Bangkok - A US tourist was badly beaten up Friday by a bar owner at Thailand's Pattaya beach resort for refusing to pay 170 baht (5 dollars) for a bottle of beer, news reports said.

Dennis Leo Greenwood, 51, was hospitalized 12:30 am Friday morning at Pattaya Memorial Hospital for treatment of facial injuries, a head wound and several missing teeth, said The Nation online news service.

His Thai girlfriend, Suparp Mahasen, told police that a Pattaya bar owner and another employee had beaten up Greenwood after he refused to pay 170 baht for a bottle of beer, arguing that he had been overcharged.

Locally-brewed beers usually sell for about 100 baht a bottle at Pattaya's plethora of beer bars. (dpa)