southwest19

The deceased, according to a friend of mine who was there, started the fight by spitting his drink in the Thai guy's face. He and his group then started fighting with the group of Thai guys, one of which then stabbed the Israeli.

Just FYI tax, Israelis are well known in Hadrin for travelling in groups and picking fights with people. This time, they picked the wrong guys. Frankly, everyone who knows anything about Hadrin, knew it was only a matter of time before an Israeli got himself killed.

Of course, the death is senseless and unnecessary but certainly not unprovoked nor unexpected.

Not sure who the "local politician's son" could be since the only local politician who actually lives in Hadrin has an 8 year old son.

edit: just wanted to add that the FMP is tonight, not last night so he wasn't killed "at the party". And the murder happened the night before last, not last night

I do agree that Israeli's have got themselves a bad name and do seem to behave at times in a partularly arrogant manner and anyone who has spent anytime in Thailand at all knows it is not a good idea to spit your drink in a Thai mans face (if this is true).

May I also add that Thai's are also getting a very bad name not just here but all over the world.

What were Thai teenagers doing in a bar in the first place?

Why was the teenager carrying a knife in a public place?

Also when are the police going to start doing their jobs i.e. to protect and serve?

There are far too many instances of Thai's walking round with guns and knives unchallenged by police and when mixed with alcohol the results at times are only too predicatable.

I fear the situation will only improve when severe penalties are imposed for either carrying a weapon or using it and the police cannot be bought off, don't hold your breath.

R.I.P.

I'm sure some triad (and yakuza money from their japanese clients) was involved.

I am not for one minute suggesting that Coco was financed or partly financed by organised crime. The point I was trying to make was a large number of the houses were sold at exhibitions particularly HK on the basis of the guaranteed rental income and even the triads need places to invest their money in legitimate business.

If it were to go tits up then I don't think it will be trebles all round in Coco Blues I think it will be time to put your tin hats on!!

found every night in Coco Blues hardly the sort of behaviour of a company going bust

the bankrupting of a company will have little effect on either the living expenses or drinking habits of the directors / owners.

if anything , the bankruptcy will absolve them of all liabilities to their clients , their financial worries will disappear , and then they can start trading again the next day under a different name.

sounds like a very good reason to be down the pub.

trebles all round please.

So you think all the money that comes over here is clean and legal how naive. I fully understand bankruptcy laws but I do not think some of their clients will be quite so forgiving as I stated in my previous post they sold a large number of houses in HK and not everyone was to a lawyer or a banker so get real.

My God , don't you people go on !!

Chances are he will never have an accident in his life . You ought to all go off and form your own nanny-state country where everyone obeys every law no matter how daft , and you are all in bed with your horlicks by 10pm.

cavalier attitude to an unknown child's life .........................

How do any of you know that anyone will be killed as a result of his driving ....you don't. How about this scenario.....he is stopped from driving because the Police Chief sees these posts on Thai Visa and so goes to get a bus home and is killed when the bus subsequently crashes. So your bleating may have killed him . Unlikely yes .. but possible . Just as its possible he may never kill anyone.

What a daft argument maybe you should be in bed by 10pm with your Horlicks. Next you will be advocating motorbikes without hemets which is something you have obviously done before and received a nasty head injury!

If all the disgusting europeans took there rubbish back to the Hotels with them the beach would not need cleaning by the Thai's. It makes my blood boil when I walk up the beach and watch the farrangs stubbing out their ciggarettes in the sand, what do they think happens to their stubs. Its not just the beach going down hill, the drainage canal behind my apartment is dumping black untreated effluent into the sea all day and night I dread to think what is in it. I have been making monthly visits to Samui for the last 5 years and the beach is definately going down hill. I just wish the vile tourists that use it would treat it with more respect or stay in Benidorme where they belong.

