Stranded Danish Family Free To Leave Thailand

[dogleg]

"Thing is for Europeans coming here, they see everybody doing it, so "it must be ok". It's part of the babysitter culture of Western Europe. You can think what you like about that, but if Thailand wants to keep getting western tourists to come here they need to provide minimal protection for them."

Too True. The minimum protection should be an outright ban on Jetskis!

Unregulated road vehicles are, sadly, part of Thai life and economy, but who gains from Jetskis? Certainly not the average beach user or the Thai tax man.

Bring back Pedalos!

Disgruntled Diver.

[ollyrosee]

like letting 15year old on the road in a car or bike with no training or licence. utter stupidty to hire them out in the 1st place.

[wintermute]

like letting 15year old on the road in a car or bike with no training or licence. utter stupidty to hire them out in the 1st place.

This is a country where i've seen 3 12 year olds on the same motorcycle racing their buddies on another in a narrow soi. I think talking about "safety" and "insurance" and "responsibility" is a joke here.

[November Rain]

This story has been a damm outrage from the start! Just for starters there has been no evidence submited that it was even the Danish kids fault, It might very well of been equal fault by both parties involved. Granted the loss of life is horrible but I see it about every day in Thailand. I will not be forgeting the poor old Danish lady I met whos husband was ran over by a Policeman driving a truck to fast who was never even tested for drink driving. This guy was trying to go out for dinner and knocked into a coma for a week then air evacuated out, who knows if he died or what after he was gone but I can tell you this, she was presented the bill and paid before her exit.

Yea its a damm outrage because people die here everyday and nothing happens, and for damm sure no money changes hands. Im aware of many deaths here Thai on Thai and I have never heard of one situation where anyone with money was forced to pay more than 40,000 TB over any death. What are the standards concerning these matters? Who is deciding how much a life is worth? Who has to play by rules and who gets to make them up as they go?

The biggest problem of all for Thailand is the impression that this boy was held hostage untill a ransom was paid. This will be played out over and over by the Nordic Media and is not the kind of thing thats reversable. I dont see it stopping Danish backpackers from coming but some of the VIP types with kids who actually watch the news and check places out before they go to them on holiday may very well decide not to come because of this single incident.

If this keeps Danes or any other nationality from letting their 15 yearolds on Jetskis then great!!

You seem to be mad that some Thais don't get treated the same as this Danish family, yes if true that is too bad but that doesn't mean this family should not have to pay some compensation.

compensation for deaths and injuries is common here and in other asian countries.

the insurance might have considered jet skiing a "dangerous sport" and probably had an exclusion clause.

in an advanced society , the local authorities would look at this accident have some kind of enquiry and impose some restrictions on jet ski operators , an age limit on users , ( this kid was 15 and probably had never used one before) and mark out special areas for jet skiing or for jet ski free swimming , thereby making things safer for the tourists.

have such measures been implemented in cha am ?

why is all this about money, it was an accident its about a young boy being killed by a jetski. Its a sad story but nobody is to blame. No money should be paid. Jet ski companies should have more control about where they allow customers to go...its the fault of beach zoning

Why is this about money? Because the Chinese family has lost money. The chinese man who was killed no doubt was an income earner and had many years left to earn money to provide for his family, now that is gone. They are greatly affected the Danish family is not. So it is quite reasonable IF their 15 year old son was the cause they have to pay. 1.7 million baht is quite reasonable. The kid is 3 years from being a legal man, so he is not a young boy. Is the jet ski company at fault also? Yes, but the parents clearly let their kid ride the jet ski.

As usual you miss the entire point, Mahuts die from elephants but is anyone suggesting Thais stop riding elepahants? Jet skis are dangerous but they are not going away and people will always continue to use them. Your idea that this crazy and outrageous treatment of one family will stop others from riding jet skis reveals much. Maybe you can write the Thai goverment and ask that motorcycles, trucks, and buses be banned and outlawed since they are the cause of so many deaths here?

