Compo

From a local Hua Hin forum:

"6 Thai men in custody, CCTV footage has FINALLY been submitted to the court.

All these men known by H.H. Mib..all from 'powerful' Hua Hin families...

..I will not say to much here, but the handling of this case has many similarities to what you've all heard about

regarding the Kho Tao investigations..."

"Thainess."

Nothing will happen.

Same as thousands of similar events over the last few years.

Yep, s##t happens sometimes, had Songkran been celebrated in UK, the hoodies and the chavs would've created more havoc and mindless violence than this. All the "share this with everyone you know" crowd, are you also this enthusiastic about sharing good experiences you may encounter in TH, or do you just enjoy a good whinge?

Let me guess.

You own or have an interest in a hotel and not quite enough customers, right ??

How else can you excuse 5 or 6 kicks to the head of someone on the floor.

Thai Songkran exuberance or farang tourist stupidity for lying on the floor whilst being in the direction of the kick ?

Imagine the the reaction if a group of Thai tourists were beaten up like this in NZ, HK, Washington, New York, Liverpool or Yangon........................

Front page of the Post for sure and thousands of Thai social media comments.

It wouldn't happen though, that's the difference.

The national outrage would be off the scale.

Here we are just supposed to take it, thank you very much, and sorry we forgot to leave our wallets at the airport.

This should go viral as an example of the Thai capacity for senseless violence.

Smashing up an older woman like that.

Despicable.

All potential tourists should see this and draw their own conclusions.

Notice how nobody tries to intervene and that the tourists are passive when the first blows are struck.

They don't even try to fight back, presumably because they don't realise they are within violence until they are already on the floor.

This is very bad but not as bad as the rest of the bad stuff that is increasingly happening here.

What did they do wrong ??

Point their shoes, fail to buy or just exhibit not enough "thainess"

Make this senseless, cruel violence viral.

Thai visa at it's best.

The country is in danger of falling apart but nose trimmers are the deal.

Well done girls.

Contrary to popular belief, not all police are corrupt in Thailand, and if the OP does try to offer bribes, than he does so at his own risk and discretion, but I certainly don`t recommend it.

Rather than 'offer a bribe,' I usually just ask 'can I pay the fine here now or do I have to go to the police station?' I'm not asking if I can pay him, I'm asking where to pay the fine. Never had a problem with that. The only time I've ever needed to go to the station was when my wheel was clamped and the cop was standing right there finishing up. I guess perhaps the reason he was on clamping duty rather than roadblock was maybe the other cops didn't trust him to see what was going on!

Thought you had never broken a law.

Cool how you know how to offer a bribe ( which is against the law ) in such a discrete way.

Your post speaks for itself.

Let me illustrate my experiences over the last three days, which can quell several points and hopefully save a few posters from future grief.

In a relatively close nearby border town, I was stopped at 9a.m. at a routine but serious checkpoint, riding a small bike.

I did not have my drivers licence ( or passport ) with me.

Because of no DL, I was invited to pay 200 baht cash or 500 for a ticket payable at the cop shop.

I was certainly targeted as a foreigner, as were all the Burmese.

Out of 50 or so that I witnessed, only two Thai people.

I said I would pay the 500 ticket but as I was about to do so, my wife who was following in the car and who had my wallet with DL in the drivers door, stopped and entered the fray.

I showed my DL and the cops insisted now that I pay the 200 or they would not give back the DL.

We argued with them and pointed out that in fact, in law, you DO NOT have to carry the DL but are allowed a grace period of 24hrs ( or so ) to produce it.

Cops disagreed and a Thai on Thai shouting match ensued.

I tried to calm it all down, paid the 200, got back the DL and thinking all was well, she got in the car and drove off.

Before I could get on my bike i was pushed into a police car and forcibly breathalised.

I failed the breath test and was arrested.

I spent the whole day, mainly in the cells, trying to get bail.

Eventually I did at about 5pm on 20,000 cash security.

My passport was in Chiangmai.

Eventually I was formally charged with drunk driving and processed for court the next day.

I was NOT charged with failure to produce DL or passport on demand, and I believe I would have been, if they had been chargeable offensives, as they were about to throw the book at me.

It was about 9am, I do drink, sometimes to excess but I never drive drunk.

The previous night I had had 1 large beer, 3 glasses of wine and, at most, 3 large scotches followed by 9 hrs deep sleep, a good breakfast and several coffees in the morning.

I could have been over the breath test limit but also the breath test machine could have been tampered with to get the desired result.

