Ferangled

They should taint the drugs with some really nasty shit that causes death, and then release it into the general population with massive warnings everywhere about what they have done. Therefore, anyone buying drugs will never quite know for sure if their next childish little kick will be their last. In fact, they would actually have to do it, just say so. Wonder how quickly drug taking would decline then especially from all the weekend warrior coke sniffers.

In a country obsessed with faith, its surprising that there is no moral compass...

Your own words, read them in the context of your opening post on this thread.

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra had announced on Tuesday that her Cabinet was forwarding the NASA request to use U-Tapao naval airbase to conduct atmospheric studies to Parliament for a non-voting debate for transparency following heavy criticism from the opposition and critics.!!!!! Seems like the politicians in this country have the interlectual capacity of a fried egg.

I read that when this was previously submitted to the Dem Government it had been agreed without issue, then with the change of Government the Dems changed tact and decided to oppose the plans... can anyone shed any light on this aspect? Seems strange that they would switch stances from being in power to becoming the opposition.

The Dems, as far as I understand, did not oppose the plans, merely suggested that the proposal be put to parliamentary vote to ensure open dealings. The poweres that be had ample time to do this yet were so preoccupied with getting big brother back that they missed the boat, and now they are blaming the Democrats for the unfortunate result. Very very sad !

Yingluck had endorsed the project, but retreated from approving it amid fierce criticism from the opposition, which claimed a deal had been struck allowing the NASA study in exchange for granting a US visa to Thaksin -- who lives in self-imposed exile. The Democrats also raised fears the study could compromise Thai sovereignty and impact on the country's relations with China, which is carefully watching US moves to establish further footholds in Southeast Asia. Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, who was succeeded as prime minister by Yingluck in 2010, said the government had failed to sell the benefits of the project.

Taken from the posted update in this thread. Seems a bit childish and petty to me, is it really necessary to make Thaksin the focus of everything?

This smacks of utter hypocrisy by the Dems. It's ok when they are in power and stand to "make" from the deal but when the table's are turned it suddenly becomes about Thaksin... It's about time both parties focus on what's good for the people of Thailand and stop being so self serving and obtuse. Continual bickering and mud slinging really helps only to make Thailand's democracy an international laughing stock.

The FTA networks agreed to GMMs contracts. Go and complain to them.

Sent from my shoe phone

Thanks for that and here was I thinking this was a forum for discussion of the topic... incidentally I watched the tournament on the internet with full BBC commentary, pre match and after match analysis etc. The issue isn't about "complaining" to anyone, the issue is Thailand setting a fair precedent for future live sporting events so we don't experience another cock up of this magnitude.

We have a bunch of posters claiming that GMM/ Thai TV networks had their hands tied by UEFA and this issue was as a result of satellite footprint extending across borders.

If that is the case why were True not permitted to broadcast free Thai terrestrial TV via their cable network? It's quite a simple question which your rather blunt, simplistic and out of context reply does nothing to answer.

GMM had their hands tied by the contracts that they signed with UEFA. The FTA networks had their hands tied by the contracts that they signed with GMM.

People don't have an inherent right to watch sport on TV. There are many sports that are only on pay tv. There are even some sports where you have to pay extra for on pay tv.

Sent from my shoe phone

Thai people do have an inherent right to watch Thai FTA TV! They pay for it with their taxes <deleted>.

You don't seem to grasp this at all. The type of content is irrelevant. These are FTA Thai national terrestrial channels. If you don't know the answer and don't understand the concept of FTA channels please don't reply and let someone who has a better understand of the situation answer the questions.

The Thai Government has used these channels to broadcast national warnings in the past - if a satellite provider and those operating what are intended to be free channels are permitted to deliberately cut access to these channels so 10 million viewers get a black screen instead of potentially an important Government announcement, in my humble opinion, that is an issue that needs resolving and action taken against those accountable.

The FTA networks agreed to GMMs contracts. Go and complain to them.