Or maybe more focus could be put on using them as they were intended, safely and within reasonable limitations. How about making jet ski rentals teach classes and have insurance to cover such things. A better start would be to actually force all tourist boats to provide life jackets instead of taking pictures of them on one boat and then moving the life jackets to another boat to take more pictures to pass inspections. Also banning fake motorcycle helmets could help save many lives.

Good suggestions for regulating jetski touts. Unlikely to happen, but nevertheless, good suggestions. However, I think you are missing part of the point as well. Yes, the jetski tout rented a jetski to an underage kid. Yes, he was wrong & should have some form of punishment. But why are you so adamant that the boy & his family have been badly treated? The boy wanted to ride on a jetski, his family let him. Why should they now assume no responsibility for this accident? If the jetski tout was wrong to rent the jetski to the boy, then surely, by extension, the boy & his family were wrong too.

And what is so "crazy & outrageous" about their treatment? The boy's passport was withheld to prevent him leaving the country until a court case involving him was settled. That's normal practice in many countries, even Western countries don't want you fleeing the country while you're involved in a trial. I really don't get what's crazy

[Cyberstar]

I don't think Thailand has to worry much about loosing tourists from Denmark because of this case. Quite many Danes (including this one) consider the boy's parents as the ones to blame because letting their underaged kid out on jetski's (who says the boy rented them by the way? - The parents would be the ones with the cash).

As for tourists in generel. All those who wouldn't want to go out on jetski anyway, would consider them as nothing but noise making pests. Those that do want to go out on jetski would think: That would never happen to me... So sorry for the doomsday announcers, this case wont speed Thailand's way to doomsday.

[KK-Mike]

Kind of...

Depends on what the coroner's (or equivalent) verdict was - a verdict of accidental death would involve no culpability on the Danish kiddy's part. Even if recklessness was a consideration leading to a manslaughter judgment, the kiddy is still a minor...

But then again, you live by the rules of the country you holiday in - them's the breaks...

Denotes a fundamental misunderstanding of law. A ruling of accidental death simply means no criminal culpability. People are held culpable for accidents every day in most every country. The amount 1.7 million baht is a substantial award in Thailand, and therefore reasonable under the circumstances.

Aha! Methinks I smell a yank! Wrong use of the word 'denotes'; gets 'most' confused with 'nearly'; and holds an unshakeable belief that the US legal system is correct in comparison to the rest of the world, rather than vice-versa Don't you people sue companies for not putting 'Warning: Hot Coffee' signs on cups of coffee and 'Warning: May Contain Nuts' on packets of nuts?

You are mistaken. Accidents are the subject of damage awards in most nations. Are you foolish enough to argue that because someone injured somebody else by accident (here the negligent conduct of operating a jet ski where people are also swimming), there can be no responsibility because it was accidental. Accident and fault (culpability) are not mutually exclusive. For example, when a doctor injures a patient during the course of a procedure it would be accidental (unless you would also argue that a doctor would injure his patient intentionally). Notwithstanding the doctor will generally be held liable for the injuries caused by his negligent conduct. If the patient dies as a result of the doctors error, a coroner's inquest may, as you argue, find that the death was accidental (the result of negligence). The doctor would still face damages for the injury caused. Similarly, auto v. pedestrian accidents happen all the time with the driver of he vehicle being found culpable for the pedestrian's injuries. If you want to argue the point, your original statement should have referenced a finding that the swimmer (as opposed to the jet ski driver) had been found at fault by a coroner's verdict. At least, you would have an argument for lack of culpability on the part of the driver under that circumstance (it would be similar to a child running into traffic in a manner in which the driver could not avoid the accident and thus was not responsible for its aftermath).

As for the term "denotes" the usage was correct. Denote(s) means "to signify directly or literally" and describes the relation between the word and the thing it conventionally names. Here it applies to your claim that the "coroner's verdict" would result in "no culpability."