All you have to do is put a couple of drops of booze down the blow pipe and the next person tested is screwed.

I do know that, clearly wrongly, we argued a point with the officer in charge and at the earliest moment he made his move.

I was taken to court the next day and subsequently received a fine of 5,000 baht, a two month prison sentence suspended for 12 months and my DL suspended for six months.

I do not think i was over the limit, but I could of been, I'm not quite sure about how a body metabolizes alcohol over a 9-10hr time period.

I don't know that the testing machine had been tampered with, but it certainly could have been and they had the time and the loss of face motive to do so, if they wished.

I tried to insist on a blood test as the only way to accurately determine blood alcohol levels and was refused.

Before the usual sanctimonious, holier than than thou, deaf guitarists and other opinionated fools joyously leap on misfortune, I would like to offer the following.

It was very clearly stated to me, by the Judge, that a mandatory jail sentence will be imposed for dui offences over Songkran, nationwide.

Could be 14 days could be 30 days, but get caught, you WILL go to jail.

The AxxHxle cop, who we stupidly provoked, could have stitched me very well.

The refusal of blood test, despite my insistence, says a lot.

The Court is not interested in ANY discussion, debate or who you are.

Their sentencing rules are clear and mandatory.

You will be given the option to involve a lawyer, but only by the judge, when you are in court.

That's a bit late.....

The presence of Army guys everywhere makes it impossible to do what could have been a few years ago, to make a problem go away....

Only the rich now have that option.

I've been here 25 yrs and run a big company with about 130 staff.

I have just had a salutory and very chastening experience and I pass it on to you lot.

I hope it won't change my odds of staying here, but in future it could.

One last point, as you go through the process, you are fingerprinted, no big deal, except all the the detail written on those forms is written in pencil but you sign in ink and the pencil can be changed at any time in the future.

Think about that....

I offer this as information and do not want to read sanctimonious rubbish responses from those who lost a "friend" to a drunk driver while they were in Vietnam killing gooks, or whatever.

I am very happy to respond to serious questions.

Britain and the EU should mind their own business.

With all the Arabs flooding into the EU, it's a nice change to see them losing a bit of land.

Cool bit of brainless racism there, well put..........

You approach the problems of the world so succinctly.

Maybe Israel should take responsibility for her murderous actions over recent years and perhaps even make atonement.

Orange shirts?

Dang!

I love wearing orange shirts (cycling clothes or otherwise).

Does this mean that in addition to not wearing yellow or red (I used to like red before......), it will become socially difficult to wear orange?

Humor aside, he is one of the few monks that seem to have an unwavering standard of sticking up for the principles of right and wrong.

This man has a lot of enemies among red shirts and a certain Buddhist sect that are aligned with the man in Dubai.

I hope he manages to stay safe, Thai Buddhism needs more people like this.

You are deliberately misleading, I hope.

This guy's about as Buddhist as the Pope....

I drive this road frequently.

It is, by itself, very dangerous.

On one bend there is a sign that says "over 100 people have died here, slow down!!" and still it happens.

The fireworks on Dec 31st are too noisy as well.

They would wake me up if I hadn't drunk so much scotch..........

It's only water

No. Why lie?

And what "water" it is too. Shall we all wish you get some of that shit thrown in your eyes? You gonna laugh? That would be a laugh, wouldn't it? What's mere eyesight anyway?

and it's not hard to avoid.

Q: Long-term residents know the worst areas and can avoid them.

A: You have to know Pattaya really well to avoid all clusters of beer bars. Besides, many tourists and residents do ride the baht buses —esp. what with the traffic and parking situation nowadays—and most buses travel via the Beach Rd/2nd Rd circuit.

Baht bus under attack

Photo: SurfRider

More baht bus photos here.

Word of warning for bespectacled riders:

It's dangerous for people who really need glasses. If you wear them, they can be blown off your head. If you don't, you can't see. Decisions decisions. Of course you can take them off while riding the bus.

--Jingthing, 2014-04-13 23:03:23:

And there are the Taliban trucks out continually cruising the streets.

If you don't have a sense of humour, Thailand is not for you...

Q: It's harmless fun and a good laugh.

A: No. Vehicle accidents and injuries do happen because of the water, powder, and ice throwing. Eye and ear infections are not uncommon as much of the water is quite filthy. In fact, one TV member almost lost an eye to infection. Fights break out (see the threads here and here ). An accident is possible at any time because all motorbikes, baht buses, and cars are under continuous attack with intent to cause injury. Not sporadic attack— continuous, by drunken Songkran hooligans. Fortunately, owing to luck or skill, most bikes don't crash, but why should any drivers be subjected to the risk? Well, just because hooligans are enjoying trying to crash vehicles and cause accidents. And their money finds its way into the right pockets so that authorities permit them to do so.