Sent from my shoe phone

Thanks for that and here was I thinking this was a forum for discussion of the topic... incidentally I watched the tournament on the internet with full BBC commentary, pre match and after match analysis etc. The issue isn't about "complaining" to anyone, the issue is Thailand setting a fair precedent for future live sporting events so we don't experience another cock up of this magnitude.

We have a bunch of posters claiming that GMM/ Thai TV networks had their hands tied by UEFA and this issue was as a result of satellite footprint extending across borders.

If that is the case why were True not permitted to broadcast free Thai terrestrial TV via their cable network? It's quite a simple question which your rather blunt, simplistic and out of context reply does nothing to answer.

If people had bothered to pull their necks out of the sand and looked further a field (well not that far actually), Vietnamese satelite companies K+ and VSTV are showing the Euro finals but on the free national channels where the football would have been shown, has been encrypted. Same in Malaysia, not shown on free to air tv or satellite, all done on strict instructions from UEFA, so it is really out of Grammy hands.

Indeed, FIFA has said there should not be any unencrypted satellite broadcasts. Another poster in another thread proved that True encrypts the free over the air signals it broadcasts.

What it comes down to is Grammy prevented True from carrying the matches on the free over the air channels in order to sell their boxes that are designed to use the True dish antennas.

TH

A satellite receptor aimed at the same satellite gets all the same signals.

True can pick up the GMM Z ones too, but they filter them out with their box.

True didn't pay GMM to cross license the feeds. They could have.

It is mainly a case of them both using different channels on the

same satellites downlink on the same footprint, that alows connection to

a True Box or a GMM Box. was this intentional, well there are not so

many choices for downlinks to this area at this point.

The dish and receptor isn't exactly terribly pricey. 1,700 baht.

Yes, only a weeks wage for most Thais, don't know what all the fuss is about... how does your story fit in with GMM blocking Thai terrestrial on True's cable TV network?

If people had bothered to pull their necks out of the sand and looked further a field (well not that far actually), Vietnamese satelite companies K+ and VSTV are showing the Euro finals but on the free national channels where the football would have been shown, has been encrypted. Same in Malaysia, not shown on free to air tv or satellite, all done on strict instructions from UEFA, so it is really out of Grammy hands.

Indeed, FIFA has said there should not be any unencrypted satellite broadcasts. Another poster in another thread proved that True encrypts the free over the air signals it broadcasts.

What it comes down to is Grammy prevented True from carrying the matches on the free over the air channels in order to sell their boxes that are designed to use the True dish antennas.

TH

I'm surprised that True haven't sued Grammy for using their satellite dishes, although I guess it's actually their customers who are breaking the law. Those little red dishes are after all the property of True, installed by True installation teams, paid for by True off the back of the subscriptions paid by their customers... GMM retailers actually advise customers to use the True dish and cable for their product. Do GMM even have a satellite dish installation team?

I can't understand the amount of people supporting a company who are touting a totally inferior product and using such under hand tactics to do so.

If people had bothered to pull their necks out of the sand and looked further a field (well not that far actually), Vietnamese satelite companies K+ and VSTV are showing the Euro finals but on the free national channels where the football would have been shown, has been encrypted. Same in Malaysia, not shown on free to air tv or satellite, all done on strict instructions from UEFA, so it is really out of Grammy hands.

I don't see how that is comparable to the situation in Thailand where the tournament has been shown on the FTA channels, but blocked specifically for Truevisions because they weren't prepared to be held over a barrel by GMM.

The tournament was aired on the free national channels because GMM had no channel of their own to use. Look at the UK; BBC and ITV won the rights, aired the tournament on FTA and was viewable on SKY. The big difference being there was no UK version of GMM pulling strings behind the scenes to block Free to Air TV on rival sat providers.

