oneday

“We urge the authorities not to press ahead with the criminal case against Mr Kwan, and to work with the media community in Thailand to decriminalise the legitimate use of body armour and other relevant and purely protective items,” its statement read.

This is too sensible, too logical, too sane; Thailand isn't having any of this logic, because it does not fit into their country-centric view of "Thainess".

For me, there is no question the man in Blue brought the bomb to the bridge and purposefully kicked it into the canal. That is very clear on the video and so I seriously doubt this man will ever present himself at any police station.

"...police are now certain that the device was not thrown from the Taksin bridge at the Sathorn pier but was actually physically planted there..."

Are they serious? All you have to do it watch the video once to know that the object he kicked off the bridge was the bomb that went off the next day. Couple that with the fact it happened within a very short time-frame of the Erawan bombing and it is a certainty. How many other packages did they see on the video that dropped or were thrown in the exact same spot as the explosion? Give me a break.

I hope, just for the prosecution alone of the PhuketWan journalists and Andy Hall, that Thailand will remain on the bottom tier of the US Human Rights and Trafficking in Persons reports next year and I hope that this time sanctions will be levied.

OK Mr Lostoday, I'm glad you like me, but I did not say everyone in Thailand had a low mentality, what I said was the majority of the Thai people have a low mentality, and I'm going to stand by that.

I will put it another way IMO, about 70% of the Thai people have a low mentality. just look at the driving and riding for an example.

Also my wife is just the same as you describe your wife, apart maybe from when you say "big girl" you could mean she is tall, or fat. In my case she is tall.

But only because of the horribly poor educational system they have here. When you are born you have the same exact potential as anyone else in the world. If you are unfortunate to live in this country and do not have the resources to get a top flight education then you end up with a disadvantaged people.

Well threw the bike on the pick up and they did want to inspect it. I had all the docs re resident certificate, copies of passport etc so even though around 2 hours it was rather smooth and a lot more stress free than other encounters I've had (driving license etc). By the way...the bike is a year old and 3000ks. They still wanted to check. Cost tfer 250 baht all finished 2 hours and green book in my name. Will try PRB next time.

By the way, in future if I was to buy a bike or car privately, I was under the assumption the seller fills out his part of the form, gives me the green book and I hand over the cash. Then I sort it with the transport dept. I see someone else here said the buyer and the seller go together?

What's the normal procedure?

"the bike is a year old and 3000ks. They still wanted to check"

​They are checking to see if the bike is stolen. Why are you of the belief that bikes with low mileage would not be stolen?

A previous poster mentioned if the bike is under 5 years inspection not necesary. That's why

That is related to yearly registration renewal, not to sales inspection.

This is not true "stevenl".

Let me see if I can make this clearer. I did a name change from my name to my GF's name, just exactly like the OP is doing, except he did it from her name to his, and I DID NOT have to have my bike inspected. I did this on a bike and a car and NEITHER had to be inspected, unless they have changed the rules sometime this year (2015) or his land department just wants to make more money.

Well threw the bike on the pick up and they did want to inspect it. I had all the docs re resident certificate, copies of passport etc so even though around 2 hours it was rather smooth and a lot more stress free than other encounters I've had (driving license etc). By the way...the bike is a year old and 3000ks. They still wanted to check. Cost tfer 250 baht all finished 2 hours and green book in my name. Will try PRB next time.

By the way, in future if I was to buy a bike or car privately, I was under the assumption the seller fills out his part of the form, gives me the green book and I hand over the cash. Then I sort it with the transport dept. I see someone else here said the buyer and the seller go together?

What's the normal procedure?

You must not be in Pattaya. In Pattaya you DO NOT have to get the bike inspected given the conditions I stated in my post. I guess you just have to chalk it up to Thailand does not do anything standard within the same government department. I'm willing to bet they DID NOT need to inspect it per the laws on Thailand books, but I'm sure they would like to have more money and so they put you through an unneeded inspection.

Since you do not want to use a P.R.B. office to assist you then I will not repeat myself.

When we did visit, we got a really nice feeling. The town just had a very pleasant feel to it. I wouldn't mind living there.

In fairness if you've got bars on your windows for security purposes or not,thieves who are desperate enough will come tooled up to enter no matter what your security measure are.

Window bars aren't that difficult to remove if you know how.

But in all likelihood thieves will only mess with homes using security bars if they know something worth their while is inside otherwise they are going to go for the unsecured homes...wouldn't you?

They have said this guy was staying in Bangkok for some time, so where was he staying. So there has not been a single hotel or guesthouse employee that has come forward to say he was staying here. Or maybe a landlord saying he rented a place from me. If they cannot track this guy to where he lived then they will never find him.

Mostly "YES".

There are a few areas where they are comparable to a first world country, but very few areas. Maybe medical when it comes to some hospitals and some doctors. I am thoroughly satisfied with the Dental care I get here. Some of the major road are good to drive on in many areas. You can find almost anything here that you can find in a first world country in the bigger cities, Bangkok especially. The list for "YES" that they are still a third world country is much, much bigger.

Another ill-conceived policy.

Why not pay artisans to carve wonderful pieces of art from this ivory. Sell it and use the proceeds to fund police patrols to continue finding and stopping poachers. Pay the artisans a fair wage and sell the ivory at a fair price and at least it can do some good. What a stupid waste ivory.

It this is standard and recommended practice by the international community then I strongly disagree with the international community on this issue.

= We know nothing!

Would someone please explain how a bullet-proof vest can be used as a weapon.

This country is so quick to arrest people on pathetic and illogical charges. You won't find these kinds of laws in any free country in the world, but when it comes to real criminals...well, as an old commercial in the US said, "Where's the beef". Has anyone been brought to trial, much less convicted, with regard to all the recent trafficking arrests? What about the bombing at the mall in Koh Samui? The railroaded Koh Tao dual...well it's just easier to shoot fish in a barrel rather than do actual work.

