Five Italian students and their supervisor have apologised to a Thai woman after a video of their confrontation on a Bangkok train went viral.

During a meeting that lasted more than an hour, the students and their supervisor admitted they had behaved inappropriately and apologised to the woman, who is known online as Sugus.

The dispute began after Sugus, a 25-year-old Thai woman, asked the group to lower their voices while travelling on a BTS metro train.

She later said they responded by making offensive gestures and remarks, including showing her the middle finger and telling her: “Sorry that we brought money to your country”.

A video of the exchange quickly spread online, prompting widespread criticism and leading Sugus to file a police complaint.

Police have now fined five of the six Italians 1,000 baht (£22.50) each for insulting another person.

The student who made an obscene gesture during the incident was fined a total of 2,000 baht (£45) after facing an additional charge of committing an indecent act in public.

The two sides met at Samrae metropolitan police station on 25 July, where it was agreed that no further legal action would be pursued.

Later, Sugus shared a video on TikTok showing the group offering a wai, the traditional Thai gesture of respect, while apologising. In the clip, she asks: “Are you apologising to me?” One student replies: “I apologise to you, to all Thai people and to your family”, before the others also apologise one by one.

As part of the agreement, both sides said they would remove photographs and videos of the incident from their phones and social media accounts. Sugus said the agreement also meant the students could not later bring legal action against her over how she responded during the confrontation.

Speaking after the case was closed, Sugus said she accepted the outcome even though she felt the fines were relatively small. She said police had recommended a 1,000-baht penalty to resolve the matter quickly, despite the law allowing for a maximum fine of 10,000 baht.

The Italian Embassy in Bangkok has also publicly apologised for the incident.

“The Embassy of Italy in Bangkok expresses its deep regret over the incident and strongly condemns the inappropriate behaviour of a group of Italian underage tourists participating in a school educational trip, as shown in a video circulated on social media,” the official statement read.

“The embassy extends its sincere apologies to the people of Thailand and to everyone affected by this incident.

“Italians deeply understand and appreciate the values that Thai society places on respect for others, courtesy and harmonious coexistence – values that are equally cherished and upheld by the Italian republic.”

There was an intense online backlash to the behaviour of the Italian students, with a flood of comments on the Italian Embassy’s Facebook page demanding an investigation into the incident.

Before the fines were announced, the embassy posted a video on their Facebook page in which four of the six Italian involved apologised to the Thai public.

Bowing in a gesture of respect and saying “Sawatdee-ka”, one of the students said: “We want to ask for forgiveness for our behaviour and sincerely apologise to the Thai people and the country.”

“I fully understand that money cannot buy respect, and I am deeply sorry to everyone we offended, as well as for bringing shame to my own culture and offending the Thai people.”

Sugus said the complaint had never been about revenge, but about standing up for her dignity and reminding visitors to Thailand to respect local customs and the rights of others.

She added that she believed the students’ apology was sincere and that people who acknowledge their mistakes deserve the chance to move on.

She later posted a photograph of herself hugging one of the students with the caption: “She has sincerely apologised to me.”

Sugus also urged people to stop targeting those involved in the dispute. She said one female student in particular had received abusive messages and threats.

“I did not want this to escalate or create hatred towards any nationality,” she wrote.