Incidentally I see True have announced 17 HD channels free for subscribers starting next month, finally! For me the fact that Grammy have released a bunch of out of date receivers with no HD capability whatsoever says it all, customer satisfaction clearly isn't an issue, the more modern TV sets won't even accept a composite video feed, it's step backwards not forwards.

At least True are trying to drag Thai TV into modernity, although customer service in the past has been somewhat lacking. I just hope GMM don't come in for the Premiership or the consumers will really lose out.

Read the UEFA rules. No non-encrypted signals via satellites as a satellite signal does not end at a countries border. You have licensees in other countries and they have a legitimate interest that they can offer the product they paid for exclusively to their market. That wouldn't be the case if half of southeast Asia would be able to receive Thai CH3 etc. via satellite without any decoder.

Please point out in my post where I reference the UEFA rules. This has nothing to do with the issue of GMM effectively hijacking FTA channels and preventing other services accessing FTA channels while showing "their" content.

This is an issue unique to Thailand and it's selective use of rules and regulations, interpreted to suit whoever has control. It has nothing to do with country borders. How many people in mainland Europe used Sky to watch the tournament despite not being in the UK? Sky's footprint covers a huge area outside of the UK.

How many people in Thailand watched the tournament on Malaysian Sat services I wonder...

It's purely a marketing ploy by GMM to force inferior products onto people by limiting access to channels that are FTA selectively. When in the past has Truevisions limited FTA access to other satellite services when showing UEFA tournaments on Thai FTA channels?

If people had bothered to pull their necks out of the sand and looked further a field (well not that far actually), Vietnamese satelite companies K+ and VSTV are showing the Euro finals but on the free national channels where the football would have been shown, has been encrypted. Same in Malaysia, not shown on free to air tv or satellite, all done on strict instructions from UEFA, so it is really out of Grammy hands.

I don't see how that is comparable to the situation in Thailand where the tournament has been shown on the FTA channels, but blocked specifically for Truevisions because they weren't prepared to be held over a barrel by GMM.

The tournament was aired on the free national channels because GMM had no channel of their own to use. Look at the UK; BBC and ITV won the rights, aired the tournament on FTA and was viewable on SKY. The big difference being there was no UK version of GMM pulling strings behind the scenes to block Free to Air TV on rival sat providers.

Incidentally I see True have announced 17 HD channels free for subscribers starting next month, finally! For me the fact that Grammy have released a bunch of out of date receivers with no HD capability whatsoever says it all, customer satisfaction clearly isn't an issue, the more modern TV sets won't even accept a composite video feed, it's step backwards not forwards.

At least True are trying to drag Thai TV into modernity, although customer service in the past has been somewhat lacking. I just hope GMM don't come in for the Premiership or the consumers will really lose out.

Foreigners cannot generally finance property purchases in Thailand. This is not the same situation Spain.

Personally I think you've hit the nail on the head and this is precisely why the higher end properties see good returns year after year.

These are generally cash purchases by foreigners and do not rely on credit, totally different to Spain where many Germans & Brits were actually re-mortgaging to buy 2nd properties.

In regard to "Thai" housing development, different story; I see literally thousands of empty estates of entry level housing, not attractive to foreigners and not being bought by the Thais. Empty estates are being trumped by almost identical, newer replicas before any units have sold, rendering them practically worthless... but the prices don't seem to reduce.... yet.

Sattahip and Bang Saray have many entry level developments starting at 1.9mil and sold out.....mostly to Navy staff.Location as usaual plays a main factor on popularity.

Very true, location, location, location, and sorry I meant to write... estates with thousands of empty houses... thousands of estates would be exaggerating! I have one particular estate in mind which has been built in phases, but despite selling about 5 properties of 100 or so in Phase 1, the developers have continued to Phase 2, Phase 3 and are now starting Phase 4. Quite who they are expecting to buy these houses is not clear.

The only developments that seem to sell out regularly are the high end 50/ 60 million + bracket.

Ferangled: "Tracking people's movements is too Big Brother for my tastes". You live in Thailand how about 90 day reporting and hotels etc reporting daily on foreign guests is that not Big Brother activity.