BTW my rebuke of your comments has nothing to do with the US legal system. The result is the same in most first world countries (and many second and third world countries, as well). Indeed, very few countries offer an "it was accidental" escape liability card.

when a proffesional makes a mistake while in the process of exicuting his her proffession whether intentional or not and injiury or death occures they will always be responsible, they are proffessionally trained to execute said profession competantly, there is a certain expectation.........there are exceptions obviously where the recipient is aware of certain risks and a disclaimer is signed, if a dentist pulls a tooth and you die afterwards well I don't think you'd have expected that, if a patient dies during open heart surgery and was informed of the risks beforehand well that speaks for itself, but if the doctor sneezed during the proceedure and cut a main artery causeing death then that is neglegent

When two individuals decide to engage in a dangerous recreation sport which neither are proffessional then it is deemed they have both decided to accept the risks, the grey area here is deciding whether said individuals after an accident occurs where acting beyond what would be determined as acceptable, in this case either party could have been acting carelessly or both, outcome to be determined by evidence from witnesses etc, it is wrong to say the 15 year old was at fault just because he survived, we don't know all the details but it could have been the chinese guy made an error and caused the collision, in that senario why should there be compensation payed, if you drive a car down a street and another driver looses control and collides with your car then dies..............should you be responsible for damages ?

I don't think so..........sorry if I have missrepresented your post

"should you be responsible for damages? " The answer is no if you are Thai, but if you are a Farang the answer ia going to be YES everytime.

My wifes son 19 died 2 weeks ago when a pickup pulled out in front of him and he slamed into the pickup with his motor bike. The driver failed to show up this week for the hearing and the police don't seem to be too concerned. Said they will try to contact him?? I bet if it was a farang driving the pickup he would have been in jail until the hearing.

[Briggsy]

How much of the whopping 1.8 million Baht has found its way back to the judge and police presenters of evidence, do you think? How does this award compare with other accidents?

Since the initial investigation found the Danish boy had not been at fault, I bet the Danish family could have "bought" their son's passport back off the police for a whole lot less than 1.8 million. They probably thought it best to play it straight as one would in Denmark and let justice run its course.

[noBuzz]

Just out of curiosity.. are there any known cases where Farang families have been compensated for death of relatives in Thailand?

Best,

NoBuzz

[Mai Krap]

Kind of...

Depends on what the coroner's (or equivalent) verdict was - a verdict of accidental death would involve no culpability on the Danish kiddy's part. Even if recklessness was a consideration leading to a manslaughter judgment, the kiddy is still a minor...

But then again, you live by the rules of the country you holiday in - them's the breaks...

Denotes a fundamental misunderstanding of law. A ruling of accidental death simply means no criminal culpability. People are held culpable for accidents every day in most every country. The amount 1.7 million baht is a substantial award in Thailand, and therefore reasonable under the circumstances.

Aha! Methinks I smell a yank! Wrong use of the word 'denotes'; gets 'most' confused with 'nearly'; and holds an unshakeable belief that the US legal system is correct in comparison to the rest of the world, rather than vice-versa Don't you people sue companies for not putting 'Warning: Hot Coffee' signs on cups of coffee and 'Warning: May Contain Nuts' on packets of nuts?

You are mistaken. Accidents are the subject of damage awards in most nations. Are you foolish enough to argue that because someone injured somebody else by accident (here the negligent conduct of operating a jet ski where people are also swimming), there can be no responsibility because it was accidental. Accident and fault (culpability) are not mutually exclusive. For example, when a doctor injures a patient during the course of a procedure it would be accidental (unless you would also argue that a doctor would injure his patient intentionally). Notwithstanding the doctor will generally be held liable for the injuries caused by his negligent conduct. If the patient dies as a result of the doctors error, a coroner's inquest may, as you argue, find that the death was accidental (the result of negligence). The doctor would still face damages for the injury caused. Similarly, auto v. pedestrian accidents happen all the time with the driver of he vehicle being found culpable for the pedestrian's injuries. If you want to argue the point, your original statement should have referenced a finding that the swimmer (as opposed to the jet ski driver) had been found at fault by a coroner's verdict. At least, you would have an argument for lack of culpability on the part of the driver under that circumstance (it would be similar to a child running into traffic in a manner in which the driver could not avoid the accident and thus was not responsible for its aftermath).

