Eloquent pilgrim

This is very sad; a poor old man reduced to collecting recycling materials to get money for food, and this happens to him. R.I.P old timer, I know your life wasn't much anymore but it was still yours.

Hope they keep the ferry running because that's a bridge too far for me

Unquestionably both

Only an extreme left wing misogynist could possibly think this; and you bear testament to your bigoted opinion of women by calling this man “her” …. shameful

Surely he should have been on a plane back to LHR for circa £500, months ago, when he first started to show signs of deterioration, and was capable of travelling alone. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Nah, Fred, not having that one, try again; how can you be thrown off a bike and the bike remain upright, especially for 200 metres, not possible ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

His body found 200 metres away; how the hell could that happen ?

He is being sent for trial at Westminster Magistrates Court; in the UK we do not have a jury in a Magistrates court. However, his case could be sent on by the Magistrates court to a Crown court, where a jury would hear the evidence and decide.

He is being sent for trial on 2nd May at Westminster Magistrates Court, which is a non-jury court, and presided over by either a district judge or 3 magistrates; however, serious cases are often sent on to a Crown court for trial before a jury. Jury selection would be an issue in this case, as he is well known in the UK and viewed in a bad light by many. He is also believed to be in the US at the present time, although he has said he will attend court. If he does not, I think his extradition would be straightforward.

Absolutely; last Songkran, the police stopped a total of 279,873 vehicles for examination, and action was taken against 39,611 traffic offenders — including a staggering 11,013 for driving without a licence - so if your vehicle was hit by one of those they wouldn’t even be insured ….. and that’s probably just the tip of an enormous iceberg.

No, the nonsense is all from you. Governments often need to bring in legislation that forces people to take measures to protect their own safety. We saw this in the UK when in 1983 it became a legal requirement to wear a seat belt for the driver and front passenger; after a few prosecutions, the vast majority of drivers adhered to the new law, saving thousands of lives. You can witness it every day in Thailand; on the main Phetkasem road between Cha-am and Hua Hin, you rarely see a rider without a helmet, simply because the law is enforced on that stretch of road. But as soon as you turn off the main road, you rarely see anyone wearing one. The enforcement of road safety laws works and saves lives, it is why governments worldwide spend billions on road safety measures, car safety measures, and pedestrian safety measures; to call it ridiculous shows a complete lack of understanding about the myriad issues of road safety.

This is indeed a big part of the problem. It is easy, and in some ways correct, to blame young inexperienced riders for renting bikes / scooters, but if the laws were properly applied a lot of them would be prevented from renting. On Samui anyone can rent a scooter anywhere on the island, without showing an ability to ride license; they only want your passport in order to secure their property … as you say, profit over safety.

You seem to have lost the thread of replies a bit; it was @qwab32 that made the comments on the roads on Samui, not myself; that notwithstanding, it might be helpful if you were not so angry and aggressive with all your replies to people. It would also help if you had ever driven on Samui, so that you could offer some instructive first hand experience, rather than continually using gainsaying contradiction. You also failed to answer as to why his comments made him a bad driver.

Sorry, but your comment is nonsensical to me; what do you mean by “Only every support MIP” And what exactly do you mean by MIP: Mortgage Insurance Premium Monthly Income Plan Minge In Pattaya Maximum Intensity Projection Memory In Pixel Mist in Patagonia or Mandatory Inspection Point As for the verdict, it is not an issue for someone like myself on the right; the issue is the disproportionality of the sentence.

@qwab32made a perfectly reasonable comment about how dangerous the roads on Samui are, which anyone who lives there, or has driven there knows; so please explain how that makes him a bad driver, and makes his comment unhelpful.

Why have you truncated my comment to take it out of context ? I said “there will never be the proper legislation, or enforcement of it”

Nope, not in the least irrelevant, do you not even remember what you were replying to ? Here’s a reminder; this is the comment you replied to "And then promoted to President of the European Central Bank since 2019!” You then replied saying that’s not quite true, when it is in fact categorically true.

Nonsense, Christine Lagarde became President of the European Central Bank on 1st November 2019; how could you possibly comment without knowing that fact (rhetorical)

Utter nonsense, my comparisons have great validity regarding the point I was making, something you have completely ignored. At the start of my comment I said “The offences differ in detail, but they are broadly similar in nature — all involve misuse of public funds or negligence in public office” You have completely ignored the point I was making, and instead embarked on a pointless rant about Le Pen being guilty. I have never disputed her guilt, just the disproportionate sentencing. Did you not even understand the point I was making ? ….. obviously not, so your reply is completely irrelevant.

So sad, condolences to the family; these totally unnecessary deaths will keep happening here because there will never be the proper legislation, or enforcement of it, regarding motorcycle hire. It’s only about the Baht.

Absolutely; get rid of the ginger growler and free Tommy

cunning stunts

Not sure there are too many opponents of the verdict; it was arrived at in a French court of law, the issue that some, like myself have, is the proportionality, or otherwise, of the sentencing.

Ever considered looking at other offences of corruption in France to juxtapose with the treatment of Le Pen. The offences differ in detail, but they are broadly similar in nature — all involve misuse of public funds or negligence in public office: <> Marine Le Pen: Convicted in 2025 for embezzling EU funds by using them to pay party staff in France rather than for EU parliamentary work. Result: 4-year sentence (2 suspended), €100,000 fine, 5-year ban from office <> Christine Lagarde: Found guilty in 2016 of negligence over a €400m payout to a businessman while finance minister. No fine, no ban, no sentence imposed. <> Jacques Chirac: Convicted in 2011 of embezzlement and abuse of public trust — creating fake jobs while mayor of Paris. Received a 2-year suspended sentence, no political ban. Proportionality …. hmmmm, arguably, Le Pen’s case involves a smaller financial scale than Lagarde’s or Chirac’s — yet she received the harshest penalty in terms of political consequences. That raises valid concerns about consistency and timing, especially with an election on the horizon; and we worry about the ominous signs of a two their justice system in the UK.

It is worth looking at other offences of corruption in France to juxtapose with the treatment of Le Pen. The offences differ in detail, but they are broadly similar in nature — all involve misuse of public funds or negligence in public office: <> Marine Le Pen: Convicted in 2025 for embezzling EU funds by using them to pay party staff in France rather than for EU parliamentary work. Result: 4-year sentence (2 suspended), €100,000 fine, 5-year ban from office <> Christine Lagarde: Found guilty in 2016 of negligence over a €400m payout to a businessman while finance minister. No fine, no ban, no sentence imposed. <> Jacques Chirac: Convicted in 2011 of embezzlement and abuse of public trust — creating fake jobs while mayor of Paris. Received a 2-year suspended sentence, no political ban. Proportionality …. hmmmm, arguably, Le Pen’s case involves a smaller financial scale than Lagarde’s or Chirac’s — yet she received the harshest penalty in terms of political consequences. That raises valid concerns about consistency and timing, especially with an election on the horizon; and we worry about the ominous signs of a two their justice system in the UK.