) aimed to raise awareness among the population.
It was accompanied by the launch of the digital platform Tor-Tuem-Jai ("connect and restore the heart"), a self-help tool based on the WHO Step by Step program, offering exercises to manage stress and depression, with personalized support ( WHO ).
See: Thailand faces mental health crisis
They had been advised against going to Thailand
The families of the two Malaysian tourists set on fire in an attack Thursday evening arrived in Bangkok on Saturday, August 9, 2025. Photo: Ministry of Tourism and Sports Facebook page
A Malaysian diplomat visited the two victims and met with their families, who arrived from Malaysia on Saturday and have already left the country, the report said.
The two injured tourists had arrived in Bangkok for a holiday the day before the attack, against the wishes of the injured woman's father.
"There have been too many incidents in Thailand this year, and I didn't think it was the right time to travel here," his father, Gan Kin In, told Malaysian newspaper Bernama.
Seksan Ngaosuwan, Assistant Permanent Secretary for Tourism and Sports, and Lieutenant General Saksira, also visited the couple on Saturday.
Their families want them to be transferred to Malaysia for treatment.
The Malaysian government was awaiting the outcome of the Thai police investigation, Mr Seksan told Bernama.
However, both victims will remain in treatment in Thai hospitals for about a month before doctors consider allowing them to travel to Malaysia for further treatment.
He was quoted in a post on the ministry's Facebook page as saying the government would seek financial compensation for the two burn victims.
"Malaysia has full confidence in the Thai authorities to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation and will cooperate fully if necessary," the Malaysian Foreign Ministry said in a statement .
See also:
Thailand: Tourist kidnapped and robbed by fake police officers in Pattaya
Thailand voted world's safest tourist destination in 2025
Thailand: 2 Arrested After Russian Tourist Attacked in Pattaya
Thailand: Crime wave in Pattaya worries tourists and expats
Thailand: Increase in attacks on foreigners by delinquent teenagers in Pattaya
Source: Bangkok Post
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3 comments
Quote: "Thailand promises to improve tourist safety after Malaysian tourist couple burned alive by Thai man in Bangkok."
LOL… The problem is that there are attacks every day in every corner of Thailand.
They are simply not relayed.
Plus, with all the drugs circulating in this country, there are unbalanced and disturbed people galore.
Then with the faltering economies and job losses, this is a good cocktail for this kind of aggression to multiply.
If economic chaos ever comes, it will not be good for this country.
Poor victims of an unbalanced man!
May they be granted full strength and health!
Safety in Thailand is seriously questionable...
I quote:
"Thailand promises to improve tourist safety after a Malaysian tourist couple was burned alive by a Thai man in Bangkok. (…)
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports has promised to strengthen safety measures for tourists in Thailand.(…)
Lt. Gen. Saksira Phuak-um, chief of the tourist police, echoed the ministry's promise.
Security measures in key tourist areas will be strengthened to boost the confidence of international visitors,” End of quote…
A well-rehearsed litany of pious wishes and promises heard and repeated over and over again since November 2024, the start of the last high tourist season, while the second half of 2024 was already shaken by the kidnapping of Chinese and Koreans to supply call centers in Burma (Myanmar) with "computer slaves" and many Thais and Vietnamese were also reduced to slavery in call centers in Cambodia, attracted by offers of highly paid bogus jobs...
At the time, it took strong interventions by anti-terrorist units of the Thai police and army to put out of action 80% of the centers located a few kilometers from the Thai border, in Burmese territory, and now more than a month ago, the closure of the borders to put diplomatic and military pressure on Cambodia, which still refuses to this day to dismantle these modern slavery centers (according to the UN human rights office, there are about sixty in total) which bring in billions of dollars each year for the Cambodian state and its political leaders...
As for the urban violence affecting Thais and foreign tourists, I am curious to know (in the short term, because it is becoming urgent!!!) the content of these "measures" that government officials who have tourism and urban security in their responsibilities intend to take...
Will additional police forces be recruited, who will need to be trained before being sent into the field?
Increased resources for repressing crime, authorization to use non-lethal weapons to neutralize certain troublemakers responsible for serious acts of violence, increased patrols with fast vehicles, increased "punch" interventions in neighborhoods known for persistent crime by brigades of 20, 30, 50 police officers in anti-riot gear???
I am eager to know the follow-up to these declarations, namely a list of measures decided by the political leaders of the various tourist entities concerned and which the police stations of the Kingdom will have to implement as soon as possible!!!
But if these are the same kind of statements as the electoral promises made by the candidates in the legislative elections, not much will change in the coming months and at this rate, the year 2025 risks ending in the worst possible way, which does not bode well for the beginning of 2026 and the high season which promises to be more than doubtful and random in the tourist numbers!!!