You just have to shake you head and wish this JOURNALIST well.

Kids will always find a way to drink, as the headline states and governments will never learn that they cannot control who drinks what, when or where.

Two days minimum to see the sites in this city. Do not forget to see Erawan National Park 60 kilometers outside town, now voted #1 National Park in Thailand or number #1 most visited or something #1.

Assuming the bike is in your name on the green book and the bike is under 5 years of age, then NO, it is not necessary. Kilometers on the odometer is of no consequence. It is only the age of the bike that is important.

Go to any local P.R.B. (Paw Raw Baw) office and they will handle this for you for a small commission. Do not bother driving all the way to the Land Office and taking care of this (wherever your Land Office is). P.R.B. offices are everywhere. Their sole purpose is doing this kind of stuff and renewing yearly registrations. I recently changed the name on one bike and our car and our P.R.B. lady handled everything, including taking rubbings of the serial numbers and then taking it all to the Land Office herself. Neither vehicle needed to be inspected. The P.R.B. places do this all the time. The commissions are well worth the price since they go to all the hassle of standing in line for you and dealing with the people at the Land Office. Neither my bike or car had to be inspected. They are only inspected after reaching a certain age; 5 years for bikes. Our car has not reached it's age limit yet at 4 years old so maybe cars have a 5 year limit also.

I have changed names on 3 vehicles so I speak from experience.

What you will have to do is get a "Resident Certificate" or I have heard having a "Work Permit" or almost certainly a "Yellow House" book to prove or show your place of residence. They will also need a copy of your passport. I do not have a work permit or house book so I always have to get a "Residence Certificate" from immigration. You need this anytime you buy, sell or change names on either a bike or car.

Something the city officials do not understand (which is seen in other developing countries) is the word: MAINTENANCE. There can be the best of the best used for constructing a park, beach promenade, public sidewalk, or public playground but within a couple years there are signs of these city projects not being taken care of. True, the public needs to be educated about not littering---which is a whole different topic in this society.

Currently Jomtien Beach is being up-dated and we all know the walk-way will be crumbling away before it is completed. - Look at Pattaya Bay promenade or even worse, the ten year old crumbling neglected walk-way along Wongamat Beach from north of Dusit Thani to Siam Penthouse Apts. (Only the private hotel & condo complexes have taken the initiative to maintain their frontage.) The so called engineers/designers did not think of the high tides coming in so parts of it had been torn apart by the waves along with sand covering the neglected herring bone brick walkway. The lights worked for...6 months and that was it. Labor is cheap in this country and what a great way to employ people and pay them 300 baht a day to help maintain these walk-ways. Pattaya is known to collect great amounts in its taxes--it can afford it.

This has always been a huge sore spot with me. The City does indeed know absolutely nothing about regular, on-going maintenance. It is a real shame, because you can see many of the works they have constructed were very nice when they were finished and for maybe a few months afterwards, but they so quickly fall to pieces.

And I have always thought the same thing. Labor is so cheap, that it just really would not cost much for a decent sized crew to go around town maintaining all of these beautiful areas. I've always said a dedicated crew should be hired just to keep Pattaya beach clean and picked up every day of the week. It would be an incredibly wise use of tourist dollars, but the city officials are too blind to this simple and easy way to keep the city beautiful for the tourist they want to attract.

Maybe it is because there are no kick-backs in just hiring crews to maintain city projects.

"...that he was homeless and trying to rob passengers on the train to feed himself..."

Don't you just love defense attorney's.

Wrong move. The move should be to institute metal detection and carry-on bag checks like in airports. It is going to happen eventually with more and more terrorists finding ways to kill large groups of people.

To the two young men: R.I.P

I believe this is the same road where a family of 3 in a BMW lost their lives when the BMW tried to overtake a slow-moving car and ran head-on into a large truck.

I do have to wonder if the on-coming motorbike that was hit had a working headlight. I can't believe how many motorbikes ride around at night without working headlights on dark roads.

I'm am always looking for on-coming idiots who think they have the right to pass irregardless of me being in my lane. I am always being forced over to the far left by these entitled idiots, which include large buses.

"...Thailand must not give up its bid for a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council (2017-2018)..."

Fat chance of that ever happening any time soon.

"...because they have shortage of some the modern equipment like police in foreign countries to find the prime suspect captured on security camera..."

Plenty of other countries that do have this equipment have offered to help, but "no", Thailand is too proud to accept assistance.

This is all moot. If there is a real and fair referendum then the DRAFT will not pass and the NCPO will stay in power a lot longer than they promised.

How can people not think this has all been by design. Despite what they say the current people in power have absolutely no desire to see real Democracy come to this country.

Firstly, the photofit of the suspect could be Thai.

Secondly, the only reason that the pier bomb didn't cause casualties is because it bounced off a railing.

If the suspect wanted to get rid of it, why did it get armed and triggered? It was meant to kill.

Watch the video. It did not bounce off anything. The bomber kicked or pushed it in the canal on purpose. It was not a mistake.

For me, there is no question that was the bomb and the person who put it there.

At first I thought, seeing where he first stopped, that isn't where the bomb went off, but then he moved further down to the exact spot where the bomb did go off. He is the only one lingering on the bridge and he is obviously talking to someone about what he is doing and he looks nervous. I sure hope they can find this guy. It just feels connected to the Erawan bomb.

The strange thing is he/they intended for the bomb to go in the water. They had to know it would cause little to no damage. They don't seem to be stupid, so what was the point? Diversion? Misdirection?

And as someone else asked, what was the time he dropped it off the bridge compared to when the Erawan bomb went off.