Bangkok Barry

It's a direct result of the rigid class system that exists in Thailand, something my native UK managed to largely eradicate around 100 years ago. It's why so many in a uniform or position of 'power' make life as difficult as possible for those they deal with, as the uniform gives them the imagined freedom to do whatever they want and to kick back against their otherwise lowly position on the social ladder. The abused becomes the abuser. It's a way of fighting back against the system. And because every Thai from a very young age is taught their place on the social rung, and everyone is looked down upon by someone, frustration and resentment builds and builds, and suddenly they 'do a Popeye' - That's all I can takes, I can't takes no more - and they reach for the can of spinach. Or, in Thailand, the nearest gun or machete. Thai society is like a volcano about to explode, and it doesn't take much to send some over the edge and commit violence, even kill, over the smallest thing.

I demand that they set up a committee to determine if they're innocent or not?

But if you bothered to read the link..... After an unsuccessful negotiation with the suspect police officers had to charge the man and make him wear pants before transporting him to the Pattaya station.

And far more common in Thailand than, say, Singapore or Malaysia. Thailand has long attracted the bottom of the barrel. Many reasons for that.

I just Googled the definition: to deal or trade in something illegal. Okay. but offering a girl for sex in a cafe isn't the generally accepted definition is it, which is transporting people across borders illegally. Using it in a case like this trivializes the offence of real trafficking.

That is attempted murder, and all too common in the Land of Smiles.

Providing under-age girls for sex isn't trafficking. It's providing under-age girls for sex.

I'm reading this at 1.20pm on the 23rd. More great Thai reporting. Some people don't even know what day it is is a common phrase in my native UK. Rings true here too, it seems.

Whenever anyone I know tells me they are planning a trip to Phuket I just use one word to them. Don't.

Similar to when my sister-in-law killed an elderly woman motorcyclist, who came out of a side road to cross a four-lane road, She only looked one way, which CCTV confirmed, and paid with her life. The stupidity of some people here is off the charts.

Didn't take long for the first such story of the day. I haven't even had my breakfast yet. They'll probably be a similar one after lunch.

Probably the most recognisable aspect of the culture they are so proud of.

They forgot to bring the sign with them.

Married mine after 14 days, married now for over 32 years. Now and then you have to count to 10, maybe 100, because of Thai logic, but it works.

They showed unusual initiative. Except that that forgot that CCTV now exists everywhere so actually they're as dumb as ****.

I thought we'd got through a day without reading of a jealous husband killing his wife. This is close enough, though. Nice to see the culture continues unabated.

And there was me thinking that riding in the back of pickups was illegal, for good reason. Silly me. I forgot the police are blind. (and yes, it was allowed for a few days a couple of Songkrans ago, after Thais protested at a ban as they demanded to be allowed to play Russian roulette with their lives.)

It's common. I recently received a Facebook Memory photo that I took in London's Burlington Arcade, showing a shop selling 600 pound shoes and 14,000 pound Rolexes. They were the discounted sale prices too! No-one actually needs 600 pound shoes or 14,000 pound watches, do they. Probably popular with certain politicians though.

I suppose deporting them hasn't occurred to anyone?

Me too.

The headline says the shooting was due to a dispute over money. But... The Daily News reported that the Thai cop had consumed alcohol before the incident and the dispute escalated over his insistence on watching a specific television channel, which his wife opposed.

Anywhere. People simply don't like other humans. People hate someone sitting next to them on a bus or train, for example. And where do they learn bullying from? They are born with a desire to humiliate. Most grow out of it, fortunately.

See, some people could have come to the conclusion you were having a beginners need to go through what you did, as you didn't tell us you are a seasoned user.

Schoolboy humour from the headline writer.