As for the term "denotes" the usage was correct. Denote(s) means "to signify directly or literally" and describes the relation between the word and the thing it conventionally names. Here it applies to your claim that the "coroner's verdict" would result in "no culpability."

BTW my rebuke of your comments has nothing to do with the US legal system. The result is the same in most first world countries (and many second and third world countries, as well). Indeed, very few countries offer an "it was accidental" escape liability card.

when a proffesional makes a mistake while in the process of exicuting his her proffession whether intentional or not and injiury or death occures they will always be responsible, they are proffessionally trained to execute said profession competantly, there is a certain expectation.........there are exceptions obviously where the recipient is aware of certain risks and a disclaimer is signed, if a dentist pulls a tooth and you die afterwards well I don't think you'd have expected that, if a patient dies during open heart surgery and was informed of the risks beforehand well that speaks for itself, but if the doctor sneezed during the proceedure and cut a main artery causeing death then that is neglegent

When two individuals decide to engage in a dangerous recreation sport which neither are proffessional then it is deemed they have both decided to accept the risks, the grey area here is deciding whether said individuals after an accident occurs where acting beyond what would be determined as acceptable, in this case either party could have been acting carelessly or both, outcome to be determined by evidence from witnesses etc, it is wrong to say the 15 year old was at fault just because he survived, we don't know all the details but it could have been the chinese guy made an error and caused the collision, in that senario why should there be compensation payed, if you drive a car down a street and another driver looses control and collides with your car then dies..............should you be responsible for damages ?

I don't think so..........sorry if I have missrepresented your post

"should you be responsible for damages? " The answer is no if you are Thai, but if you are a Farang the answer ia going to be YES everytime.

My wifes son 19 died 2 weeks ago when a pickup pulled out in front of him and he slamed into the pickup with his motor bike. The driver failed to show up this week for the hearing and the police don't seem to be too concerned. Said they will try to contact him?? I bet if it was a farang driving the pickup he would have been in jail until the hearing.

Sorry to hear of your wifes sons death, your situation is one that happens everday here, a tragic and unfortunate loss of life. As far as I know there is no such thing as defensive driving in the Thai thinking when behind the wheel. Until recently there were so few cars on the roads it was pure statistics and chance that kept thing relativly safe. Now the roads are so full with more and more cars and trucks coming online for the first time that the odds are higher than ever that passsing blind or just forgeting to look before you pull out onto the highway will cause a high speed and deadly accident.

Again Im sorry for the loss of your wifes son, It sickens me to think of all the blood Ive seen on the road here including the death of a small child. It sickens me to realize there is no end in how many deaths I will see here from bad driving. It angers me to know that nothing and I mean not a damm thing is under works to truly make a difference in road safty in Thailand.

[Master of the court]

The biggest problem of all for Thailand is the impression that this boy was held hostage untill a ransom was paid. This will be played out over and over by the Nordic Media and is not the kind of thing thats reversable. I dont see it stopping Danish backpackers from coming but some of the VIP types with kids who actually watch the news and check places out before they go to them on holiday may very well decide not to come because of this single incident.

There goes the strategy to attract high-quality tourists.

The family has said "NEVER THAILAND AGAIN".........the worst experience was, they where not told anything.......and really poor english by the autorities.......they didnt start to get informations before the press started to write about it.....and later when the Danish embassey gave support.

Must have been a nightmare, for the hole family......

Surely they will loose many Danish tourist because of this.............and we are many Danes in Thailand.........everywhere I go , I can hear Danish spoken.