You obviously haven't read any of my posts. That quote was Nisa's I believe

It was me -- And I agree, I don't like the government tracking people but given the current state of countries (not open borders), I do understand a government wanting to keep up on the address of foreigners .. but don't like it and certainly don't want more tracking and questioning ... especially if it is intrusions such as ID-ing folks on buses in cars (and of course pedestrians and bikes) simply because they want to visit a city such as Phukett. Given the limited access and how it would not be intrusive, I have no problem with have a video of the front and back of vehicles in hopes of picking up the license plate. As for tracking it with readers and putting it into a database, that is too much and serves no purpose but tracking innocent people's movements.

Nisa, Phuket is a province, an island and on this island there happens to be a town/ city called Phuket town...

A good example of this technology being used on a wide scale (although not appropriate purpose) would be the congestion charge in central London. It works, it's not science fiction, it doesn't have to be an intrusion of your personal rights or freedom, it could be used simply to monitor vehicles crossing the bridge, flagging up any that have pending arrest warrants.

Phuket has a single road access point, central London has hundreds. It's not rocket science and would be a far better use of tax payers money than vehicle X ray machines etc... it doesn't have to be used to track your movements, it's simple border control and effective policing.

Edit - I believe Simple1 was disagreeing with you by pointing out that far more intrusive systems already exist here...

You have gone from 'I personally would like to see stringent ID/ number plate checks & records at the Sarasin checkpoint rather than sleeping policemen...."to " stopping a few vehicles for checks" and number plate recognition technology, and tracking buses on set routes.And I still have no idea what you expect to gain in the way of crime prevention.

I haven't gone anywhere, that's exactly what I had in mind with the original post. It became clear that you needed further explanation but it's evident now that such ideas go way over your head. I never suggested stopping every vehicle or tracking buses on set routes; that's your obtuse take on it.

I took it for granted that most would understand that number plate checks and records can be carried out via CCTV recognition software these days and not manually stopping each vehicle, writing down the number plate on a bit of paper and doing what exactly with it? File it for a rainy day?

I take it you're struggling to understand the concept of car registration being linked to personal ID and the use of databases to collate information?

Let's make this really simple with a quite obvious example...

Man shoots tourist and runs away. Police issue arrest warrant and have car registration. Suspect drives off island and disappears. End of story.

Man shoots tourist and runs away. Police issue arrest warrant and car registration is flagged on database as wanted, active arrest warrant. Suspect attempts to drive off island, number plate is flagged automatically as he gets to checkpoint despite sleeping policemen. Alarm sounds, he is pulled over and arrested, tried, sentenced and put away for a long time.

Of course active police collation of information, vigilant officers at the check point and this could be done the old fashioned way but past cases have proved this doesn't work here... and we do have a shiny new checkpoint with the facilities to make this a reality.

Never mind Mick just go back to bitching about how poor police work is in Thailand, while offering up nothing constructive to improve it...

Foreigners cannot generally finance property purchases in Thailand. This is not the same situation Spain.

Personally I think you've hit the nail on the head and this is precisely why the higher end properties see good returns year after year.

These are generally cash purchases by foreigners and do not rely on credit, totally different to Spain where many Germans & Brits were actually re-mortgaging to buy 2nd properties.

In regard to "Thai" housing development, different story; I see literally thousands of empty estates of entry level housing, not attractive to foreigners and not being bought by the Thais. Empty estates are being trumped by almost identical, newer replicas before any units have sold, rendering them practically worthless... but the prices don't seem to reduce.... yet.

Ferangled: "Tracking people's movements is too Big Brother for my tastes". You live in Thailand how about 90 day reporting and hotels etc reporting daily on foreign guests is that not Big Brother activity.

You obviously haven't read any of my posts. That quote was Nisa's I believe

Thank goodness I live in Pattaya.

Pattaya is coming up smelling like roses lately, what on Gos's earth is going on down there.