Try playing Pattaya Songkran Hooligan in any developed country, like Norway, where government corruption doesn't make it "legally" permissible (when it actually isn't) and seemingly acceptable. Yeah, throw a bucket of filthy water/ice/powder on a passing car's windshield or in a biker's face there. Then explain to the "grumpy" driver and police that you're just "being friendly and having fun, feeling young." Let us know how well that defense played in court.

Now for some MORE testimonials:

jackflash, on 29 Mar 2013 - 10:58

I have seen many accidents caused by idiots throwing a bucket of water at a passing motocycle.

Iced water is the latest stupid idea, and has an even worse effect.

Last year I saw some idiot farangs throughing water with ICE CUBES.

Complete and utter idiots.

theoldgit, on 2013-03-29 11:04:20

. . . saw a young couple holding a baby on a bike lose control and fall off last year when some numpty thought it would be great fun to empty a bucket of water over them.

Kerryd, on 2013-03-29 12:04:59

Almost crashed a couple times on the big bike. Even with goggles and a helmet on, a bucket of ice water to the face while you're riding is still quite a shock.

Saw 2 girls on a scooter wipe out after getting nailed in the face with a bucket of water while they were riding along a street (wasn't from a truck though and granted, that was about 4 years ago now).

bubba, on 29 Mar 2013 - 13:26

It's not just throwing water at moving motorcycles. I nearly had a very bad accident driving a car down a straight highway at about 90 kph, when all of a sudden a couple of kids darted out and threw two buckets of water that hit my windscreen. The force of water against my windscreen moving at 90 kph cause a huge noise and caused me to momentarily be unable to see do to the water.

This sort of thing is very, very dangerous and could cause one to lose control, whilst killing themselves and perhaps other who may me standing along the side of the road. Throwing buckets of water at passing vehicles has nothing to do with the real meaning of Songkran, and of course I would be dreaming to think anything would ever been done to stop it.

oohlalanev, on 29 Mar 2013 - 08:39: Has anyone here ever seen or heard of a motorbike having an accident while getting water dumped on them from a pickup?

SteeleJoe, on 29 Mar 2013 - 09:00: Yes

Keesters, on 30 Mar 2013 - 08:23: yes, me

I had a friend die last year from jerks throwing ice water. She died taking evasive action and was hit by a pick up. I'm getting out of town again this year.

--thaikahunathaikahuna, on 2014-03-02 13:24:27:

Most adult residents of Pattaya ain't laughing for good reason. We've been through multiple Songkrans; we know quite well what it's all about. Women don't think being groped is a good laugh either. I recall a singularly bitter post about that by a farang woman.

I and millions of others like and enjoy Songkran, you seemingly don't.

Up to you and so what ?

Thankfully miseries won't be able to impose their selfish will.

Six pages of misery...........

It's only water and it's not hard to avoid.

If you don't have a sense of humour, Thailand is not for you...

Her imprisonment and an upcoming event will enable certain powers to effectively lock down the country for as long as they want, in the interests of national security.

It will be a stormy year or three..

OP, you need to be a bit guarded.

There are several ( adjective self censored ) on here who would happily report another westerner for visa / work permit violations, even though it would have no bearing or benefit whatsoever on their life.

I guess they get some sort of kick from the righteous spite and malice or something.

Very sad.

I had one member here flood one of my email addresses with spam because he didn't like my views.

He boasted about it to a mutual acquaintance.

Pretty sick really.

Good luck with finding your niche.

I've been failing for the past ten minutes or so to come up with any adjective that could possibly be slipped inside of your parentheses in order to make plausible sense of your second sentence.

Is it possible that instead of "(adjective self censored)", you meant to write "(plural noun self censored)"?

Since it seems that the OP has an interest in helping those in need of improving their basic language skills, maybe he'd be open to a barter arrangement? He could teach you the difference between nouns and adjectives, and in exchange I'm sure that he could probably use some help splitting his coconuts, milking his yaks and buttering his "bulletproof" coffee.

Needless to say, both of you would require a work permit in order to engage legally in such an enterprise within the borders of Thailand, but then..... you knew that.

How very droll....

You well illustrate my point.

OP, you need to be a bit guarded.

There are several ( adjective self censored ) on here who would happily report another westerner for visa / work permit violations, even though it would have no bearing or benefit whatsoever on their life.