Don't talk about the 'dirty european'tourists,, take a look at the local thai people,,, dont get me wrong, i love most thai people, but it really annoys me when i see the thai's throwing away their rubbish anywhere, i live near the fishing village and every day on the beach we have broken light bulbs,empty food cartons, plastic bags , empty whisky bottles, flip flops,, all from the fishermans overnight fishing,,, why they cant bring it home with them,,, cos it floats home anyway, just walk to the fishing village in Hua thanon,, and have a look for yourself,,,

Unfortunatley it is due to a lack of basic education they really have no idea the impact of their actions has. As to the anti-european rant about cigarette butts I will treat that with the contemt it deserves.

Sadly I haven't been able to find out the truth regarding bankruptcy or not.

Don't know what else to do at this point but wait. I haven't been able to find a website for bankruptcy listings and no one here seems to know Alan, Bruce etc or at least they haven't answered my request.

Still hope things work out for CoCo as we really like Samui and the Villas they have already built.

I think you are worrying over a couple of posts by people who only know heresay and have never met Alan or Bruce.

Although I do not know them well I have met them both on a couple of occasions and they can normally be found every night in Coco Blues hardly the sort of behaviour of a company going bust bearing in mind they sold 50% of their houses in Hong Kong they would have the triads after them by now.

Also work is continuing at the site though maybe not at the pace you would wish.

You are right to be concerned but don't worry too much.

Surayud: Election to be held on either Dec16 or Dec 23

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said Thursday that national elections would be held on either December 16 or 23.

"It will be either December 16 or 23, and the mechanism will be ready, including the constitution," he said.

"The referendum on a new constitution will be held no later than September," he added.

--The Nation 2007-03-30

Do they really need to hold an election two days before xmas I know this is Thailand but they also rely rather heavilly on the tourist dollar and closing all the bars in the peak season is just another dumb idea.

In samui comunity magazine it was published that the DSI has set up a special task force to crack down on what they refer to as the "Five Samui Nominee"

Is is suggested that the leading 5 law firms in Samui have created hundreds of companies for forigen investors using the 49-51 theme and that all thsae companies will be reviewd and checked and if they are forigen controlled or not according to the law they will be revoked and the land and assets sold.

Does any one know more about this? who are those 5 law firms and what are the implications of this investigation?

This is an old story but some funny posts!!

is it me or is crime getting worse on samui you just have to read the local press and makes very sad reading, rapes here murders there , robberies ect , thankfully most tourist are blissfully unaware of how violent this place is hidden just below the surface or how zenaphobic the natives are and how corrupt the police are here , give you any help if in troble pigs arse will they . its about time this place was cleaned up and most of these stories carried in papers for example in the u.k then they might do something about it

Everytime I pick up a UK paper I read many of stories concerning rising crime in the UK but it has hardly stirred the police or politicians into action there.

Unfortunatley the local media here does seem to like to focus on all the negative stories and ignores anything positive, I am not suggesting it should be brushed under the carpet just calling for a little balanced reporting.

The population on the island has probably quadrupled over the last ten years it is now far in excess of the 50,000 mentioned so I suppose crime is also likely to rise a bit.

In my own personal experience I feel far safer wondering around the streets of Chaweng on a Saturday night then I would most cities in the UK.

WRONG. They are allowed to drive on public roads from the farm to any other land owned by the farmer in the U.K public road or not. Everyone already knows you can do whatever you like on private land such as a farm.

WRONG. I have just spoken to a friend of mine who is a serving police officer in the UK and has been for over twenty years. He has confirmed that 10 year olds are not allowed to drive on public roads even in the vicinity of a farm.

Please get your facts right before you contradict my posts.

Maybe not really so differnt then the US years ago. I was a farm kid we learned to driving tractors on the farm, not for fun but work after school and the breaks' Got my first license at 14 as my father was legally blind, it was a special license that allowed me to drive for family needs.

I took the standard adult driver exams to get the license.

I was well into 30's before I had my first accident. Needs in farming area can be very different then in the Cities.

10 year old on a public road might be pushing it a bit, even in farm communities.

