hardy1943

It is good that the Nation is printing this. This kind of thing has been going on for years. It would be surprising if these criminals did not have some sort of informal relationship with the local police.

I don't expect it will stop but it may disappear or relocate for a while.

Reuters, CNN , BBC should pick up this story would be great for tourism

I had a friend who a police man tried to shake down hopping to find drugs (witch my friend did not have). As the scam started going bad the police man pulled his gun and pointed it at my friends head hoping this would cause him to show the drugs he thought he might have on him. Sad. They really need to thin the ranks I say get rid of half or more of the force. So many bad apples it has to be hard to even think were to start.

If the get rid of all the thugs do you really think anyone be left? In my opinion very very few.

By the way, if you think things are different in, let's say, the United States -- think again.

My only child was killed in a one car accident as a passenger. The driver was 20 years old. The driver failed to navigate an S turn at the end of a long straightaway and the car went off to road killing my child. The driver walked away uninjured.

The information I received from various sources was that the driver was involved in a street race and had entered the corner at a high rate of speed (in excess of 100 mph). Interestingly enough, when the police arrived, no one would admit to a street race. A blood alcohol test was performed on the driver that came back negative and the driver was released. No arrest.

I forensics team checked out the scene and in the final police report it was determined that the driver entered the corner at over 60 mph when the posted speed limit was 30 mph. I find this interesting because I drove that same corner in excess of 70 mph without difficulty a few days later -- which leads me to believe the racing scenario was probably true and the forensic report was flawed or deliberately understated. The report concluded that the accident was caused by the drivers age and relative inexperience as a driver and he was charged with simple negligent driving. The reporting officer seemed to have a very sympathetic bias toward the driver. The death of my child was inconsequential. We were able to see a copy of the driver's driving record which included a number of speeding offenses and moving violations. We contacted the Justice Department and were told that the prior violations would have no bearing on this case and the driver would only be charged based on the police report. The driver walked away with a $400 fine (roughly 12000 baht at the time). We file a civil suit against the driver. The family hired a lawyer. The lawyer simply came back with a statement that the driver, at 20 years old, was no longer a dependent of the family, therefore the family could not be financially held responsible for the crash. Then the driver declared bankruptcy to avoid any financial consequence for his action. The driver nor the family ever expressed any remorse whatsoever for my child's death..

And there you have it -- justice in the United States. How do you say it in Thailand -- Same Same but Different.

The United States has 50 States and every state has its own law for driving age drinking age then punishment. I come from the State of Washington 16 year old for my daughter to make a drivers licence and I would have been libel for everything and 21 to drink. Made her wait until she was 18 then she was on her own. I tell you she would have done some hard time there if it would have been her that caused all of this. You know they call it The United of America. In Texas one can get 20 years hard time for a joint in Washington State you can have a doctors permit and buy it in the State run store.

Corruption - the dis-ease of Thailand.

"... Damrong said his ministry's officials - who were very limited in number - could not stop the problem because the investors had huge influence."

This says it all.

If its in the national interest, and vital (which it is) No staff--5555555555555 Bring in the army-clear out the rubber trees, then move more staff to control. Thailand has loads of surplass staff in government departments, move them / tranfer them to this ministry. the police should be involved--isn't it a crime to encroach-so department says it cannot-the police are not there to enforce-the government is not powerful to prevent the business, This has to be a sorry state. I could only think of the army to help. Its as big as Englands-with 10 times more generals. Well ???

10 times more of everything especially government workers and then nothing ever gets done. Their motto hire more and we will take longer.I have to deal with them tomorrow used to have 2 employees in the department 6 years ago

and 15 minutes later was out the door even if busy now have 10-12 and I can be the only one there and lucky to get out in one hour. This must be progress

This kind of shit sickens me.

Was not ever anyone from the police patrolling the beach or knew about this?

This had to go on for awhile but we all know how much pull poor people have. A very sick situation.

^^ Yes, as they're simply contextual and pick up on keywords automatically... nothing to read too much into there.

Wicha Mahakhun, a former senior judge in juvenile cases in the Supreme Court, said the girl was likely to get a suspended sentence, not because of social privilege, but due to her confession, her remorse

What remorse? Nothing changes, with the focus being firmly on the perp and not the victim. The parents should at least be banged up no matter what compensation has been paid. Muang Thai is not moving forward is it.

In most western countries a drivers licenses is a privilege not a right and a motor vehicle is a machine to kill just like a gun. I guess in Muang Thai it is a very easy way to get rid of someone for a couple thousand Baht fine.

Debate :

1. a discussion, as of a public question in an assembly, involving opposing viewpoints:

2. a formal contest in which the affirmative and negative sides of a proposition are advocated by opposing speakers.

3. deliberation; consideration.

Obviously this is the type of Thai debate where the "pooyai" tells us what is going to happen.

