This is the shocking moment a taxi driver attacked a tourist in Thailand’s Sin City red-light district.

Salvatore Andres Castromedina, 24, left a bar on the notoriously dangerous ‘Walking Street’ road of strip clubs in the early hours of Thursday morning (Feb 25).

CCTV shows how he sat down next to a motorcycle taxi rider before asking to be taken to a nearby row of bars.

However, the worker Amorn Boonmee suddenly became angry and elbowed and punched Salvatore in the face. He then repeatedly kicked him in the head as Salvatore, from Chile, pleaded for help.

The young tourist suffered a broken nose and was taken the police station where he was asked for help while covered in blood.

He said: ‘I told the motorcycle guy, ‘I want to go to Soi Buakhao’, and he attacked me. He kicked me. It was a Thai man.’

Officers checked CCTV from the street, which has been quiet during the current Covid-19 pandemic, and identified the taxi driver.

Amorn admitted attacking the Chilean tourist, who had only arrived for his first visit in Thailand during the quarantine period.

He said he was ‘annoyed’ because the South American kept talking.

Amorn said: ‘I will apologise to the tourist. I was just annoyed because he was drunk and he kept talking. I didn’t want to take him and told him to go away.

‘I get hot-headed when people annoy me, especially if they’re talking a lot.’

Police released Amorn on bail and gave Salvatore a hamper of chicken soup. They are waiting for medial reports detailing the extent of Salvatore’s injuries before preparing charges against the attacker.

Officers said that unprovoked attacks on tourists would damage the city’s reputation, especially while they try to rebuild the industry amid the Covid-19 downturn.

Police Captain Puttarak Sornkamharn said: ‘The tourist was punched twice and kicked in the face many times. The tourist didn’t fight back at all.

‘This kind of incident is seriously harmful to the image of tourism in Pattaya, particularly while we are trying to restore tourism after many people have stayed away because of Covid-19.’