Singer Chalathit "Ben" Tontiwut was assaulted and robbed of Bt80,000 in cash and valuables on Pattaya's Beach Road early yesterday.
Pattaya police found the unconscious and bashed "Ben" on Beach Rd at about 3.30am. The 29-year-old was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was treated for bruises to his face, head and neck, and a wound on the back of his head.
He was said to be in a stable condition and recovering.
Ben's mother Rossukhon Tontiwut, who visited him at the hospital with his manager Nareerat Khongdee, said the singer went to a party at Central Festival Shopping Centre prior to the attack. She said he had lost Bt20,000 in cash, plus a Bt50,000 wristwatch and an iPhone.
She believed it was a random incident because Ben had no known problems with anyone in Pattaya.
Ben told police he could remember hailing a motorcycle taxi from the mall to return to his Phratamnak Hill residence.
A 49-year-old motorcycle taxi operator Wichai Huaiyai told police he saw Ben, who appeared to be drunk, riding on the back of a foreign man's Yamaha Fino motorcycle. The two had a heated argument on the beach and the taxi man said he tried to stop them fighting.
He insisted he didn't take any of Ben's missing valuables and the singer left the scene. He heard later heard the singer had been assaulted by an unknown group of men.
The police investigation into the assault and robbery is on-going.
The incident prompted Sony Music Thailand boss Birathon Kasemsri na Ayudhaya to cancel Ben's scheduled events and concerts indefinitely until the singer recovers fully.