Yes, exactly who does control what's released in the media down there?!

I can't help but be amused that every crime thread on TV has at least one Pattaya resident taking the opportunity to try to shirk the stigma... "see it's not just Pattaya, it's really safe here, a nice family resort..."

I guess it helps put the case to the relatives back home that sin city's not quite what people think, the general sexploitation is merely incidental, your location choice is really all about the culture, the clean air and the beaches... I believe you, honest!

One reason I love Thailand is the lack of police and government interference in every day life. My obviously facetious comment and view remain unchanged. Tracking people's movements is too Big Brother for my tastes. Lots of places to go if you like living in a police state. Personally I will continue to enjoy Thailand as long as the government and politicians don't respond to high profile crimes by infringing on the right of all people as is becoming a norm in the west.

I'm sure most of the more dubious side of the ex pat community would agree with you there! Sorry, I do understand, cheap shot, just a shame it doesn't stop these same people posting negatively about the lack of police efficiency when it suits them... and that comment's not intended for you, staunch as you are in your defence of all things Thai.

Personally I think there is a big difference between a few prudent measures/ use of modern technology and police/ Government infringing on the rights of all people/ becoming a police state. Surely some happy medium would be better than a completely lawless society, or one that has laws but simply pays them lip service and doesn't enforce them...

I would also prefer a more transparent method of policing, so that the system isn't so open to corruption - selective policing based on financial status already infringes on the rights of people, but only the poor. More transparency and this would not be possible...

What makes this more pertinent to Phuket is the ease at which someone can drive onto the island commit a crime & leave absolutely no record of having even been here. I personally would like to see stringent ID/ number plate checks & records at the Sarasin checkpoint rather than sleeping policemen... some sort of deterrent to those looking for easy pickings in Phuket.

Might that not also be a deterrent to inter-province tourists? Have you considered that this vast quantity of data would exclude plane, bus and boat arrivals, in fact anyone who didn't arrive in an out-of-province vehicle?

Good point Mick, quite how many people can fly without ID these days? And quite how many buses arrive by air/ sea?

I was under the impression that ID is required to purchase a bus ticket to Phuket in the first place and ID was required to fly these days.... As far as a deterrent to inter-province tourists, unless these were tourists actively seeking to conceal their identity/ whereabouts I really can't see the issue.

Logging number plates at the checkpoint and actively checking/ logging IDs isn't a cure all, fool proof solution, but it would be a step in the right direction at least... IMO. It's fairly standard procedure in the West.

I really don't see the point of having the checkpoint if they aren't actively compiling number plate data & checking vehicles/ IDs regularly. Past cases in Phuket have shown that they are not, and numerous times criminals have managed to flee the island by car despite police being aware of the suspect's identity/ car registration.

You are of course welcome to come up with your own constructive suggestion or if it's easier just pick holes, real or imaginary, in others suggestions

Buses travel overland, with out-of-state plates, and are the preferred means of transport of the less-well off. Are you suggesting that every bus should be stopped and the passenger's ID be recorded? To what end? And no, ID is not required to buy a bus ticket, even to Phuket. If on "numerous times criminals have managed to flee the island by car despite police being aware of the suspect's identity/ car registration", what is the point of recording more?Where in the west is it "standard procedure" to stop all out-of-state vehicles for ID checks of occupants?

Yes, exactly, buses travel over land, over the bridge and through the checkpoint. In my experience here every time I have bought a bus ticket from Phuket to Bangkok or vice versa, ID was taken but even without IDs it would still be useful to track the comings and goings of these buses simply by number plate.

I suggest the use of number plate recognition and databasing the results, which is standard procedure on major bridges/ tunnels in the west. When an arrest warrant is issued for someone in the UK and the police have the car registration, if a vehicle with matching number plate goes through the Dartford tunnel, the system will flag this up. It's not even particularly modern technology and has been in place for some time.

