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Thai man punches saleswoman over iPhone X Face ID dispute

Last updated

In a video that went viral in Thailand this week, a man punched a female Apple salesperson in the face, following a dispute over a faulty Face ID scanner.

According to English-language Asian news website Coconuts Bangkok, which cited the Thai news outlet Amarin TV, the 23-year-old assailant admitted to the act and apologized. He has met with his victim, has been fined the equivalent of $150 by authorities, and has agreed to pay the victim $1500 in restitution.

"I'd like to apologize to the society that I overreacted. It was the heat of the moment," the man told reporters, according to the site. "I've apologized to the victim, and she didn't want to take legal action."

The 30-second video of the assault has been shared more than 1.4 million times on Facebook. It shows the man arguing with an employee of the Studio 7 at Central Pinklao shopping mall, before punching her in the face. The dispute, an earlier Coconut report said, followed the man's demand for a replacement for his iPhone X, and the store's refusal. Employees had told the man that the Face ID feature on the phone was not broken.

The same store, Coconut Bangkok reported, had just a few weeks earlier caught a customer watching pornography on a MacBook display unit.

Apple has started the hiring process for an official Apple Retail store, said to open at some point in 2018.



34 Comments

christophb 15 Years · 1479 comments

I do wonder if Face ID still recognized the sales person on her phone after the incident.  

Too soon?

bkkcanuck 9 Years · 864 comments

This man should be arrested and dealt with ... 

iStudio/Studio 7 etc. here just are not the same when it comes to customer service as Apple Store (probably part of the reason is the concept of face and loss there of).  I have told people that when the Apple Store in IconSiam opens they should shop there if they are going to buy Apple products and avoid the iStudios etc.

bkkcanuck 9 Years · 864 comments

Apple current has NO brick and mortar stores in Thailand.  They started hiring for the Iconsiam which might open at the end of the year... but there are no Apple Stores you can walk into (there is online ordering available).

eightzero 14 Years · 3148 comments

I do wonder if Face ID still recognized the sales person on her phone after the incident.  

Too soon?

Ouch.

Wait...

Mike Wuerthele 8 Years · 6906 comments

bkkcanuck said:
Apple current has NO brick and mortar stores in Thailand.  They started hiring for the Iconsiam which might open at the end of the year... but there are no Apple Stores you can walk into (there is online ordering available).

Thanks for the heads-up. Fixed.