monkeycountry

Ahahahahahaha, this gets better and better. The guy can still legally drive a cab in 5 years. I bet he can even get a license for the new "lady taxis" :-)

I seriously love this country, my home country is so boring and so are the news there :-(

I think we should remember that this was a Phuket taxi driver. The news over the past several years have made it quite clear that these guys are pretty much untouchable mafia guys with very influential protection from phukets top politicians.

Anyone still in doubt reg. how much thailand cares what happens to non-thais in thailand? :-)

Afterall Thai logic dictates that had the girl not gotten into the taxi, this would never have happened, hence it was her own fault.

This is an excellent idea...but it will only be effective and make sense if the DRIVERS of all of these cabs are female as well.

You guys do not know the fear felt by many Thai women taking taxis alone at night...and they're afraid of the drivers.

When is the last time a woman was killed by a samurai waving taxi driver? Yes, I DO understand the fear of women in taxis, but it's not all that much safer for men.

What an utterly ridiculous, facile comparison. You know NOTHING of what Thai women face in Thai society.

You think your fear of "being killed by a samurai taxi driver" comes anywhere close to what Thai women feel getting into a taxi alone at night?

Did you grow up in a society that treats you slightly better than dog feces? Was your first experience of sex(ual violence) being diddled by your uncle or brother or cousin, or raped by a group of boys in the village? This is what it's like for MANY working-class and rural Thai women, who make up a very large percentage of the female population of Bangkok. And since taxis are actually affordable to the working class (not on a daily basis, but once in a while) in Thailand, unlike in the West (at least in the US), women actually take them from time to time.

You are most likely middle class, and live in a country (most countries in the West) where middle class women have more power than you (if you want a taste of this, just wander over to the Thai Visa "Ladies in Thailand" forum and voice an opinion or two, and watch how fast you get jumped on, suspended, or banned). Farang middle class women know NOTHING of oppression or fear from men, and neither do you.

Learn Thai fluently and talk to a few hundred Thai women, get close to them, learn their personal experiences, and you'll think twice about making such a ridiculous statement.

I just love when the infamous ajaans school the rest of us mortals :-)

Seems to be mostly men on here saying it's not a good idea. Many Thai women won't travel in taxis on their own, especially at night, because of the perceived danger. If they can call a women-only taxi, then they will fell safer, and that is a good thing. I don't think many men on here realize that it can be quite dangerous for women to travel alone in taxis late at night in some parts of Bangkok.

Finally a sensible answer.

I'd feel at lot happier knowing my gf was taking one of these cabs home after an evening business meeting than any flagged down on the street.

Ahh, love evening business meetings. I bow to whoever came up with that idea :-)

This is an excellent idea...but it will only be effective and make sense if the DRIVERS of all of these cabs are female as well.

You guys do not know the fear felt by many Thai women taking taxis alone at night...and they're afraid of the drivers.

you could also screen reliable male taxi driver....

You could, and here is the screening process.

Screener: "I see in your papers you have a record of rape?"

Taxi driver: "Yes, but I also have 500 baht for you!"

Screener: "Approved, but be gentle with the ladies :-)"

"In the ruling, the prime minister was advised to have her ministers take extra precaution in terms of accuracy in order to safeguard her government's credibility."

This would actually explain why the government has now chosen to keep everything secret, such as the rice scam etc. If you never tell anyone anything, then at least you cannot be caught lying!

It would be great for this country if they could think of another way to "protest" other than the usual intimidation and violence.

EDIT: grammar

Or the shorter version:

"It would be great for this country if they could think."

Reg. the video. Looks to me like 10 guys attacked the australian, but unlike most ppl who just get beaten or killed, he had the means to defend himself. What a criminal.

More importantly, seems to be quite standard that 10 ganster types stand at the entrance of each hotel intimidating the guests. What a lovely Island :-D

Trespass, imprisonment, extortion, threatening assault.

They gonna get a fine?

What makes you think they are gonna get a fine? I am quite sure they won't

Hopefully the US navy and the cruise ships follows the news, so they can avoid Phuket this year!

A day or two ago some Australian "taxi driver" was promtly arrested, and I am guessing he is not yet out on bail. How come when it comes to Thai nationals the harshest approach is almost always to issue invites for them to report to police - if and when they feel like it? (yes I know the answer to my own sily question)
Btw, the charges involved here would be intimidation, threats and extortion in any other country - not illegally operating a taxi, which is obviously a much less serious charge.

