Australian Benjamin Robb dies after fight with Jose Manuel Polanco at Ruby club in Pattaya.
According to a sex worker in Thailand, the Australian man who was killed in a bar fight was behaving inappropriately towards women in the hours leading up to his death. Benjamin Robb from Melbourne died on February 9 inside the Ruby Club in Pattaya after being attacked by American tourist Jose Manuel Polanco.
February 2018, Benjamin Robb became involved in a brawl at the Ruby bar.
Polanco claimed that he punched and kicked Robb in self-defense after seeing him strangling a sex worker to the point where her face turned blue and her feet were dangling off the ground. However, the sex worker Robb allegedly strangled denied that he was being aggressive towards her, saying that they were just "playing around" before Polanco threw the first and only punch.
The circumstances surrounding Robb's death are unclear, with a bar manager claiming that he was drunk and aggressive before his death. The manager of the Horny Bar, Lloyd, said that Robb had visited his establishment for a drink before going to the Ruby Club.
Lloyd said that Robb was extremely drunk and aggressive, accusing one girl of being underage and starting to yell at everyone. They tried to calm him down by showing him her ID card, but this made him angrier, and he smashed his fist down on the table where she was sitting. The girl was frightened.
When Robb left the Horny Bar and walked 50 meters down the road to Ruby Club, a sex worker known as Fern said that she saw him assaulting a number of sex workers. She said that Robb was making a lot of trouble, trying to touch any girl on the street, and touching their breasts and vaginas. She described him as "a very bad man."
After the fight in the Ruby Club, where Polanco allegedly stomped on Robb's head repeatedly, Robb was taken to the hospital but later died from severe brain injury. Polanco has been charged with manslaughter, but he denied the charges, claiming that he was acting in self-defense.
He did not apply for bail and remains in custody ahead of his court date. Polanco was previously convicted of manslaughter over the death of a man in Miami in 1993. Ruby Club released a statement saying that no one else was injured during the fight, which lasted less than 20 seconds.
They thanked the emergency services for their prompt and professional attention in dealing with the incident. The Department of Foreign Affairs is providing consular assistance to Robb's family.
What happen with Jose Manuel Polanco?
Jose Manuel Polanco, an American tourist, was charged with manslaughter after a fight broke out at Ruby Club in Pattaya, Thailand on February 9, 2018. Polanco claimed he acted in self defense when he punched and kicked Australian man Benjamin Robb, who later died from severe brain injury. Polanco alleged that he saw Robb strangling a sex worker to the point of her face turning blue and her feet dangling off the ground, leading to the fight. However, the sex worker denied that Robb was aggressive towards her and claimed that the two were just "playing around" before Polanco threw the first and only punch.
Polanco did not apply for bail and remained in custody ahead of his court date. He was previously convicted of manslaughter in Miami in 1993. A bar manager claimed that Robb was drunk and aggressive before his death, and a sex worker alleged that Robb acted sexually inappropriately towards women in the hours leading up to his death. The circumstances leading to Robb's death remained unclear, and Thai police conducted a thorough investigation.
Manuel polanco go to the court and served in thai jail.
Jose Manuel Polanco was charged with manslaughter in Thailand for the death of Benjamin Robb and remained in custody until his court appearance. He initially denied the charges, claiming that he acted in self-defense during the altercation with Robb, but he later changed his plea to guilty. In October 2019, Polanco was sentenced to four years in prison by a court in Pattaya. It is not clear if he has completed his sentence or if he is still serving in a Thai jail.