[sriracha john]

The biggest problem of all for Thailand is the impression that this boy was held hostage untill a ransom was paid. This will be played out over and over by the Nordic Media and is not the kind of thing thats reversable. I dont see it stopping Danish backpackers from coming but some of the VIP types with kids who actually watch the news and check places out before they go to them on holiday may very well decide not to come because of this single incident.

There goes the strategy to attract high-quality tourists.

The family has said "NEVER THAILAND AGAIN".........the worst experience was, they where not told anything.......and really poor english by the autorities.......they didnt start to get informations before the press started to write about it.....and later when the Danish embassey gave support.

Must have been a nightmare, for the hole family......

Surely they will loose many Danish tourist because of this.............and we are many Danes in Thailand.........everywhere I go , I can hear Danish spoken.

Indeed, the tourist arrival numbers from Denmark are significant:

Download : International Tourist Arrivals by Country of Residence

http://www2.tat.or.th/stat/web/static_download.php?Rpt=cre

[Etrigan]

For over ten years, I've observed jet ski and speed boat operators blatantly break the law at Koh Larn, Pattaya, Chonburi province. Infact, a speed boat propellor left scars on my mate's tank, lucky for him! When challenged, these boat/ski operators are unable to name their employers nor the registered vehicle owners, then they zoom off. There's no recourse.

So, why does this still happen. THAI MARINE POLICE - DO YOUR JOB!!!!!!!!!

'Nuff said!

[November Rain]

The biggest problem of all for Thailand is the impression that this boy was held hostage untill a ransom was paid. This will be played out over and over by the Nordic Media and is not the kind of thing thats reversable. I dont see it stopping Danish backpackers from coming but some of the VIP types with kids who actually watch the news and check places out before they go to them on holiday may very well decide not to come because of this single incident.

There goes the strategy to attract high-quality tourists.

The family has said "NEVER THAILAND AGAIN".........the worst experience was, they where not told anything.......and really poor english by the autorities.......they didnt start to get informations before the press started to write about it.....and later when the Danish embassey gave support.

Must have been a nightmare, for the hole family......

Somehow, however bad their experience, I still think the experience of the Chinese man & that of his family was far worse. Let's not forget, he will never go home to his life.

[ThomasHOL]

I’m from denmark and i find this whole blod money to be something from the dark ages and that no civilized country should have something like this. I know that USA has something similair but I find the whole legal system in the states insane so I will disregard this. I this accident was in Denmark and it was a Dane that was killed the foreigner would have to pay damages for property loss but not for the loss of the income for the dead person (witch over a lifetime is 60-100 million bath).

This thing has made me think because I might myself have rented a jetski but now I’m aware that the 60.000.000 bath personal injury clause in my insurance will not cover any sea vessels over 5 hp in power so now I will stay away from renting one of those.

[ColPyat]

I’m from denmark and i find this whole blod money to be something from the dark ages and that no civilized country should have something like this. I know that USA has something similair but I find the whole legal system in the states insane so I will disregard this. I this accident was in Denmark and it was a Dane that was killed the foreigner would have to pay damages for property loss but not for the loss of the income for the dead person (witch over a lifetime is 60-100 million bath).

This thing has made me think because I might myself have rented a jetski but now I’m aware that the 60.000.000 bath personal injury clause in my insurance will not cover any sea vessels over 5 hp in power so now I will stay away from renting one of those.

Hmm...yes, but in a country such as in Denmark there are proper orphans and widows payments by the government, and all other sorts of benefits that do neither exist here in Thailand, nor in China. If a relatives dies here, than this is apart from the emotional trauma for the relatives an existential finacial loss.

Well, Thailand is in this regard not yet "civilised", better would be 'developed', and maybe tourists coming here should think about that fact, and that things are not as they are in the far more developed societies. And should be very careful when engaging in potentially dangerous activities, what the consequences might be, and that they might not be the same as in their homecountries.

