A head chef was seen slapping a 20-year-old intern's head, hitting her arm with a spatula and forcing her to eat undercooked rice in front of other workers in security camera footage from inside a hotel kitchen in Phuket.
The intern, 20, is a student from Nakhon Si Thammarat province who began an internship at the Patong hotel on July 1.
The intern said she had been scolded and assaulted by the same chef on several previous occasions. She had not been seriously hurt but had endured the abuse in order to complete her internship.
She said that on Saturday she was told to cook rice, as usual. The rice came out unevenly cooked. The chef ordered her to remove it because she was busy finishing another task.
When she failed to act quickly enough, the chef scolded her, using harsh language, before approaching and assaulting her as seen in the video.
The chef then forced her to sit and eat some of the undercooked rice.
Coworkers took the intern to Patong Hospital, where she is still receiving treatment.
The intern said she planned to submit a medical certificate and other evidence to police and will press charges against the head chef.