In the mean time the girls from the village have to go to Bangkok to have an abortion so they may return as if nothing was wrong.

In the USofA this is one of the most polarizing topics in the public forum. People have died for a particular stance. Do not expect the debate to be quiet!!!

My own 2 cents --- you will never stop the practice of abortion. Better then to provide a safe environment for the women concerned. This needs to be combined with education in schools that 'abortion' is NOT a form of contraception. Sex education - not ignorance - for all.

I agree.You have an abortion issue in every country in the world and where illegal it only for the poor. The well healed will travel to a nice country where it is legal and come back as a virgin and the poor will try a coat hanger or some back alley and put their lives in danger.

simply not or should never be worthy of world heritage status period. phuket is nothing but a few nice beaches, lot's of traffic, lots of accident, lot's of xxxxx in uniform and so on. with that aside though it's probably a nice place to raise a family.

Macau in the old city is worthy of world heritage status. Sorry Phuket city you are far removed from it.

What a shame..

A lot of innocent people will die during the upcoming civil war that Thailand seems to be facing....

The cards seem to have been dealt.. now we will see who are the men and who are the boys..

Meantime.. "What is that girls phone number??

"She sure is pretty!"

Yes what a shame and I remember that statement made here in the mids of killing their own people. Your are right it is just starting.

So you have personally met umpteen million people have you? Have another case of Chang.

Not having another case of Chang how about an election by the people over a year ago maybe all could have been avoided. Why are they so scared to hold a real election?

I do not care either way but I tell you I live up North and you can not find a yellow shirt with a fine tooth comb.

come on the op was in los 15yrs and went native, i am amazed his liver still works after 15yrs of bad booze, and lets be honest his choice of Houston is not the model of what the USA has to offer, it is hot, stinks, and is full of red necks with 2 first names i.e. billie bob. I have been in the los for 11yrs and have no desire to ride a motorcycle taxi, drink beer loa, or eat fresh road kill. Is America for everyone? No! Does America offer the ambitious, hard working of any race, education, sex or sexual prefrence an opportunity to see their dreams come true? Absolutly! If you have Child where would they have more opportunities to succeed? los or USA?

I am from the Seattle area a far cry from Houston. The University of Washington Medical School is one of the finest in the world. A high school degree from Mercer Island or one of the better cities is

is as good to any so called masters degrees in Thailand. We had our ups and down there too. Like during the Reagan years signs like the last person that leaves Seattle please turn off the lights.

Bush put the whole US into a tail spin but still along way to go to get where Thailand is. We are immigrants from Germany in 1957 my father worked as a Janitor and my mother in a laundry

but my older brother became a Professor in Economics and two of our sons and daughters have a P.H.D. in rocket science from Cornell. I am the least educated but I still retired at $4000 US per month

and live now in Chiang Rai. My computers back then with windows 95 and 98 had a faster internet connection then the best money can by now in Chiang Rai City. Can not resist this. Look at the product of Texas.

GEORGE BUSH!!!

come on the op was in los 15yrs and went native, i am amazed his liver still works after 15yrs of bad booze, and lets be honest his choice of Houston is not the model of what the USA has to offer, it is hot, stinks, and is full of red necks with 2 first names i.e. billie bob. I have been in the los for 11yrs and have no desire to ride a motorcycle taxi, drink beer loa, or eat fresh road kill. Is America for everyone? No! Does America offer the ambitious, hard working of any race, education, sex or sexual prefrence an opportunity to see their dreams come true? Absolutly! If you have Child where would they have more opportunities to succeed? los or USA?

I am from the Seattle area a far cry from Houston. The University of Washington Medical School is one of the finest in the world. A high school degree from Mercer Island or one of the better cities is

is as good to any so called masters degrees in Thailand. We had our ups and down there too. Like during the Reagan years signs like the last person that leaves Seattle please turn off the lights.

Bush put the whole US into a tail spin but still along way to go to get where Thailand is. We are immigrants from Germany in 1957 my father worked as a Janitor and my mother in a laundry

but my older brother became a Professor in Economic and two of our sons and daughter have a P.H.D. in rocket science from Cornell. I am the least educated but I still retired at $4000 US per month

and live now in Chiang Rai. My computers back then with windows 95 and 98 had a faster internet connection then the best money can by in now Chiang Rai City. Can not resist this. Look at the product of Texas.

GEORGE BUSH!!!

You can pore over the minutiae of the Thaksin years till you're blue in the face, but all that is history and it's much more cogent to focus on the here and now.

The facts are that now three years on Thaksin isn't coming home any time soon. When he does he'll be peeing in a pot in the corner and taking showers once a week. And of those 94 wrist watches none will be able to measure the amount of time he'll find on his bored. cell dwelling hands.

That's with all the influnece he has, which right now amounts to very little at all. Even less when the cell door shuts.