I guess they get some sort of kick from the righteous spite and malice or something.

Very sad.

I had one member here flood one of my email addresses with spam because he didn't like my views.

He boasted about it to a mutual acquaintance.

Pretty sick really.

Good luck with finding your niche.

I am going to another town this afternoon.

Will stay 2-3 days in a couple of different hotels.

My partner ( not married ) will do the checking in etc, and there will be no evidence of me being in that town.

Not going to bother taking my passport, as not formally leaving the country.

Will pass through several traffic checkpoints without being asked for ID, as has been the case for the last 20 years.

We will return midweek to our rented house.

But, having an amicable relationship with the owner, there is no lease or other documentation, therefore nobody and nothing to report.

Utilities etc are in the name of a previous occupant or owner, who left years ago.

I might cross over with my wife and friends to a casino, without the need to show a passport, merely paying 500 baht for the ferry and access ( Thai people 10 baht ) and bring back 4-5 bottles of cheap scotch and a few cartons of cigs.

Will then risk the return to Chiangmai, through several road checkpoints, with over the limit, tax unpaid contraband.

Should I turn myself in ?

Just returned from a pleasant little sojourn.

Stayed in two nice hotels, went to a foreign casino, was waved through several checkpoints and did not show any ID to anybody.

Passport was at home, anyway.

Am I now supposed to report myself to immigration for safely returning home with 6 bottles of duty free??

I am going to another town this afternoon.

Will stay 2-3 days in a couple of different hotels.

My partner ( not married ) will do the checking in etc, and there will be no evidence of me being in that town.

Not going to bother taking my passport, as not formally leaving the country.

Will pass through several traffic checkpoints without being asked for ID, as has been the case for the last 20 years.

We will return midweek to our rented house.

But, having an amicable relationship with the owner, there is no lease or other documentation, therefore nobody and nothing to report.

Utilities etc are in the name of a previous occupant or owner, who left years ago.

I might cross over with my wife and friends to a casino, without the need to show a passport, merely paying 500 baht for the ferry and access ( Thai people 10 baht ) and bring back 4-5 bottles of cheap scotch and a few cartons of cigs.

Will then risk the return to Chiangmai, through several road checkpoints, with over the limit, tax unpaid contraband.

Should I turn myself in ?

Rubl is Rubl..

Snipers for mob control is indefensible.

Only a nutter would try to deny.

Welcome to the reality of Thailand where a nurse killed, by government forces in a Temple does not deserve even an inquiry....

How do we join and what are the requirements for entry ??

I understand there is an active club here and am interested to join.

No police corruption in Thailand ??

My mother is the pope...

We were in a queue to pay pay speeding tickets at a checkpoint somewhere near Nakonsawan.

A Thai guy in a BMW was really pissed at the delay this caused.

He said, "look, i'm in a hurry to get to Phuket, how many roadblocks ahead, I'll pay all the fines now, you radio forwards ..."

Like the style.

Cops laughed and off he went.

He didn't get to prepay.but I had a beer and swapped around the keys in the cops bikes.

A warning to other posters on here, a certain prolific poster,full of indignation and unhappiness, might fill your inbox with spam and virus's.

Be careful of the nutters.

AleG often wonders why the defense didn't follow through with their requests to have DNA re-tested, despite repeated postponements and obfuscations by the prosecution and RTP - and the not-so-small factor that the judge(s) put tight restrictions of what could be re-tested. As I've posted prior, the defense finally determined that any DNA samples provided to them would have to be handled by RTP. It doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to ascertain that DNA samples kept for over a year and handled/labeled by RTP operatives with their vested interests, would be suspect at best.

An American legal expert, Heidi Anna was present at the trial. Below is her assessment of the DNA imbroglio:

“Below is my own personal recollection of events, as recalled from all court sessions, to the best of my recollection. I hereby make no claims that it is 100% accurate:

The defense team requested that the DNA be retested independently and the court finally, after much time and the trial was already well underway, agreed. The police first stated that the DNA sample was “all used up”, which is-in actuality-scientifically impossible!

Then the police later (one or two days time) stated, “no, it was not all used up. we have some of the solution left.” The defense team was granted permission in court to independently retest the sample and so technicians from Dr. Porntip’s lab took cheek swabs from both accused boys, in court under close observation, during the court session during which Dr. Porntip testified.