[somtaamgaiyang]

compensation for deaths and injuries is common here and in other asian countries.

the insurance might have considered jet skiing a "dangerous sport" and probably had an exclusion clause.

in an advanced society , the local authorities would look at this accident have some kind of enquiry and impose some restrictions on jet ski operators , an age limit on users , ( this kid was 15 and probably had never used one before) and mark out special areas for jet skiing or for jet ski free swimming , thereby making things safer for the tourists.

have such measures been implemented in cha am ?

What insurance? This shows that the Thai legal/business system is so foolish as to make one laugh?

Did the company have insurance when it rented the machine? Probably not. Did they check his age? No. Did they check if he was intoxicated? No. Did they tell him to sign a disclaimer? No.

The problem is the system. If both guys had signed a disclaimer, there would have been no problem. If both guys had been aware of the legal implications, they probably wouldn't have driven the ###### things.

Everyone is so desperate to make money that reality never bites until it is too late. It is the system that should mandate that the company must have accident insurance or there must be a disclaimer! It would be the company's responsibility to make sure people used the machine safely under supervision. Therefore, the insured party would have paid the bill and this would have been a tragic accident. Instead a 15 year old on holiday nearly ends up in jail.

Would they rent him a car? No. Would they rent him a gun? No. Can he smoke or vote even? No. Why should he be allowed to race on water at 40mph? Coz it can make someone else a living.

[brahmburgers]

Has anyone heard whether there was any objective investigation of the incident? Granted, Thai detective work is about as subjective and shoddy as they come. But we still don't know whether the kid was fully, or partially, or perhaps not at fault at all?!?

What became of the 17 teachers killed (and scores wounded?) when the bus from C.Rai to C.Mai overturned? When an airplane crashes, the airline pays approx $1 million per death to surviving families. In Thailand, when a bus crashes, the bus company maybe pays a few thousand baht for spartan funural arrangements. ....and miserly compensation for each day an injured passenger misses work.

With such a large payment for a loss of life (in the jetski tragedy), can we now expect a precedent, that each time a person (Thai or foreigner) is killed by accident in Thailand, the perceived perpetrator will be expected to pay a commensurate amount in compensation? Of course that's preposterous, as people (mostly Thais) die every day in Thailand from the screw-ups of others - and the compensation varies between nothing and a tiny amount.

[brahmburgers]

I sympathize with the Chinese family who lost their son - but I strongly feel they were gold-digging and certainly took advantage, with Thai authority's help.

I sympathize with the Danish family for being taken advantage of and treated like hostages - while Thai authorities did such an apparent poor job of A.objectively and professionally investigating the incident, and B. the Thai authority's bereft job of not communicating clearly and fairly with the Danes.

Shame on the Thai authorities for aiding the Chinese family in taking advantage of the Danish family's distress. Just compensation, ok ....robbery, no way.

[Johpa]

With such a large payment for a loss of life (in the jetski tragedy), can we now expect a precedent, that each time a person (Thai or foreigner) is killed by accident in Thailand, the perceived perpetrator will be expected to pay a commensurate amount in compensation? Of course that's preposterous, as people (mostly Thais) die every day in Thailand from the screw-ups of others - and the compensation varies between nothing and a tiny amount.

Generally speaking, in Thailand one is expected to pay funeral expenses when involved in an accident leading to a death or out-of-pocket hospital expenses for an injury. There is often no attempt to decide who was at fault, only that if one side escapes unscathed and the other side suffers than the unscathed side pays.

[sriracha john]

Of course that's preposterous, as people (mostly Thais) die every day in Thailand from the screw-ups of others - and the compensation varies between nothing and a tiny amount.

You can add one more to that total. Late this afternoon, while riding the motorbike in town and stopped at a red-light on a side street of Sukhumwit along side a motorcycle taxi. The light was almost getting ready to turn green but still red, and he took off across the intersection. The evitable happened. A Honda sedan on Sukhumwit ran their red-light (there is about a one or two second-long lag where both directions are red to try and make for a safer intersection during light changes). A combination of his leaving early and her crossing through late ended up with him being dragged under her car right in front of my very startled eyes. An obvious fatality with his head crushed.

