DumFarang

It's what the article says, DumFarang.

I guess it's an inside joke or something b/c I don't know what the article has to do with the euphemism's meaning: taking a precaution when it's already too late.

Too late for what? To keep the teacher from getting shot/shot at? That's obvious at this stage.

Too late to repair Thailand's reputation? I doubt it has reached that point at all.

Too late to salvage the schools' exchange program? That seems much more likely.

Too late to lower Thailand's crime rate? Not easy but doable.

Were you inferring one of these things or something else with that broadly interpretable saying?

RIP Mr. Weits. 39 is no kind of age to depart forever.

Having a tube from the bag to a dive tank doesn't sound like suicide or murder to me. What's the oxygen mix in those tanks?

If it's a standard diving cylinder, which it sounds like, it's just air at 21% O2.

Crimes against tourists are taken very seriously and dealt with quickly partly because I believe they are handed to the royal police & partly the massive media coverage back home ( for example the UK girl who was raped & murdered a few years back on one of the tourist islands) I understand that if the victims are visiting Thailand - the responses are very speedy as Thailand's reputation/economy in tourism is vital.

Exactly!

I was saying this before. The tourism % isn't as high as something like their rice exports, but it's still a big chunk of the economy. They don't mess around with things that might damage that reputation.

Something about a barn door and a bolting horse comes to mind.

I know the expression, but I don't understand what you're implying with it here.

Crimes against tourists are taken very seriously and dealt with quickly partly because I believe they are handed to the royal police & partly the massive media coverage back home ( for example the UK girl who was raped & murdered a few years back on one of the tourist islands) I understand that if the victims are visiting Thailand - the responses are very speedy as Thailand's reputation/economy in tourism is vital.

Exactly!

I was saying this before. The tourism % isn't as high as something like their rice exports, but it's still a big chunk of the economy. They don't mess around with things that might damage that reputation.

Wow! Two people simultaneously having the same hallucination!

It's hardly a hallucination when you've seen evidence of it firsthand. An unsolved case where leads dry up or never materialize gets pushed aside anywhere in the world, but when they can find out who there man or woman is they can be pretty proactive.

Guys...it was not a crime where a tourist /farang/foreigner was targeted. They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, could happen anywhere.

...and how have you come by this knowledge?

Teachers wanted, good pay, health benefits, visa assistance, medical and bullet proof vest provided. This is not good for Thailand! This is shocking. Time to get rid of the stupid "lose face" mentality and start educating. Start with the stupid ass programs on the television that seem to baby sit the majority of the children in this country.

Could´nt agree more, like it just came out of my keyboard.

It's a good point, but one of the facts of life in this region of the world is that saving face isn't a Thai phenomenon it's common in many parts of Asia. While it can certainly be a detriment to common sense, it's simply not going anywhere, so this is wishful thinking. A solution, if there is one, lies elsewhere better approached through your TV idea.

Crimes against tourists are taken very seriously and dealt with quickly partly because I believe they are handed to the royal police & partly the massive media coverage back home ( for example the UK girl who was raped & murdered a few years back on one of the tourist islands) I understand that if the victims are visiting Thailand - the responses are very speedy as Thailand's reputation/economy in tourism is vital.

Exactly!

I was saying this before. The tourism % isn't as high as something like their rice exports, but it's still a big chunk of the economy. They don't mess around with things that might damage that reputation.

The bullet grazed the back of the Ms Cody's skull is in no way the same as shot in the head.

How about I graze you in the back of the skull. Then would you say that????? I dought it.

I would say 'Wow, that was close'.

But it is NOT the same thing as being shot in the head.

It's exactly the same as getting shot in the head, just not the same as having the bullet pierce the skull. See my above post if you need further clarification on the English language.

Honestly guys, grow up. What does this senseless banter about word usage do for anyone?

I found this in the Herald Sun. It doesn't have any confirmed new developments, but does tell the story slightly differently. It also mentions police involvement again.

I live in Chiang Mai, I talk to the Tourist Police Daily, and noone has any information about any shooting in Chiang Mai, that's coming from the department that deals with this information, So if the police in Chiang Mai don't know anything about it, how is the case going to be solved?

More about this from the link below.

http://www.livingtha...lly-a-hoax.html

Good post! Definitely an interesting development.

The bullet grazed the back of the Ms Cody's skull is in no way the same as shot in the head.

It's written by TheNation, we shouldn't expect less than dramatized reporting.

Really?? Check again. Making pointless and completely inaccurate posts such as these really add nothing at all to the thread.