BUT, what actually remained of the police’s alleged DNA “evidence” to be retested was, in fact, merely the midway solution required in the actual DNA testing process itself. This midpoint solution will give an accurate profile, however, it CANNOT determine the actual ORIGINAL SOURCE of the DNA! Therefore, it will NOT show if original alleged DNA from the female decedent at the crime scene came from “semen” as the Royal Thai Police claim, or if it in fact came from oral mucosa, skin, hair, blood, saliva, cigarette butts, etc.

Also, the court demanded that the DNA evidence from Dr. Porntip’s lab be returned to the COURT itself and NOT to the defense team!!! Thus, the results and factual information would be completely out of the defense team’s hands and thereby highly susceptible to contamination / falsification. For those two reasons, the defense team then; very wisely, declined retesting.

Independent verification (and independent receipt) is another “inalienable human right”, as well as a legal right, agreed upon per international standards, so, once again; the accused boys rights were severely violated.

As a licensed and board certified medical professional, very familiar with and highly experienced with legalities as well as the strict scientifically necessary procedures which MUST be adhered to during the collection of (and rigid documentation of) forensic evidence acquired from rape victims in the Emergency Room intended to be used in a legal court of law in the United States of America, I’m shocked and appalled by the disgracefully unprofessional and non-scientifically qualifying (accurate) collection and so called documentation methods utilized by members of the Royal Thai Police whilst on the crime scene, as well as every action and process of documentation of the alleged DNA evidence utilized and displayed by the Royal Thai police de facto crime scene location. It is my educated and highly experienced professional, and personal, opinion that no one can even be at all certain-in any way-that there ever actually was semen present at the crime scene.

That says it all...

Your childish suppositions are insulting. Thank god some of us can approach such a subject with an open mind, and the willingness to confront the disturbing 'bullet to the head' response shockingly demonstrated by posters who have absolutely no knowledge of the nature of the said uploaded photos,and, god forbid, were ever to come into a position of legislative power would probably be hanging people left, right and center, just on a hunch.

We've been following this paedophile for a long while and reporting on his internet behaviour.

He has been caught and will have his day in court.

I bet we hear nothing from you when he is convicted.

I've been here about 25yrs

Have seen several patently false accusations resulting in bad, to very bad, consequences for the accused.

Equally, have seen several clearly guilty people evade the consequences of their actions.

Point is the system has no veracity and without veracity, there can be no faith in the justice of the system.

This country is facing a complete breakdown of credibility from which it will take years to recover.

Your point is invalid as the call to arrest him came from outside Thailand.

Nice try at deflecting and changing the subject from a paedophile being caught and arrested following an investigation spanning the globe.

No deflection implied, stated or intended.

My post is merely a statement of fact.

Your innuendo is incorrect, cheap and insulting.

Your childish suppositions are insulting. Thank god some of us can approach such a subject with an open mind, and the willingness to confront the disturbing 'bullet to the head' response shockingly demonstrated by posters who have absolutely no knowledge of the nature of the said uploaded photos,and, god forbid, were ever to come into a position of legislative power would probably be hanging people left, right and center, just on a hunch.

We've been following this paedophile for a long while and reporting on his internet behaviour.

He has been caught and will have his day in court.

I bet we hear nothing from you when he is convicted.

I've been here about 25yrs

Have seen several patently false accusations resulting in bad, to very bad, consequences for the accused.

Equally, have seen several clearly guilty people evade the consequences of their actions.

Point is the system has no veracity and without veracity, there can be no faith in the justice of the system.

This country is facing a complete breakdown of credibility from which it will take years to recover.

Gotta love the self righteous indignation on this thread, how very festive.

Chiangmai Thaivisa folks living with the horror that they might be separated from a hundred baht.

People do get down on their luck and even if they might be "putting it on " a bit, it can't do your Kharma any harm to give them fifty or a hundred baht.

Anybody know where I can get cheap potatoes ??

"Self righteous"??? What is a Russian woman doing begging (hustling) in Chiang Mai? The reason is, it is easy money and she doesn't have to work for it. When you visit Europe, the gypsies are running around doing the same thing because some people are stupid enough to give them money.

If it makes you feel good to give money to people like this, then do it but don't expect others to support people like this. Take your "cheap potato" comment on down the road.

I'd offer her 100 THB to take her picture. Then I'd go down to local BIB and inform them that they have a farang begger working the streets, and by the way, here's her picture. It would be 100 baht well spent. I hate scam artists regardless of their race, religion, or country of origin.

Ugly, ugly ugly.

How it must hurt you to lose 100 baht......

"throw her in jail and get her deported, I'll even go out of my way to turn her in myself....."

How sad some posters are.