R.I.P. my fellow Srirachan...

-----------------------------------------

and yes, in this situation, both were at fault...

Edited January 29, 2007 by sriracha john

[ColPyat]

With such a large payment for a loss of life (in the jetski tragedy), can we now expect a precedent, that each time a person (Thai or foreigner) is killed by accident in Thailand, the perceived perpetrator will be expected to pay a commensurate amount in compensation? Of course that's preposterous, as people (mostly Thais) die every day in Thailand from the screw-ups of others - and the compensation varies between nothing and a tiny amount.

Generally speaking, in Thailand one is expected to pay funeral expenses when involved in an accident leading to a death or out-of-pocket hospital expenses for an injury. There is often no attempt to decide who was at fault, only that if one side escapes unscathed and the other side suffers than the unscathed side pays.

What also often happens here is fiddling with insurance. When, for example one is not insured, though at fault, and the other insured, though innocent, and all sides agree, police and insurance agent do turn a blind eye to changing the situation in a way that the insurance will pay.

Which, maybe not so legal, is very humane.

[November Rain]

I sympathize with the Chinese family who lost their son - but I strongly feel they were gold-digging and certainly took advantage, with Thai authority's help.

I sympathize with the Danish family for being taken advantage of and treated like hostages - while Thai authorities did such an apparent poor job of A.objectively and professionally investigating the incident, and B. the Thai authority's bereft job of not communicating clearly and fairly with the Danes.

Shame on the Thai authorities for aiding the Chinese family in taking advantage of the Danish family's distress. Just compensation, ok ....robbery, no way.

Gold digging? My father & my son's father have both died in the last four years. No compensation was awarded to me, because no-one else was involved in their deaths, but even if I had got money, I would have given every penny of it up (& more!) to have my loved ones back. They were given compensation, which may help compensate for loss of his projected earnings. You are assuming the Chinese family have very cold hearts.

And "hostages"? The boy's passport was taken away while he was awaiting the outcome of the court case - the familiy's weren't. If he were in a Western country they would have taken his passport as well, so he didn't flee the country. I just don't get this mentality, I genuinely don't see what anyone did wrong, except for the jetski tout, the boy & his parents. They were the ones responsible for him being on the thing!

[Tony Clifton]

Nothing compared to the poor Chinese chap who lost his life but this happened this week at our shop.

Neighbour in front gets new pick-up truck delivered early morning, 2 hours later decides to pull out of his driveway for the first time, first time for the truck, first time for the owner. Manages to dart across the street over to our shop and ram into the corner wall, breakig flower pots glass and door. Hard enough so that he bent the frame, the box at the back no longer aligned with the front cab. Notice that the front wheels are still straight...

Scared the heck out of our employees sitting inside. Driver walks out ans says " Oh ooooooooh, my new truck. I never drove before" No licence. So he calls up his brother in law to pretend he was driving when Mr Insurance shows up.

Even scarier is the fact that the guy was going to drive on the roads and probably will soon.

Our doors won't close now and and need replacement. The insurance guy asked our employees what happened, learned about the brother in law, even checked with the factory where he works and learned that he was indeed at work when the accident happened. No police officer ever showed up.

Is the propane tank close enough?

Ah, the flowers on the hood, hooked on there to protect you from accidents, creating an invisible force field that will repell human bodies, vehicles and buildiings. Highly recommended when not holding a valid driver's licence.

Edited January 30, 2007 by Tony Clifton

[Aujuba]

All people in Thailand deserve to get fair compensation for the loss of a loved one. What do Thai people get when there's a bus accident? 50,000 baht or something like that? Some much is wrong with Thailand. So much is unfair to Thais and foreigners. That 15 year old kid shouldn't have been allowed on the jetski. The jetski company should be fined and should have insurance. This place is a mess. What should we expect from this place. Just keep the Thais who control this place and their offspring here. They shouldn't be allowed to leave to greener pastures as it really is their creation.