timmyp

In principle, I think the death penalty is a good thing: People who did frightening crimes are erased from this Earth. But the justice system everywhere can be so frighteningly twisted, it really seems like a bad idea to remove the "undo" option for police and the courts by allowing the death penalty. This is just another example...

I wonder if the guy has suffered organ damage.

One of the nasty things about Ebola is that it wrecks the organs, right? So some fear that experimental treatments can't save the patients even if the treatment helps the patient beat virus.

Whoa, that's a frightening photo...!

According to the article:

"Imprints from Tai's fingers were found pressed into the balcony in a way that suggest she clung to the balcony's railing for some time before falling."

So Thai forensics went in an collected this data? I'm surprised they got that far if they weren't going to proceed...

From the news I read, it certainly sounds like a murder. I hope the story stays alive in the press so that further steps are taken.

None of this is shocking.

I burned my bridges moving here 3 and a half years ago. I left everything I had in Japan. That was hard... Glad I left, I like Thailand much better than Japan (there are many farang that have made the Japan>Thailand migration, not so many going Thailand>Japan).

I have been moving so much in my life that bridges were always a temporary thing...

Back to Gammy and his twin sister now in Australia: So this Japanese guy is the biological father, right?

I wonder if the Australian couple think that it's their own biological baby? An earlier article said that their were Russian egg donors involved, so I assume the half-white half-Asian kid is the result of something like that?

I assume the Thai government can totally summon this guy for abandonment if he doesn't start at least financially supporting these kids? Not that this rich guy would have any financial trouble supporting his little newborn army, but I assume he is now legally obliged to do so as the registered father.

This is a horrifying story...

But it seems hard to believe that there isn't more to this... am I too skeptical to think that there is more to this story than what we read? Am I too naive to think that a village would allow 3 year old girl to live on her own like that? 3! How would she even have started 1st grade? There must have been someone helping her, no?

This isn't newsworthy, but I love the Lego reenactment! "no strings attached ‒ unless you count the IV drip" <--great line

Too bad the links are dead... If I cared enough, I would hunt online for it, but it's not that interesting.

People who are upset about this need to get something else to worry about... and are probably just jealous that they aren't getting any hospital visits.

I wonder what the stats are for those races. Er, not the racing stats and speeds, but the number of accidents, etc.

I live near one of the race highways, and I hear them now and then at night. Frightful speeds...

Seeing people toss their trash on the ground and in the canals is heartbreaking.

It's just what low-educated and low class folks do.... there are lots of Thais with the sense not throw trash everywhere, but unfortunately they aren't the majority...

Trashy low class folks in Japan chuck trash everywhere too. I have seen that decline in the last 20 years, but it's still a problem.

Lots of trashy folks in the U.S. just chuck their trash into the wind or out their cars as they drive down the road. Again, awareness of this being a bad thing has started to grow.... the world is waking up to this. It's not a Thai thing, it's an awareness thing.

Wow, that article was almost insightful.

With the title, I thought it might be something to give us something to think about, but then I realized it was printed in the Nation.

There is a special prison in Japan for traffic violations... you will go there for a first a offense of drunk driving, but usually it's for multiple offenders. I don't know if they qualified. With the public disgust for this, I'm sure some authorities are really looking to slam the foreigners hard, but it wouldn't surprise me if they just send the 3 guys back home.

WOW!

Sorry to post again, but I just saw the photo of the accident! That's some serious sh1t, man.

Can you link the picture?

It's just the photo from the original article:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Three-Thais-arrested-in-Japan-for-reckless-driving-30241141.html

It's such a mild stimulant, it's so silly that this was outlawed in the first place... prohibition of Krathom was undoubtedly the success of a populist politician trying to gain support through a meaningless issue ("Vote for me and I will stop this horrible drug destroying our communities!").

WOW!

Sorry to post again, but I just saw the photo of the accident! That's some serious sh1t, man.

I could see Japanese people talking about this for years... definitely going to have an impact on the reputation of Thailand, which is already pretty bad as far as driving goes...