Agreed. Gun shots don't come with descriptors like a knife does i.e. stabbed or cut. You're either shot by a gun or you're not. The bullet, on the other hand, can enter or graze. So, if you are shot in the head the bullet can enter your skull or graze it, but either way you are shot in the head. It works with being knifed too. You can be knifed and the blade can stab or cut you.

BTW a woman could have died here. Why are we still clarifying the English language? On top of the crime itself there's an obvious crime/gang discussion to be had here.

The Australian media version of events - National Nine news

Aussie teacher injured in Thai shooting

An Australian teacher visiting the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai narrowly escaped serious injury on Sunday when the car she was in came under fire, shattering the vehicle's windows.

Lynda Cody, a teacher from Ringwood Secondary College in Melbourne, sustained a minor head wound when the vehicle carrying her and another Australian, Jess Lambden, was shot at after they left a night market.

The driver, a Thai national and teacher from Montford College in Chiang Mai, sped the vehicle away from the scene.

Montford is a sister school of Ringwood Secondary, and Ms Cody and Ms Lambden had been accompanying students from Ringwood attending Montford during term break in Australia.

No students were with them at the time of the shooting.

A Montford College source said the group left Chiang Mai on Monday and was expected to travel to Australia mid-week. No other college staff were available for comment.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said Thai police were investigating.

Australian consular officers are keeping in close contact with Thai authorities about the matter and are providing consular assistance to the teachers and students, DFAT said in a statement.

The incident happened on Sunday evening soon after the women had visited the local market to buy souvenirs to take home, reports said.

The bullets shattered the windscreen and rear window, with Ms Cody being slightly injured when a bullet or shrapnel grazed the back of her skull. She was taken to hospital, where she received six stitches.

Initial reports were unclear whether the attack was by bandits or a road rage incident, according to police sources in Chiang Mai.

"They weren't badly hurt or anything," the source told AAP. "They were shot at; I think it was road rage."

The shooting comes just over five years since a Queensland nurse, Pamela Fitzpatrick, was killed after a drive-by shooting in the town of Kanchanaburi, 150km from Bangkok.

Ms Fitzpatrick was at a bar watching the 2006 football World Cup when a pillion passenger on a motorbike fired a shot.

A bullet lodged in her upper spine and despite intensive care she died days later in a hospital in Bangkok.

Thai police say they believe the gunman was linked with criminal gangs extorting monies from entertainment venues in Kanchanaburi.

This is the article that should have initially been posted. It would have avoided a lot of the banter about grammatical mistakes and unclear events.

Wow, a major outpouring of compassion on this site for somebody who had a near death experience.

>>>Ringwood Secondary College principal Michael Phillips said: "Whilst the injury sustained by Lynda was serious, the incident was particularly stressful and both staff members will need counseling support as they realise how close they were to being shot. Some may also need some counseling. This has been arranged.<<<

Can anyone explain what the difference is between "counseling support" and "counseling"? Why not just arrange for counseling? Why arrange for counseling support, and then counseling as well? The phrase reads, "some may also need some counseling" -- who are the some, and if there are only two, why are they referred to as some? It's either that Lynda may need some counseling, or that both teachers may need counseling, but why "some may also need some counseling"? I'm confused ...

It is a little oddly written, but it's probably just as a result of somewhat deficient writing skills or something like that. The point is still clear. I don't see what there is to be gained from the grammatical nitpicking unless the meanings of these words is truly lost on you.

Not just farangs. Local Thai-language newspapers carry regular reports of gang attacks on Ch Mai roads.

Exactly... please read my previous post, so common around Pattaya the rags have stopped reporting them!!!!!!

This was a bodged car jacking with intent to get MONEY.

Why not proceed with the car jacking then? They would have only found out they hit somebody when they looked inside. Why turn it into a hit and run when these were obviously their tactics? And, if they're willing to fire guns at vehicles for money then why halt the robbery portion of the crime b/c a bullet hit somebody?

You know it's not beyond possibility that this is some form of gang initiation. Show how committed to the cause you are go and shoot someone. Gang violence seems to be on the increase (or its just reported more). Just speculation as I don't live in CM but in old bangers, college students scraping, stabbing and shooting each other is all the rage at the moment.

I'll definitely grant you that possibility. It is an established practice. How tragically stupid if this is the case.

