Spock

Doesn't make it right and stories about tourists getting fleeced certainly turn me off leaving free Medicare in Australia behind and risking my income at 70 in Thailand.

I would suggest he has mental health issues rather than blaming marijuana. Marijuana is rarely spiked, particularly in Thailand where it's legal. Perhaps he is into ice which would be far more likely to lead to naked outdoor antics.

I really doubt the presence of numerous foreign paedophiles in Thailand now. There may be a few operating underground but nothing like was the case twenty to thirty years ago. Times have changed. You say you have some statistics - what do they suggest?

I was a youth worker/student welfare officer and have heard and read many accounts from children who have been sexually assaulted. With young kids and even teenagers, this kind of reaction is the norm - the child doesn't understand what is happening and the perpetrator is a more powerful adult.

Kids don't generally scream when sexually assaulted. They freeze.

Despite the fact he was wasted on alcohol not weed when he rested in front of the cannabis shop, marijuana will take the rap yet again.

This is a good thing as the jails were overflowing with people serving long stretches for drug use and dealing. It's a more enlightened approach to try and rehabilitate. Furthermore, drug dealing has no relevance to this affair, where perfectly legal alcohol is the cause of death.

Thailand actually has more fatalities per head of population. Not by much, but it's three spots ahead of Vietnam in world rankings.

If you truly believe that and are not just saying it in jest then I can readily assume you yourself are not and have never been a cannabis user.

We need more of this free living type. Has the Thai government considered giving 90 day visas to these people?

Stock up on razor blades. Quality dental floss and electric toothbrushes and spare brushes all but unavailable here. These are the sorts of things you could bring a supply of to last several years. Can anyone explain why tailoring is no longer cheap or good here?

I had read before that many were deterred by that shooting. I don't see why it would evenly remotely figure in the minds of anyone planning a trip to Thailand.

If the indiscriminate shooting of a Chinese tourist is enough to deter a whole population of people away, how are they going to cope with fear if they find themselves thrust in a war situation? Seems that when courage was dished out, these people missed out. They have no trouble instilling fear prior to killing into the 10 to 20 million dogs and cats that grace their dinner tables each year. I'd have though an isolated shooting by a crazed kid would be water off the back for mainland Chinese.

If this applied in Thailand, than the charges against the Red Bull killer would not have been dismissed due to the application of the statute of limitations.

Normally in those situations the identities and evidence are altered or lost. The guy probably figured that if no attempt to arrest him overseas had occurred that he was safe.

Self euthanizing is not that easy.

Which highlights one of the major shortcomings of the Thai political system - lack of a moral compass.

I can if its only the Russians given the extension.

I can. Why should the Russians get the extension to 90 days and not other nationalities? Personally I can't think of a nationality less deserving of favoured treatment.

Give the most to the least deserving. That's pretty much how third world countries operate.

Naked in the store? Obviously had no thought of covering his tracks or preparing to lie when confronted. Back in the old days, Thai males would quite openly give a young boy a quick fiddle, but didn't ask for reciprocation or divest themselves of their clothes. Mum is going to punch a pretty big hole in her trip if she wants to pursue this guy in court,

What a crock of s....

Kids as young as 8 smoking bongs in the streets! Errant nonsense. How can a school fine students 10000 baht?! And given the pungency of marijuana smoke, how can students get away with smoking in the toilets? Why would students risk a 10000 baht fine when they could so easily be caught by a vigilant teacher on yard duty? (If there is little risk of being detected, your kid doesn't go to a school with good teacher supervision).

Really?!

Why should we do homework? I would have expected to find this information in the article.