Clearly I'm not suggesting they stop all vehicles but stopping a few vehicles for checks would seem prudent - it is called a "CHECK POINT" for a reason after all.

The point of this being fairly obvious to anyone with half a brain cell...

I notice you ignore offering up any constructive suggestions in favour of trying to pick holes in mine, why am I not surprised?!

And don't forget everybody. Live is cheap in Thailand. It is not valued and treasured be it a Thai or Farang life. They just don't care. I've been to funerals here where nobody cries except maybe the wife and kids. For everybody else it's tea and crumpets time (or cha and kanom).

What gross generalisations and strange conclusions to draw from your experience of funerals here. I've been to a fair few funerals in different countries where nobody was crying, doesn't mean people weren't upset or that they didn't value life.

I've also been to a fair few wakes where people were visibly enjoying themselves and giving the deceased a proper send off, focusing on life and humorous memories of the deceased alive rather than revelling in grief over their death. In my experience dealing with death is very personal and varies from person to person.

When the head of my wife's family died, a very elderly, much loved Thai man with a vast family network, his family members travelled from far and wide from various countries and different provinces to pay their respects. It was quite obvious that his passing had a profound effect on the family and evidently he was much loved and valued.

Death is handled culturally. All different. We cannot judge on response of people at funerals. For example the blacks in New Orleans actually throw big parties at funerals with bands playing and people cheering.

Agree, that was my point. It's also personal and varies within a single culture.

Took me 2 days to recover from the last funeral I attended in Ireland... acute Guinness & whisky induced hangover, a state which the deceased would have been proud of. The only tears shed were in laughter...

What makes this more pertinent to Phuket is the ease at which someone can drive onto the island commit a crime & leave absolutely no record of having even been here. I personally would like to see stringent ID/ number plate checks & records at the Sarasin checkpoint rather than sleeping policemen... some sort of deterrent to those looking for easy pickings in Phuket.

Might that not also be a deterrent to inter-province tourists? Have you considered that this vast quantity of data would exclude plane, bus and boat arrivals, in fact anyone who didn't arrive in an out-of-province vehicle?

Good point Mick, quite how many people can fly without ID these days? And quite how many buses arrive by air/ sea?

I was under the impression that ID is required to purchase a bus ticket to Phuket in the first place and ID was required to fly these days.... As far as a deterrent to inter-province tourists, unless these were tourists actively seeking to conceal their identity/ whereabouts I really can't see the issue.

Logging number plates at the checkpoint and actively checking/ logging IDs isn't a cure all, fool proof solution, but it would be a step in the right direction at least... IMO. It's fairly standard procedure in the West.

I really don't see the point of having the checkpoint if they aren't actively compiling number plate data & checking vehicles/ IDs regularly. Past cases in Phuket have shown that they are not, and numerous times criminals have managed to flee the island by car despite police being aware of the suspect's identity/ car registration.

You are of course welcome to come up with your own constructive suggestion or if it's easier just pick holes, real or imaginary, in others suggestions

Maybe better idea to check everyone's papers and record their information any time they enter any province or city or soi or store.

Give me strength... clearly you are just being facetious Nisa. I would have thought given your recent display of your geographical knowledge of Thailand you might have been able to grasp how easy this would be to apply here in Phuket specifically.

Phuket is an island, with a single point of road access - Sarasin bridge, and a single point of air access - Phuket airport. 99.9% of people entering Phuket do so by these 2 means.

Massive amounts of money have been invested in setting up a large police checkpoint near Sarasin bridge, why? So that police can sleep in the shade by the side of the road and look distinctly disinterested in doing anything but sleeping. I'm not saying anything will readily change the lazy attitude these guys have but they have CCTV in place already, why not use it pro-actively rather than simply for appearance?

It does not take a genius to apply number plate recognition software, database the results and give police ready access to this database. The odd spot check, take down a few IDs... I realise for some of you this must seem a crazy notion, police actually doing real police work and making use of the not inconsiderable resources they have at their disposal. It may surprise you that this is standard practice on major bridges in most civilised countries.