This is why I love living in the comfort and saftey of Pattaya. You have to be nuts to consider living anywhere else in Thailand where lawlessness apperars to be the rule of law. Psycho's in Chiang Mail shooting

tourist on a yearly basis and psychopathic English teachers roaming the sois of Bangkok in a fashion very similar to the movie Zombies Dawn of the Dead, thanks Pattaya, I love ya.

First post: do you want to frame it? Or do you think you might want to forget you ever said anything like this later on?

It's only been farangs - no need to investigate, everything just coincidence, mai bpen rai!

Not just farangs. Local Thai-language newspapers carry regular reports of gang attacks on Ch Mai roads.

Exactly... please read my previous post, so common around Pattaya the rags have stopped reporting them!!!!!!

This was a bodged car jacking with intent to get MONEY.

Why not proceed with the car jacking then? They would have only found out they hit somebody when they looked inside. Why turn it into a hit and run when these were obviously their tactics? And, if they're willing to fire guns at vehicles for money then why halt the robbery portion of the crime b/c a bullet hit somebody?

It's only been farangs - no need to investigate, everything just coincidence, mai bpen rai!

You've definitely got that backwards. The police along with many others are well aware of the impact crimes like this have on Thailand's tourism image abroad. It doesn't earn the % for the country that say rice does, but it's a significant earner for a lot of Thais, and it's big business. They don't need people thinking they might get shot over here, trust me.

I think some tourists tend to flash their cash around too much", gang members roam around the market to spot the ones with fisttfuls of cash and report back to the gang's hit squad who then follow the victims to a suitable sting opperation area.

Tourists should be warned when entering Thailand that the whole country is basically a lawless, unscrupulous society out to take whatever opportunity that presents its self by whatever means nessasary and that unwritten rule is from the bottom to the very top.:jap:

OMG

If it is as you claim above along with the example the story gives they must be really raking in the dough!

For sure they are "raking in the dough" of course they have expenses just as any successful business would have- gang members pay and bonuses in the form of yabba, certain groups being paid off to turn a blind eye, guns, amo, vehicles, whiskey, etc., etc...:jap:

I'm sure that what you're saying comes from a source of info. b/c you give some specific examples, however, the way events played out in this case resemble nearly 0% of robberies anyone has ever heard of. For starters, why would a gunman intent on robbery shoot into a vehicle in a crowded area? I can't think of one reason, but it smacks of a hit and run scenario almost perfectly. Anyone from a host of countries around the world, including Thailand, can recognize what is essentially a drive by shooting when they see one.

I think some tourists tend to flash their cash around too much", gang members roam around the market to spot the ones with fisttfuls of cash and report back to the gang's hit squad who then follow the victims to a suitable sting opperation area.

Tourists should be warned when entering Thailand that the whole country is basically a lawless, unscrupulous society out to take whatever opportunity that presents its self by whatever means nessasary and that unwritten rule is from the bottom to the very top.:jap:

OMG

If it is as you claim above along with the example the story gives they must be really raking in the dough!

<br />

<br />

<br />The bullet grazed the back of the Ms Cody's skull is in no way the same as shot in the head.<br />

<br /><br /><br />Actually they were just unlucky and drove into the path of a bullet, said the police report.<br />

<br /><br />And if they had not been in Thailand to begin with, this wouldn't have happened.<br />

<br /><br /><br />

This wouldn't have happened in a developed country.

Yeah, because nobody gets shot at in developed countries.

"Ringwood Secondary College principal Michael Phillips said: "Whilst the injury sustained by Lynda was serious, the incident was particularly stressful and both staff members will need counseling support as they realise how close they were to being shot..."

Does this guy speaky the English? What contradictions!

Oh, pu-leeeez. Is there anything humans don't need counseling or closure for? Bullied as children? Ignored by fathers? Ingrown toenails?

Go home and tell everyone about your near-death adventure in dangerous SEA!

I think it might be just a bit more serious than that. Maybe you can just laugh off a bullet grazing your head and spin it into a nice story for your friends, but for most people this becomes something they wish they could forget.

It's nice to hear that the woman just needed some stitches and was released from the hospital rather quickly.

The bullet grazed the back of the Ms Cody's skull is in no way the same as shot in the head.

Actually they were just unlucky and drove into the path of a bullet, said the police report.

And if they had not been in Thailand to begin with, this wouldn't have happened.

And the logic behind this statement is...?

Does not sound as a random shooting. What was behind it??

Hope she pulls through ok, especially mentally

I was actually thinking that too. Just leaving a night market and getting shot at by armed gunmen doesn't sound right, does it?