I suppose a pointed out it would depend on the kid, but in any event if he had not passed the drivers tests then he should have been on the farm not public roads. A far a I'm concerned that gose for adults as well. (TT) Tis Thailand good luck,

same in the UK and it's legal.........................kids in early teans are allowed to drive tractors etc on public roads within the vicinity of the farm

No it is not the same in the UK. If the roads are within a farm they are not public roads. 10 year old children are not allowed to drive uninsured without a license on public roads.

The idea that there is a 'right' age for starting different activities is downright ageist and ridiculously authoritarian.

Admittedly, it is prevalent in western industrialised society, and it takes a long time for the mindsets of "We are the managers, you are the future factory-fodder" and "Ours not to reason how or why" to wear off.

The policeman (like all the police in our Amphoe) is being totally sensible and responsible in stressing that he knows this youngster is a steady, responsible individual who can be trusted to do what is right, in the rural-town situation.

One of the nicest things about (certain parts of) Thailand is that sense prevails, because things are thought out from basic principles, rather than being decided by arbitrary, irrelevant Western-centric rules.

Nowhere is perfect and no group are all angels, but there are instances of Thailand being a world leader in the application of commonsense.

Congratulations you are the first person who believes Thailand is 'a world leader in the application of common sense'.

Thailand has one of the worst accident rates in the world and anyone who thinks it is a good idea for a ten year old to drive a car on public roads must have taken complete leave of their senses.

It is also illegal what is the point of laws if they are not enforced or the police can decide which ones they like or don't like or don't pay!

So from the sounds of it no worse than anywhere else on the planet then? I could pull a newspaper out any day of the week in my own country and have similar tales of woe.

Its a bit tricky to say without figures whether things are that bad on Samui, I imagine being a small island as you say, that bad news gets around really fast.

I also live here and I can assure you it is a safe place to visit with your family and you will have a good time as you rightly point out that nowhere is exempt from crime.

If you have a young family I would not recommend anywhere near the lake. Once a week there is a party and the mind numbing base music will keep your children awake all night.

I think you are doing the right thing by staying in a hotel for your first week then I would suggest you hire a car and have a drive around.

Have a great time.

THB: Defying Gravity (Morgan Stanley)

I am no central banker but I did spend many years on a derivatives trading desk in London and basically the central bank here has not got a clue what they are doing. Obviously their disasterous capital inflow controls did not work and they rarely do when they have been attempted elsewhere.

The first thing they should have done was to cut interest rates a tool generally favoured by central bankers in making a currency less desirable to hold. This would have made even more sense when you take into consideration the slump in Thai consumer demand.

Another reason the exporters are so exposed to interest rate fluctuations is because of their poor productivity and efficiency what they could do would be to try and attract some more foreign investment and partnerships therefore gaining valuable expertise and technology. Ah but I forgot due to the governments plans to amend the FBA no foreign companies want to increase their investments here.

Bottom Line

Neither the central bank or the government have a clue what they are doing!

I was referring to the locals who maybe didn't own land.

I'm not trying to justify anything i'm just looking at the route cause.

I'm sure if you do some reseacrh then areas with mass tourism and especially ones with a sex trade

will have a higher crime rate.

You know nothing. How many children have been shot or stabbed in the UK over the last couple of months, nothing to do with tourism or the sex trade. If you want to banter on about Samui Phuket etc at least have the respect to do it in the right thread and if anyone who is not yet bored with you can respond.

I belive this thread was set up so informed good people could express their outrage at such a shocking crime and also offer their condolences to the family.

well I've said it before and i'll say it again.

This is in direct relationship to the overdevelopment problem. Whereever ther is mass tourism particulalrly in

an unregulated way such as Samui and many other placed in Thailand then crime will follow. Mass tourism

and crime go hand in hand partiucaulrly in developing countires.

There need to be international controls on tourism

I think it is all rather sad that you stoop to this level to use this dreadful incident as an opportunity to score points against Samui.

Unfortunately in todays world whether you live in a developed or developing country sickening crimes like this are common place. I regularly read sickening UK media reports that are beyond belief and there are no links with tourism just sick people.