Is a Thai drivers licence accepted in Japan?

or did they have international licences or maybe Japanese?

No, foreign licenses are not accepted in Japan. You have to get an international license in Japan. If you reside there for more than one year, then you are required to have a Japanese license.

The cops will be hard on those guys, they really get off teaching the foreigner a lesson. Not that those guys don't deserve it, but they are going to feel the force of the law. With a felony record (which drunk driving is), they will not be allowed to get a residency permit in Japan, or be hired by a Japanese company.

There were some really tragic accidents about 10 years ago in Japan, and the country just got crazy crazy strict on drinking and driving.

>The agency quoted a Japanese television news agency as reporting that initial investigation found that their alcohol level was higher than allowed by the law.

The legal limit in Japanese is something like 0.03%, which you will go over with a single drink. Regardless of what you blow in the breathalyzer, the cops can still decide you're drunk because you had a drink the night before.

Perhaps being so strict is a good thing, I'm just pointing out that "alcohol level was higher than allowed by the law" doesn't mean all that much.

He's a billionaire, he can likely purchase his way out of this mess, though he may wait until tempers cool down first.

He never wanted the kids for himself, so I doubt he is troubled about how he needs to get them out of Thailand. He has accomplished his main goal of spawning himself, and although short of his goal of 100 or 1000 little Shigetas, I think getting the children to their adoptive parents is lower priority to him.

I wonder if we'll see interesting genetic research on these kids as they grow up: a 90% likelihood to own tentacle porn, 50% more likely to behave in a passive aggressive manner, 75% likelihood of to feign syrupy sweet humility while embracing a self-adoring bloated ego, etc.

God, I am loving this freaky story at every turn.

The guy wanted to have 1000 babies! Surely it was to build his own storm trooper army... He's got 21 babies so far, and I am impressed.

This twisted billionaire should definitely have to foot the bill for all of these kid's education, and whatever compensation the courts demand for his bizarre experiment. Meanwhile, the Japanese government should give him some kind of recognition for trying to do something about their declining population.

They've had to reduce the amount of slave labour, and decided to call it a "ban" on fishing?

A couple of years ago I read an article saying the same, that the water in Bangkok was clean enough to drink.

I know we all scoff at that claim, but we don't really have reason to other than our own prejudices (well, I'm excluding you people who say that your tap water is coming out brown).

I got a cheap filter at my house, and I have been using that for 3 years with no problem... I just got the filter because everyone, foreigners and Thais alike, say that the tap water is unhealthy, despite the government claims.

Although the tap water might be as clean as the gov claims, I imagine there are lots of problems with the pipes and water seeping in during heavy rains. That is to say that the water may be clean at the processing plant, but lots can happen to it before it reaches my sink.

I find it a bit surprising that poorer Thai people will still opt to buy water rather than drink from the tap, considering the relative cost of water. Perhaps it's because they know the water is bad, or perhaps it's because they hold the same prejudices against their own country that foreigners also hold? Perhaps they think that only the poorest of the poor drink from the tap, and they don't want to be associated with the folks at the bottom of the economic ladder?

OK, I'VE DECIDED TO BE THE GUINEA PIG! I'M GOING TO DRINK THE TAP WATER RIGHT NOW, AND CONTINUE DRINKING IT FOR 3 DAYS. I'll just bypass my home filter. I live in a cheap apartment near Victory Monument on the 5th floor. I'll post my results...

No joking here... I might stat a new thread about this.

Are you working out too hard? Pushing yourself is primary goal, but we all have limits...

Some exercises I do trigger a spasm in my neck, which leads to some excruciating pain. Is that the same kind of thing? It's usually from being dehydrated and then over-straining.

I don't know anything about migraines, but exercising without the right nutrition and without being hydrated can trigger headache, nausea, and muscle problems.

It doesn't sound like it's going to be a successful approach, but let's see how it works for them... thumbs up to the seemingly socially progressive northern European countries.