Currently we have a system whereby police have issued arrest warrants for suspects, complete with car registration details and hours later the suspect has been allowed to drive straight through the checkpoint and off the island, to hide in another province.

Personally I see something fundamentally wrong with that, especially in light of recent crimes here and given how easy it would be to turn this around and actually use these resources to benefit law abiding citizens on the island and safeguard the interests of tourists.

Crazy stuff, it's not like we are living in the 21st century...

And don't forget everybody. Live is cheap in Thailand. It is not valued and treasured be it a Thai or Farang life. They just don't care. I've been to funerals here where nobody cries except maybe the wife and kids. For everybody else it's tea and crumpets time (or cha and kanom).

What gross generalisations and strange conclusions to draw from your experience of funerals here. I've been to a fair few funerals in different countries where nobody was crying, doesn't mean people weren't upset or that they didn't value life.

I've also been to a fair few wakes where people were visibly enjoying themselves and giving the deceased a proper send off, focusing on life and humorous memories of the deceased alive rather than revelling in grief over their death. In my experience dealing with death is very personal and varies from person to person.

When the head of my wife's family died, a very elderly, much loved Thai man with a vast family network, his family members travelled from far and wide from various countries and different provinces to pay their respects. It was quite obvious that his passing had a profound effect on the family and evidently he was much loved and valued.

What makes this more pertinent to Phuket is the ease at which someone can drive onto the island commit a crime & leave absolutely no record of having even been here. I personally would like to see stringent ID/ number plate checks & records at the Sarasin checkpoint rather than sleeping policemen... some sort of deterrent to those looking for easy pickings in Phuket.

Might that not also be a deterrent to inter-province tourists? Have you considered that this vast quantity of data would exclude plane, bus and boat arrivals, in fact anyone who didn't arrive in an out-of-province vehicle?

Good point Mick, quite how many people can fly without ID these days? And quite how many buses arrive by air/ sea?

I was under the impression that ID is required to purchase a bus ticket to Phuket in the first place and ID was required to fly these days.... As far as a deterrent to inter-province tourists, unless these were tourists actively seeking to conceal their identity/ whereabouts I really can't see the issue.

Logging number plates at the checkpoint and actively checking/ logging IDs isn't a cure all, fool proof solution, but it would be a step in the right direction at least... IMO. It's fairly standard procedure in the West.

I really don't see the point of having the checkpoint if they aren't actively compiling number plate data & checking vehicles/ IDs regularly. Past cases in Phuket have shown that they are not, and numerous times criminals have managed to flee the island by car despite police being aware of the suspect's identity/ car registration.

You are of course welcome to come up with your own constructive suggestion or if it's easier just pick holes, real or imaginary, in others suggestions

AGAIN the gangsters are from Nakhon Sri Thammarat ... is it only me or is it obviously very very often that many scumbags came from this area?

Whenever I read about a crime, its 80% ppl from Nakhon Sri Thammarat involved....

I think it is only you but sounds like you maybe had a girl burn you from Nakhon Si Thammarat and it is clouding your thinking. I am very familiar with the Nakhon and notice it when it comes up in the news.

You should try to visit. It is one of my favorite places in Thailand. Great people, easy to get to, inexpensive, relaxed, beautiful beaches, mountains, parks, water falls and lots of history.

Apologies Nisa but I would have to agree with Moskito's comment in part.

I follow all news in Phuket fairly closely as I live here with my young family and whenever any murder/ robbery takes place here it is virtually always committed by someone not native to Phuket... Nakhon Si Thammarat features with surprising regularity. I made this comment on an earlier thread before the identities of the killers were revealed and was not overly surprised to see my predictions come true.