You mean Bagdad Bob........hahaha!

Just trying to remain hopeful....

Rental gaurantees started a couple years back..........

Ha ha. On a serious note I also heard first hand sometime ago from a Coco Villa owner that the rental guarantees had started kicking in.

Also I hope the project is fully completed not least because I do not like seeing poeple lose their money but also it would be very bad for the island if such a high profile development went tits up!

Southwest, the point I was making was those completed units are a value at that price. Furthermore, building is still in progress throughout their projects. I would really prefer it if it wasn't built for two more years at which time I would have a paid up villa for which I only paid half the amount due to the rental contract.

Anyway, hope those guys can still work things out........

You're beginning to sound like the former Iraqi Information Minister!

Well, I just got back from another visit to CoCo and heard pretty much the same song and dance regarding the financing of the project.

However, that said, the Palm Villas project that I bought into had some villas finished and we got to stay in one. For the price, about US $180,000 they are a great deal. For the quality of the build, furniture, size and amenities you just can't touch anything else at that price. Now, I still have my fingers crossed that somehow they can get financing and complete this and their other projects.

Also, regarding the privacy issue. At least in Palm Villas it's not an issue..........nud_e sunbathing from the minute we got up till the wee hours in the morning. Each villa is walled to a height that offers maximum privacy. Also, for the price paid for these others villas and yes the owners knew exactly what they were getting, again they are bargains.

The main swimming pool which is beachfront, offers a fantastic and uninterupted view of the ocean and island across the way.

The picture of the beach from the website CoCo Samui Villa Rippoff is from the next door site where another developer is building a hotel, a Regent, I beleive I was told. As such, there is construction waste on the beach area directly in front of it. The beach area owned by CoCo is cleaned daily of all trash, leaves etc. that may be blown onto it.........it's immaculately clean.

I also looked and found the suppossed "missing" view of the pool in the above mentioned website and this view does exist.

I'm not trying to promote CoCo or any of their properties........I just want my villa built so I can go back to having a bbq and doing some sunbathing while laying around the pool instead of working seven days a week......

PS. When are you coming to Samui next?

Well, I just got back from another visit to CoCo and heard pretty much the same song and dance regarding the financing of the project.

However, that said, the Palm Villas project that I bought into had some villas finished and we got to stay in one. For the price, about US $180,000 they are a great deal. For the quality of the build, furniture, size and amenities you just can't touch anything else at that price. Now, I still have my fingers crossed that somehow they can get financing and complete this and their other projects.

Also, regarding the privacy issue. At least in Palm Villas it's not an issue..........nud_e sunbathing from the minute we got up till the wee hours in the morning. Each villa is walled to a height that offers maximum privacy. Also, for the price paid for these others villas and yes the owners knew exactly what they were getting, again they are bargains.

The main swimming pool which is beachfront, offers a fantastic and uninterupted view of the ocean and island across the way.

The picture of the beach from the website CoCo Samui Villa Rippoff is from the next door site where another developer is building a hotel, a Regent, I beleive I was told. As such, there is construction waste on the beach area directly in front of it. The beach area owned by CoCo is cleaned daily of all trash, leaves etc. that may be blown onto it.........it's immaculately clean.

I also looked and found the suppossed "missing" view of the pool in the above mentioned website and this view does exist.

I'm not trying to promote CoCo or any of their properties........I just want my villa built so I can go back to having a bbq and doing some sunbathing while laying around the pool instead of working seven days a week......

What are daft thing to say. How can it be such great value at 180,000 USD when they actually have not built it and have run out of money!

Using your model of good value you would walk into a car showroom get a fantastic discount on a car pay for it and they never deliver it or at best a few years later but great value!!!

komchadluek, also a Thai language newspaper, has an article in their online newspaper today stating that the victim has been unable to identify her attacker and that she had 300,000 baht worth of items stolen during the attack. (diamond ring, diamond necklace, video camera, mobile phone)

So basically the police do not have a clue and all this ex-boyfriend theory was totally fabricated to try and make it look like a one off.

