A Thailand reporter covering the trial of two Kiwi brothers who allegedly attacked a police officer says the pair lack 'hard evidence'.
The brothers, Hamish Day and Oscar Day, are facing lengthy prison sentences and look set to be detained until trial.
Bangkok Post reporter Dave Kendall spoke with AM on Wednesday morning, saying the outcome of a fair trial all comes down to having enough evidence.
Thai media report the pair were on motorcycles in Phuket's town of Chalong on Saturday, where they failed to stop for Police Senior Sergeant Maj Somsak Noo-iad, who claimed they were speeding and failing to in the left lane.
When they eventually stopped, the Bangkok Post reported they started shouting, and Noo-iad used his phone to record them.
Video footage of the alleged assault shows the moment Oscar holds the officer to the ground, puts him in a headlock and wrestles a gun from the officer's hand.
Near the end of the video, Oscar, reported by Thai media to be an MMA fighter, can then be seen holding him in a headlock before lifting him off the ground.
One woman can be heard yelling "stop" in the background of the video.
"The police man was trying to attack us," one of the brothers responds.
According to local media, the brothers offered Noo-iad a bribe, which he turned down.
The pair were then arrested and face five charges: conspiracy to commit robbery, obstructing a police officer, attacking a police officer, attempting to bribe an official and driving without a driver's licence.
Kendall told AM he believes the outcome of a fair trial would all "depend on the evidence".
"I haven't seen any hard evidence that suggests that police officer attacked the two brothers as they claim. From what I have seen on video, it's not a good look for the Days," he said.
"The problem for this Thai cop was that he got knocked down and couldn't get back up again because he was in a headlock by Oscar Day," Kendall said. "[It's] the image of a member of the Royal [Thai] police force being humiliated by a big foreigner".
"Thailand is an Asian country with an Asian culture where face is important, the appearance is of more importance than reality. This just taps into that general xenophobia in Thailand - a feeling that, although they depend on foreigners and tourists as 80 percent of the gross natural product, they also have mixed feelings about that," he explained.
"Sometimes foreigners come in and don't respect Thai culture and it's just not a good look and feel for Thailand."
When asked if bribery is something that happens often in Asia, he admitted it did.
"Many police forces throughout southeast Asia and middle-income or developing countries - there is a degree of police corruption," he explained.
"In this case the story, apparently, [is that] the Kiwi brothers offered a bribe, and the cop turned it down, and that is why one of the charges was attempted bribery along with other more serious charges like assault and robbery.
Kendall admitted Thailand prison "is no picnic".
"There are generally 20 to 30 people lying on the floor in conditions so crammed that sometimes it's impossible for them not to lie on top of each other," he said.
He described the prison as having "no door on the toilets" and lights that are on "at all times".
"It's pretty grim," he admitted.
Looking forward, he said explained there is the possibility of a "best-case scenario" for the brothers.
"The best-case scenario is the brothers, and their family, will make a profuse apology and will be allowed out relatively quickly without facing serious jail time."