There is a tangible resentment from families native to Phuket that people from other provinces come here, commit these sorts of crimes and in turn give Phuket a negative image. Unfortunately this is a sad reality of popular tourist areas the world over; many people are attracted by work/ money and have a positive impact on tourism, but with this influx you always get a bad element looking to exploit the situation and make an easy buck, Thais and Farang alike.

What makes this more pertinent to Phuket is the ease at which someone can drive onto the island commit a crime & leave absolutely no record of having even been here. I personally would like to see stringent ID/ number plate checks & records at the Sarasin checkpoint rather than sleeping policemen... some sort of deterrent to those looking for easy pickings in Phuket.

I still believe that all foreign embassies issue a warning to it's citizens planning on visiting Phuket. A boycott of the area would definitely get the attention of all the "Big wheels" there and might even bring a change to this very corrupt area!!!!!

Really? Again?

Try googling "fatal robbery 2012" or "gang rape 2012" or "murder 2012" and you will see quite how numerous these type of violent incidents are worldwide today.

This was a tragic, unnecessary event but take it for what it really was, a bungled robbery that turned sour, clearly no intent to kill, clearly no premeditated murder. If there's one thing that any rational, functional person takes from this sorry tale it's not to resist a street robbery, your bag is not worth your life.

There will always be these type of robberies in areas where the disparity of wealth between the rich and the poor are so massive. Crimes like this should raise awareness of how people can minimise their chances of falling foul of such events, not promote knee jerk responses. I found the video posted quite shocking and the initial response from most people I know who saw that video was "Why did they fight back? Why didn't they just let go of the bag?".

I'd like to make it clear that I don't believe the victims were in any way are responsible for this crime and the guilt lies firmly with the robbers but I know this for sure - I am making it dam_n clear to my daughter, my sons, my friends and my family, that if someone attempts to steal your bag just hand it over and walk away, it's not worth losing your life over.

Far more disturbing events happen daily the world over, http://www.lasvegass...as-teen-killed/ Now that's what I call a disturbing crime, a 34 year old sodomising a 14 year old girl and then setting her on fire. Haven't read any similar reports in Thailand in all the years I've been here, but a surprising number of similar crimes happen in US each year... Quite how many tourists flock to Vegas each year? I don't recall too many foreign embassy warnings...

Please try to comment rationally and with some sense of perspective.

the US is a bit of an exeption to the rest of the civilised west , such as western and northern europe , you have to admit , ....3rd highest youth murder rate,highest prisoner rate,highest gun cime rate, highest murder rate with firearms , highest car crime and highest crime rate in the world , all per capita according to nationmaster , not good america, not good !!..............after seeing these figures i suggest all americans refrain from commenting on crimes commited by thais in thailand , makes thais look tame in comparison

I agree. I am a citizen of the USA and I never make comments about Thais committing more crime or murder. Interesting that citizens of most other countries usually seem to feel superior in some way to people born in the USA or Thailand on this forum. As if they could choose their country of birth...

Apologies if my example, meant only to give a sense of perspective to this incident, has caused anyone, Americans in particular to feel inferior in anyway.

My point was to illustrate that when considering this crime and the types of crime we see in Phuket, calling for embassy's to issue travel warnings/ bans as a result of this incident is just plain ludicrous.

As you point out US tops crime statistics for many types of violent offence and seems to harbour much more disturbing individuals, committing far more disturbing crimes than we see reported in Phuket. Can't recall too many embassy's slapping warnings/ bans on travel to the US.... although the US have been known to do so for countries arguably safer than their own...

Good job by the police despite the doom and gloom brigade finding reasons to let everyone know how miserable they are. And more power to them if they can share in a reward given they risk their lives daily and start off with no scheduled days off and making a salary of around 7500 baht a month.

Strange no one makes that connection when talking about police corruption... I know many expats who spend more than that on a bottle of wine but the very same people expect a first class police service, while having no comprehension of how anyone could possibly survive on such an income.

The reality is that you can't possibly support a family on anything close to that wage, hence the "extra-curricular" activities to bring in some much need money...