The establishment is no longer his nor is he a part of it. The Army call the shots on Thaksin and they have, do and will oppose him. His wealth has been massively dented. He is seen where ever he goes as vulnerable because he has to pay extortionate amounts to visit , stay and not be arrested and deported in every part of the world he visits. And despite the nonsensical rumours that he was ever in Norway, if he flies over EU air space, that's around 30 countries now, he can be arrested. Same for America after Victor Bout was traded in exchange for an I.O.U Thaksin.

His world is shrinking. Moreover, it is becoming a tad more unpleasant. Arabia is not 'countries' but Emirates. A bunch of cronies running patches of desert storm all willing to trade Thaksin when the price is right. the Saudis have a price in mind.

That leaves glorius Africa the place we flipped a coin over whether we'd go there or come here. Glorius medieval, plague infected, desease riddled, war torn, terrorist housing, lawless, genocidal, dangerous Africa. Nice choice then.

For all those who assist him by way access to their countries and receive a small fortune in recompense, there are those seeking to sell him out to the Thai Government or any government who'll trade him on.

Precedent shows that when in the air all measures are taken to have the plane he's on re-directed into 'unfriendly' air space, where an assurance is made that he will be arrested.

The Suadi gems farce that keeps being traded back and forth is all about Thaksin. The Saudis will trade him when they get their gems back. The previous request to the Saudis not to provide him shelter were dismissed. At the same time diplomatic relations were resumed because, quite rightly the Saudis want justice for the murdered Saudi Nationals connected to the gems theft.

It begs the question then just why Thailand has not organised his capture. There are some problems best not dealt with. One is having Thaksin serve his time. For at two yeras he'd be out after 3 months, tagged and bailed however they do it here, but essentially free. No one here in power wants to see Thaksin back on the soap box.

Free and returned to the public arena to wreak havoc on a steadily stabilising society. Therefore, keep him in exile and should he turn up lock him up. That is until you decide what to do with a live and kicking Thaksin.

The other quite clear threat to Thaksin is his life. Should he return then he'd almost certainly be assassinated because realistically it is the perfect solution to a probelm that won't go away. Maybe Thaksin does know that as he has abandoned any attempts to return any time soon. If ever.

For those doubters coinsider this: without Thaksin's presence, leadership, sway, the country descended towards civil war and anarchy. It stands polarised today albeit the reds are very much a neutered force. That is the reality. The reds have peaked and waned, the protests are gone, the army deals effectively with small scale protest never allowing it to escalate. The Abhissit government that wouldn't last a week, a month, a minute is solidly still in place. At the same time any opposition is rudderless, unknown, without ideology or sound bite. Clearly, in disarray. Is there in fact an oppsition?

The position of the Bangkok elite, the government, the army is to remain laid back and relaxed. Thai democracy was never a well oiled time piece but it is ticking away nicely with no alarms going off. Even when bells do start ringing it's a simple press of the military button at the government's request, to restore calm.

For an insight to personality re-read Sven Goran Ericson's account of Thaksin; unable to handle losing, he would mope silently for days ignoring those closest to him who were working to improve things. He would swing Jekyl and hide like as his mood swings took him. How rational does that sound. Running Man City the way he ran Thailand? Toys out of pram time.

To the neutral this is poor behaviour. It reveals a rather childish, immature response to disappointment. It does not show a decisive mind. Then there is the implied vanity over 'knowing nothing' about football yet advising Ericson. It did remind me of Hitler with his General's and it cost them the war.

What it shows is the 'thainess' of Thaksin. As long as he was surrounded by psychophants he was fine. But stripped of that and seen for what he is, the man is left floundering. And that is how he finds himself now. Even unable to construct a single force of opposition inside or outside of government other than a violent mob armed with sticks, guns and home made bombs. Thyey themselves make it easy to unite the country in opposing such needless, senseless violence.

It is either a reflection on Thaksin or Thais in general.

But whatever way you call it, as ex-pats we know that to get anything done it's best to return home and sort it out yourself. Others won't and can't do it for you.

Meanwhile Thaksin is growing old. There will come a time when he is seen as past it. That society has changed and he has become just another Thai political dinosaur like Chavalit. Of course, the vanity will kick in and he'll never see it. But the great hope for Thailand is that this change we now see where democracy is being nurtured and the gangster politicians, the powerful families, the figures of influence, the corrupt are being sidelined, actually sticks. As within such a democracy there is no room for Thaksin or his ilk.

It is happening.

Democracy. It's something that is alien to Thaksin. For it is the way of the civilised world. The first world and Abhisit is dragging Thailand towards the light.

The dark days have gone. And so too have the dinosaurs.

Keep on dreaming about Democracy for Thailand. It will never happen here in our life time. Besides that none of us can vote but it get everyone worked up beating on the dead horse named Thaksin, What a none advent.

