Jonathan Swift

I don't know if you mean just in Thailand, but plenty of Americans commit suicide in and out of the US, the statistics are not that different overall. But not knowing what the scene looked like, people can lose their balance and fall, happens all the time.

I think you're right about the statistics. I'm American and I don't see that many other Americans. Don't care that much for most of them, that's one reason I'm here. I'm not one of the well off ones either. But people who are suicidal are not in a state of mind where they're going to rationally think out the best means to die. It's more like what's easy than what's good. But the impact of that kind of fall is going to be instant and painless if messy for others to clean up.

People die from falling off cliffs, balconies, buildings, train platforms all the time everywhere in the world. All it takes is a moment of carelessness or momentarily losing one's balance combined with an already unsafe situation. Since foreigners are less likely to be fully aware of the risks of Thai "architecture" it is more likely to happen to them by that fact alone. But enjoy your conjured up drama if you must.

There you have it. When this term is misused in a news story it muddies the topic. Basically it is the more ignorant and less literate that depart from the original and most common definition of electro-execute. If a term is misused often enough and for long enough its misused form gets adopted into common useage and acquires a secondary definition, however improper. Most dictionaries define electrocute as death by electric shock, some allow it as a description of death or serious injury by shock. No dictionaries show it as a proper term for non life threatening shock.

Because the term was coined specifically to describe the first electric chair executions, and is literally derived from electro-execute. Most dictionaries adhere to this strict definition, when it is used to describe casual or non serious injury from shock it is considered to not be a proper use of the term.

No one was electrocuted. Yes the term is often used and misused to refer to anyone who gets an electric shock, but Most dictionaries adhere to the strict definition of death by electric shock. When it is used to describe casual or non serious injury from shock it is considered to not be a proper use of the term. Electrocute comes from "to execute by electricity, electro-execute" and the term was coined when the electric chair first began as a means of execution. Electrocute literally means killed by electricity. Nobody died here. These people were shocked and injured by electricity. Serious injury from electric shock is sometimes considered electrocution. It doesn't appear that anyone was seriously injured. But that is not a fully proper and literal meaning of the word. When a word is misused often enough and for long enough it picks up a new secondary meaning due to common use. That's why we have dictionaries.

Yes, could have been a stroke in progress for example. Or heart attack.

Not enough was said for any conclusions to be drawn. It looks equally possible that she suffered from mental illness and perhaps was not rational. That would call into question statements about alleged gangsters. I've never heard of Chinese gangs being involved in any major sex trafficking in Thailand, not that they aren't, but I hear other countries mentioned more often. The few facts and statements including an American benefactor as well as an employee who said she jumped make it look more like a suicide. No one saw any such suspicious person around the victim. She could have fabricated the story about the Chinese as a way to get help and attention. Not unusual for mental illness sufferers. The story she told the police very likely lacked credibility. But no one can say for now.

oopsie. Instead, they get about $275,000. No math whizzes in government I guess.

It's only about $275,000 US, pocket change to the company really.

Much ado about nothing. They're doing no harm. So what if they're not working as hard as some think they ought to, it's nobody's business. I think wanting to travel the world is an admirable ambition, and I respect that.

The vibe is you don't do this unless you know it's a working girl and that it's OK. The vibe is that there are hundreds of ordinary people and tourists walking around just taking in the sights who do not deserve to be degraded or sexually assaulted by folks like you. How is it you're not smart enough to know this?

He can sue the airline, I've done it, it works, it's cheaper for them to pay you than to go to court. I am this moment filing a suit against Saudia (Saudi Arabian Airlines) for stranding me in Saudi Arabia and no one helping to book a new connecting flight. You look for the local office in your country, usually at the airport, and you serve the papers or send a copy of the complaint there. You'll get a phone call within 48 hours. Make sure they know that you're ready to post a tiktok video if they don't want to play ball.

No, such things do not enter the minds of such people

He's probably what people call a mean drunk. A personality change occurs when they drink and they become obnoxious and violent. I'm just speculating, he might also just be a full time ɑ$$hole.