In short what they should be saying is there is a brutal murderer out there we have no clue who it is and people should be on their guard making sure they lock their windows and doors particularly at night!

Well, according to some posters, its a cut and dried obvious case.

I am not casting doubt on your information but rather thanking you for some accurate reporting which as you say is sometimes lacking. People are sometimes to quick to stereo type and jump to conclusions.

To avoid any future license or saftey issues it maybe a good idea to explain to the pilot that if the plane does ever get airborne again that flying the length of Chaweng Beach at little over 500 feet is not the smartest thing to do!

You are obviously the expert so why don't you explain! 500 ft is not only legal it was part of the clearance NOT to operate above 500ft in the vicinity of the airport. It is operated at a height parallel to the beach which allows a safe landing to take place in the unlikely event of a malfunction.

You might also have noticed those big things underneath the aircraft which are floats

and allow the aircraft to land on water.

No I am not an expert which you obviously think you are I am just someone with a little common sense. I cannot imagine any other country in the world who would consider it a good idea to fly an aircraft the length of the busiest beach at 500 ft. You may have noticed that if that plane with those big things underneath hit the beach or the sea many people would lose their lives.

Also do you really believe people fly here from half way round the world to see the alan sadd seaplane sceaming over their heads for commercial gain i do not think so.

komchadluek, also a Thai language newspaper, has an article in their online newspaper today stating that the victim has been unable to identify her attacker and that she had 300,000 baht worth of items stolen during the attack. (diamond ring, diamond necklace, video camera, mobile phone)

So basically the police do not have a clue and all this ex-boyfriend theory was totally fabricated to try and make it look like a one off.

In short what they should be saying is there is a brutal murderer out there we have no clue who it is and people should be on their guard making sure they lock their windows and doors particularly at night!

What is the latest status on CoCo Seaplanes - the license-problems are more complicated or???

Pete

The aircraft has been kept in an Airworthy condition and has a current Certificate of Airworthiness.

Obtaining the various approvals from the Thai authorities have taken a lot longer than envisaged but the Civil Aviation Authority have recently carried out a complete inspection and it is hoped that the final approval will be issued shortly.

Once the certificate is issued, the operation will start with scenic flights and regular charters to Surat, Krabi, Ranong etc. On commencement of the Operation, approval to operate on water will be applied for. Most of the requirements have been met and are already in place.

The addition of a water borne operation will also enable medical evacuation to be mounted from Koh Tao, and Koh Phangan. The aircraft can be converted to carry a stretcher in a few minutes and leave room for a medical team and all medical equipment to be carried.

Agreements have also been made to assist the Thai Navy and Government Authorities when emergencies such as Search and Rescue arise.

When conditions permit it is hoped to continue to provide a community service such as air experience flights to the local schools. These were very popular during the period that operational trials were carried out.

Gatorade.

To avoid any future license or saftey issues it maybe a good idea to explain to the pilot that if the plane does ever get airborne again that flying the length of Chaweng Beach at little over 500 feet is not the smartest thing to do!

Let's get this back on track! Last issue, Samui Community March 15 -only 577 needed for Koh Samui to reach City Status- I've finally convinced 3 of my staff ,that they won't be struck down by lightning (or Bhudda) or lose their home voting rights or have to change their ID cards or anything else that could cause any problem what so ever for the rest of their or their offspring's lives ,(with a little sweetener thrown in to really convince them.)SO next week that total will be 3 less.

So then maybe Samui might have more funds to enable them to perform this list of tasks that obviously need to be done to get this island back on track! SIMPLE.

Thaxs 'gus, wish we had a counter, that showed the amount on this thread, please keep sending the amount needed. Now at 574.

Good work keep passing the message around. I only have 4 staff 3 who are registered already but one thought she needed a house number and I have just told her that is not the case so she is going to register next week.

Lets keep the momentum going by talking to friends aquaintances etc