British man smashed in face with dumbbell bar by fellow gym patron in Thailand (video)

MSN ReporterMay 19, 2022

2 minutes read

A British gymgoer was attacked in a Thai gym after he refused to give up a bench press.

CCTV footage shows Gary Reed, 46, from Hastings, East Sussex, working out on a bench press in Pattaya, Thailand on May 17 when an angry Brit stormed over to claim he had been waiting to use the piece of equipment.

Reed told his fellow Brit that he wanted to finish his set and the other man agreed.

However, he returned moments later with a seven-inch long 1kg metal dumbbell bar and cracked Gary Reed in the face.

Gary Reed was then shown staggering to his feet before confronting his attacker, leading to a fight.

Speaking on May 18, from the hospital, Gary said he needed 60 stitches following the assault. He also suffered a fractured right eye socket, bleeding on his retina and needs a CT scan to check for brain damage.

Gary Reed said: “There was no queue for using the equipment so I just laid myself down on the bench to start lifting weights like I normally do.

“You can see in the video, my weights were at the side of the bench the whole time, which basically means I’m still using it.

“Then this guy just walked over and said he wanted to use the bench press. I was like ‘mate, just let me finish, I’ll be done in two minutes’, but he wasn’t having it. There were others available to use, so I think he was looking for a fight.

“I carried on working out then he just came at me from behind like a coward and proper smashed me in the head.

“As far as I’m concerned, he could have killed me. If you hit someone in the head with a hammer, it’s like attempted murder.

“This was a piece of metal as big and almost as heavy as a hammer. I’m lucky it didn’t knock me out.”

Gary Reed went to the police to file a complaint and was sent to a hospital where he had 60 stitches around his right eye to receive a medical certificate. Police are now searching for the suspect.

Police Lieutenant Khunthum Khantiwong said: “We already have the identity of the attacker from the gym’s membership log and encourage him to cooperate so he can explain his side as well.

“If he doesn’t hand himself in we will find him and he will be questioned about the attack on the CCTV video.”

The attacker’s gym membership has now been terminated following the incident.

Watch a video of the attack below.

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