Speaking of ignoramuses, on the contrary, foreigners are not unwelcome here. Most Thai people know better than to judge everyone because of the actions of a few. Do you? This is one incident. People get drunk and drive all the time, people from every country and all walks of life. Some end in tragedy unfortunately. However, stories about foreigners tend to capture news coverage. I've been here 10 years, and I have only a few times personally detected an anti foreigner sentiment, it was never overt, and I understand it and don't criticize it. I can understand the idea that foreigners may be seen as invaders and interlopers to the native way of life. I can understand the resentment toward all these "rich" pensioners running around not having to work while Thai people work day and night just to barely survive. But the reality as to most Thai people's sentiments is nothing like what you claimed. I have had more Thai people, from police to the average person on the street, go out of their way to make me feel welcomed and comfortable as guests in their country, to them it is a matter of pride to extend welcome and hospitality. I regularly see the occasional police officer or BTS security guard salute me with a smile as I walk by. Feel free to voice your views, but don't expect them to mean anything if there is no education behind them. Maybe it's just YOU being made to feel unwelcome, maybe it's your attitude. You don't sound like the kind of person that I would welcome anywhere.

I wasn't aware that Thailand had a problem with schoolchildren being mowed down with AR15s nearly every other week. And this subject bemuses you? Let's hope we never meet in a bar somewhere, I may vomit at your presence.

To all of you armchair quarterbacks and self professed experts, it doesn't take much force to snap someone's neck or cause a fatal head injury if one is unprotected. It can be a matter of chance as to who survives an impact regardless of how fast or slow they might be traveling. People die just from falling and hitting their heads on sidewalks, causing fractures and cerebral hemorrhages. Happens all the time. And it's quite possible that a responsible person might take a trip to a 7-11 for a few beers and transport them without actually being roaring drunk - the intent might be to responsibly bring said beers home before consuming. The point is, there is insufficient information in the story to draw any conclusions whatsoever, and it serves no useful purpose to speculate. When the driver's toxicological report comes in and is made public, when the accident investigators have submitted their reports, then you can start having a few sensible conversations.

That's not fair - you're using common sense, logic, and reason against a bunch of uninformed schlubs whose sense of self importance is tied to the loudness of their opinions, and not the validity thereof.

It's called police work. Standard procedure. The story was very short and contained very few facts, certainly not enough to justify some of the nonsense comments here. There is a lot that is not known or disclosed in the story.

Waste of time trying to reason with people who lack basic reasoning skills in the first place. People who are not seeking to educate themselves will not learn. What we have here is a classic pseudo intellectual.

Is English not your native language? There were no such presumptions implied or stated in the story. It was a clear and simple statement of facts, reported without any bias whatsoever. I read it several times. You have an overactive imagination and a persecution complex on behalf of your poor fellow maligned farangs. Are you one of the ones always complaining about the imaginary "racism" of Thai people? Any farang who lives in Thailand is lucky to be here, and anyone who whines and complains about it should self deport and spare the rest of us any further obnoxiousness. It's you who give the rest of us "farangs" a bad name.

I don't know where you were in Bangkok but I've lived there for nine years (Makkasan) and rarely have I had that occur. It tends to happen very late at night when it does, after midnight in places like Nana etc. All you have to do is wave them off and flag down another until someone does use the meter. Most taxi drivers are decent working people. The bad eggs get a lot of attention though. You really ought not to spread misinformation, and should say nothing if you don't know what you're talking about. And you don't. Maybe you're just not a very nice person, and that's why the taxis don't want you.

Weird sounding headline, in the US we don't call the sidewalks pavements, that's mostly what we call roads and parking lots. Technically anything that's paved can be called a pavement. But then the sidewalks in Bangkok are made of ceramic tiles, so what's up with that? They just finished replacing a whole lot of them all along Ratchaprarop and nearby streets. You can see those tiles in the photo.

Motorcycle rider here, accident free since 1987. I think motorbike safety is not something that is emphasized sufficiently in school or at home. The risks are not taken seriously until something happens. I don't think it has anything to do with intelligence, it is a failure in common sense and awareness. I blame parents and schools mostly. Nobody can change or remedy bad parenting, so the slack needs to be taken up by the schools - schools should teach every pre teen and teen about the dangers of reckless driving, there should be graphic films showing the carnage. The dangers of motorbikes should be emphasized, that is the biggest danger to these kids. But I also know this is Thailand. It's very sad, so much grief. Imagine the other driver, knowing that a young girl died right in front of him as he sat helpless.