From the headline piece:

".....However, the private organizations will be given the authority to thoroughly examine all the terms of reference (ToRs) and procurement contracts. ...."

So is this some new approach. Seems to me that the public should already, automatically, at all times, as a matter of good governance, as a matter of the right to know, in details, how taxpayers funds are being spent, should have access to the full details of mooted spending, actual spending etc.

And the gov't of the day should as a matter of course be required at all times to promptly show to all, and explain to all, the intent to spend, the TORs, the actual contracts, the actual spending, and the gov't of the day should be required by overriding laws to instantly explain in detail where funds have been spent, the names on cheques, etc., etc. No matter how you try to wrap it up, the government are accountable fully to the people.

"....private (meaning public) will be given the authority to thoroughly examine....." The arrogance is bigger then the lack of values and that's saying something.

The US and EU have strict rules regarding public spending, tendering procedures, award methodology and contract placement. Yet, corruption and fraud are frequently discovered in both. No matter how hard you make it, crooks will find a way. The difference is that in the US and EU people who are caught doing this are severely punished. Here, where its rife and seems the rule rather than the exception, the punishment depends on who you are and your connections not what you've done.

Just window dressing - how long before the PM/DM announces her initiative to eradicate corruption has been successful and everyone can sleep easily?

Probably more importantly, in most of those countries the press is completely free, and in many of them the public (including the press) has the right by law to check any and all government documents, incl. contracts, accounts, budgets etc. So when they find wrongdoing they print it on the front page and those doing wrong will lose their jobs whether they are politicians or CEOs, simply because a reputation of being corrupt is unacceptable to both political parties and large companies.

Guess all the nice trees will be cut then

By "Zoo" - are they referring to those places across Thailand where you can look at various animals in cages that are about the same size as the animal itself?

RIP Shilpi Agarwal my condolences to the family.

Again: Thai operators + water craft + no insurance + no training + no safety awareness = death and no consequences.

Or the shorter and more general one:

Thai operators + whatever = death and no consequences

I think the driver will eventually blame it on faulty brakes!

Anyway, there is some good news too. The driver did not run away, perhaps because so far there is only one guy in history who could run on water

Karma is a biatch

Vote PTP and you get to live under water

Vote for the Democrats and be happy, save from all harm and been taken care of at all times!

Reality is a bitch, too!

I agree, the dems most likely would not have done much about the flood problems either, but at least with the dems in power, we would not have had to pay 350 billion for "nothing"

In short, it is better to have a government that does absolutely nothing, than a government that does nothing but steal public funds!

So you cannot pick up a friend or client from a hotel ?

My thought too... even if you went to pick up a friend or relative at the airport these taxi people could be over asking 'what are you doing'.... who appointed them as people in authority, giving them the right to interrogate anybody in a vehicle?

Sorry if it seems a bit exaggerated on my part, but it seems we are near to this scenario.

Near this scenario??? We are way past it. Try giving the wrong answer to them and see which hospital you end up at!

Even if the client was from the time share company,

there is no 'plausible reason' any person farang or Thai from the

time share company can not drive someone around.

If he is NOT taking money for picking someone up, then he is not a taxi service.

Are only Thais allowed to drive people around now?

If someone has misinterpreted the law that way... then they are both mighty dumb and greedy.

It has been like that for years. The taxi mafia interprets the law that way, and everyone else (except the Australian in the OP) interpret it that way too in the interest of self-preservation!

So you cannot pick up a friend or client from a hotel ?

The taxi mafia and the bib has not allowed this for years! You are however allowed to transport yourself and immediate family (wife/kids) in your own vehicle, assuming you do not park anywhere.

Of course the police is not interested in asking why the female Taxi driver felt she was entitled to patrol the streets on behalf of the police? I think we all know what would have happened to the Australian had he not been armed.

Can ladyboys use them, too?

When do you change from crossdresser to ladyboy? Would I qualify if I put on a wig? Or perhaps some makeup and high heels? If operations are required, then which operation(s) are required? Or hormones - do I need to eat a certain amount? If a ladyboy qualifies for a lady taxi, would a tomboy then be disqualified for a lady taxi?

I am sure you are right about all those other places IrishIvan, but I am equally sure those places have sites like TV or maybe even newspapers reporting on these events, just like here. I think many of us have an admittedly very distant dream, that the more these "isolated insidents" are reported, especially abroad, the more the Thai authorities will eventually do to stop it. If not, then at least the reporting will give some future tourists a chance to hear about the "isolated insidents" prior to arriving on Phuket, thereby giving them a chance to avoid becoming victims.