Wow! Even though I'd really like to believe this "crackdown", my feeling is that of all the drugs they confiscated, probably half will make it back to the dealers for cash to the BIB, and as for the cash they say they confiscated, I'd say that's probably only about half of what they really found. And the other half???? Hey, BIB have expensive lifestyles also, and have to maintain them.

Yeah, call me a cynic, but I've been here too long to really believe this crap. Besides, I've got a cop (Senior Sergeant) in the family, so I know what goes on.

OK. Your a cynic.

We all know for several years that live in Chiang Rai that the only Road from Mae Sai ( Burma border ) to Muang Chiang Rai at noon until 1PM the cops are all having their break at the check point and sit and are reading the paper

and all traffic just drives on through. How convenient!!!

And not one suspect seriously injured or killed. How times have changed since the middle of the last decade.

Not that much really, they still arrest the small time dealers, those who pay are usually protected. I know what you are saying they are not mass murdering them now at least for the time being. Maybe the budget does not allow for more bullets.

They tell us what they want us to hear. Don't want to say to much here. Big brother is watching or in this case reading?

I hope he makes a full recovery. Any idea of what was stolen?

Without doubt his trust in Thai people as a peaceful nation.

Very true, however to me Pattaya is the furthest thing from real Thailand.

It is a place where White trash goes and sees who is the first one to fall of the bar stool.

The newspaper didn't offer a comparison to the typical over crowded filthy Russian prison. Too bad as it would have put it in perspective for the Russian reader, particularly the absence of health care in a Russian or Thai prison and the access extended in the U.S. federal system.

I respect Mr. Bout's vegetarianism but he is not being truthful in his statements. The U.S. Federal penitentiary system makes allowances for vegetarians because it satisfies the most number of religious and health requirements.

He is in solitary for his own protection. His attorneys can visit regularly as can his family if they so wish.

I like the subtle hint about his non co-operation. Feeling the heat methinks.

You are right.Also one will serve every day what ever the judgement. One gets 20 years they be in there 20 years no early releases.

I am a Canadian living in Thailand what I would have to say about this cop and the justice system in Thailand would be deleted by the moderators. I hope the cop awaits the same fate as the man he killed. Leave it at that.

You are so right. That says it all. We can not even criticize it.

First of all pay five times the Thai price to get into these public attractions. Arriving there with nerves shattered through the insane driving of these mini-buses. Personally l require something a lot stronger than alcohol!

I refuse to pay the RIP Off Farang prices. Just tell them like I do and turn back if everyone would do that maybe some day they will wake up, but that is very doubtful.

Two things:

Seat belts

Law-enforcement

Seat belts of course. Law enforcement? Most of the police here in Thailand can not even drive themselves or park a car correctly.

And how many police officers were arrested?

The police in Thailand is very successful arresting drug dealers - because any other time of the year, they're taking their money.

Now they arrest them all, some will get out, some will get locked up, and new ones will come in, and everything starts over. Spring cleaning!

The are good to arresting the small fry! How about the wales? Scared to find out who they are?

" a sticker reading "T-G-TK" - a signal that they have the police in their pay." <--- That made my day, thanks, the next signal to made people under special protection recognizable can be a pair of big Mickey Mouse ears to wear while on duty, nobody it's going to find out this time .

Edit: size

AMAZING THAILAND

Makes me want to puke!!!!

....

WAKE UP!!!

Thank you for your post. You hit the nail on the head!

Thailand is usually every year in the top 3 with South Africa being number one.

Please quote your source, my limited googleing skills show a different story to the one you speak of

Here is one www.nationmaster.com seems to be more less bias play around with it interesting but then it mostly based on what government report.

Here they have Thailand #14 but Thailand has a high domestic violence. I do not see the Congo or Chad even listed there. Then Zimbabwe #16 come on.

Anyway they can all be arranged. I myself find Thailand here in Chiang Rai much safer then the US and I lived south of Seattle in a town with a low crime rate.

I guess we can make out of all what we want.

Yeah, I've noticed that "lead poisoning" seems to be one of the major causes of death in Thailand. If I'm not mistaken, I read a statistic the other day that said they have the highest murder rate (per capita) of any country in the world. Hey, they have to be #1 at SOMETHING, right?

Highest murder rate in the world??? I am afraid in your eagerness to denigrate the country you are indeed very much mistaken.

Incidentally, does your suggestion of bringing in police from LA include the type who beat black motorists for no reason, because I think Thailand could do without scum like that coming over here?

You are referring to Rodney King that was 20 years ago sad but true but lots of things have changed since but then one bad apple (police officer) can make the whole barrel rotten.

To me they all get a big head once they get that police helmet on no matter what country. Thailand is usually every year in the top 3 with South Africa being number one.