A furious group of transgender sex workers attacked three tourists who misgendered them while discussing their services.

The Middle Eastern men were trawling the Beach Road in the notorious 'Sin City' of Pattaya, eastern Thailand, when they struck up a conversation with transgender sex worker Narisara Ratchabutsri, 20, on Wednesday night.

Narisara was about to go back to their hotel when one of the group allegedly asked if she was a man - sparking furious scenes when the sex worker felt she had been misgendered.

Around 20 other transgender sex workers joined the melee as kicks and punches were thrown. Police eventually arrived to calm the situation in front of the city's Baywalk Residence at around 3:30am on August 2.

Police Captain Nattapol Saengsee of the Pattaya Police Station said: 'The tourists were visibly shaken by the incident and we invited them to the police station to cool down. They were from Pakistan and Palestine.

'They were then taken to hospital to be treated for their injuries. The incident was due to a misunderstanding between the transgender people and the tourists. However, we are now coordinating with the men to see if they want to press charges against them.'

Police questioned the two transgender sex workers Thiraphat Paladchai, 23, and Narisara. Thiraphat suffered from a swollen and bleeding lip, while Narisara had scratch injuries on her arms, fingers, and head.

Narisara told officers she was a sex worker working by the beach. When the tourists approached her and struck up a conversation, she offered her services and invited them to their hotel.

However, the situation suddenly escalated when one of the group questioned Narisara's gender, causing her to become angry and leading to a confrontation that eventually turned physical.

Narisara then called her transgender friends for assistance, resulting in the involvement of a larger group of transgender women in the attack on the tourists.

Police Captain Nattapol said other transgender sex workers believed to have been involved would be summoned to give evidence and warned about their conduct.

Local shopkeeper Jakree Sriarun, 34, a local and witness to the incident, told police that the group of transgender women were the aggressors and initiated the attack on the tourists.

Jakree said he watched the tourists attempting to flee before stumbling on the ground. He then made the decision to intervene.

Jakree further explained that the group of transgender women were familiar faces frequently seen working by the beach, and they were known for getting into disputes with foreign tourists.

He urged the Pattaya police to take serious action against them, emphasising that their actions were not only harmful to the tourists but also tarnished Pattaya's reputation.

It was reported that this group of transgender women had been involved in similar incidents on a regular basis, but due to the foreign tourists' departure back to their home countries, they often managed to escape legal consequences as the victims were unavailable to proceed with legal actions against them.