6 hours ago, smedly said:

 

 

carnage on the roads and this pile of nonsense is somehow more important

It would be a pile of nonsense, except that the mid-so losers of "face" have turned a simple minded soul into a money -laundering fraudster and international criminal, facing bankruptcy and years in jail.........for nothing but their own hubris.

 

2 hours ago, terminatorchiangmai said:

What the ..... is wrong with this country and the people ?

 

Loads.

But just relate it,   to how children act in the playground at school

this may shed some light on your question. 

 

Ps,  My dad is bigger than your dad. 

7 minutes ago, Grusa said:

It would be a pile of nonsense, except that the mid-so losers of "face" have turned a simple minded soul into a money -laundering fraudster and international criminal, facing bankruptcy and years in jail.........for nothing but their own hubris.

 

Stuff carnage on the road, the facts are well known and need no more elaborating. This case epitomises the worst of Thai society and deserves every bit of publicity it can get. Makes me hate the hi-so, mid-so Thai ranks who don't give a shit about anyone other than themselves. 

9 hours ago, Briggsy said:

He is an ordinary person who finds himself in conflict with a mayor of a sub-district. A mayor of a sub-district may not sound a big deal but it is several notches of social status above and a net worth of perhaps 100 times that of an ordinary Thai. 

  

Under Thai culture, the police and courts will always give far greater weight to the concerns and complaints of the side with the higher social rank and wealth. In fact it is enshrined under a system called sakdina.

  

From your comments you are approaching this from a Western or British perspective, looking at the facts and the law and using judgement and ethics. You need to put all that to one side here. It is the side with the higher social status, connections and wealth that will be listened to. 

I still fail to see what the crime is. Never mind the outcome at any future court hearing, which part of what happened is the illegal bit ?

 

 

Edited November 28, 20187 yr by ukrules

4 hours ago, connda said:

The guy needs to crowdfund money for a defense team.  I'd chip in.  The charges against this man are an absolute travesty of justice and utter nonsense.

I would also chip in to a defence fund.

 

Maybe it could be crowdfunded over the internet ????

Edited November 28, 20187 yr by ukrules

5 minutes ago, ukrules said:

I still fail to see what the crime is.

You are still thinking like a Westerner. i.e. thinking analytically and weighing probabilities.

 

The "crime" is whatever the mayor and his lawyer says it is. This is because the police, prosecutor and courts will go along with it at the right price. This is because the mayor has far higher status, far better connections and far greater wealth.

 

In order to understand what has gone on, you need to set aside your Western connotations of what a justice system is and how it operates. If you cannot do that, you will remain perplexed.

On 11/28/2018 at 2:54 PM, Briggsy said:

You are still thinking like a Westerner. i.e. thinking analytically and weighing probabilities.

 

The "crime" is whatever the mayor and his lawyer says it is. This is because the police, prosecutor and courts will go along with it at the right price. This is because the mayor has far higher status, far better connections and far greater wealth.

 

In order to understand what has gone on, you need to set aside your Western connotations of what a justice system is and how it operates. If you cannot do that, you will remain perplexed.

And if you can do it, you will be ****** angry!!

The farmer got the money, the donations were utilized as per intent&purpose, Smiling buffalo got his freedom....while criminal RedBull runs free. Law run amuck. 

The poor farm guy is charged with a computer crime and money laundering. Poor guy probably has no idea what a computer is.!!!!!

12 hours ago, webfact said:

Farmer who bought smiling buffalo charged with fraud, money laundering

By Asaree Thaitrakulpanich, Staff Reporter

 

Tongkum and Surat Phaeoket. Photo: Smiling Buffalo, A Little Thing Called Happiness. “Surat Phaeoket & Tongkum / Facebook

 

BANGKOK — A farmer who crowdfunded the purchase of a buffalo he had bonded with was charged Tuesday afternoon with fraud, money laundering and violating the Computer Crime Act.

 

After surrendering the buffalo to the police this morning, Surat Phaeoket was charged with serious crimes punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a 200,000 baht fine, one day after the official he bought the animal from accused him of defrauding donors with misleading statements.

 

Full Story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/crime-crime/2018/11/27/farmer-who-bought-smiling-buffalo-charged-with-fraud-money-laundering/

 

-- © Copyright Khaosod English 2018-11-28

That buffalo looks happy enough so leave well enough alone!

5 hours ago, steve73 said:

100,000 for a buffalo...?  Most I ever paid was 10,000...

Bet yours wasn't a looker. 

5 hours ago, connda said:

The guy needs to crowdfund money for a defense team.  I'd chip in.  The charges against this man are an absolute travesty of justice and utter nonsense.

In the west he'd be collared for wasting police time, though I'm not sure the concept would be understood out here. 

1 hour ago, Briggsy said:

You are still thinking like a Westerner. i.e. thinking analytically and weighing probabilities.

 

The "crime" is whatever the mayor and his lawyer says it is. This is because the police, prosecutor and courts will go along with it at the right price. This is because the mayor has far higher status, far better connections and far greater wealth.

 

In order to understand what has gone on, you need to set aside your Western connotations of what a justice system is and how it operates. If you cannot do that, you will remain perplexed.

Nonsense, This is the simple and universal difference between right and wrong. 

This country has issues ............. 

Who to believe, the owner/mayor who showed up with a famed lawyer or the farmer who handed over B100,000?

I think someone saw the funds raised and got greedy.

On 11/28/2018 at 10:04 AM, steve73 said:

100,000 for a buffalo...?  Most I ever paid was 10,000...

 

20 hours ago, ukrules said:

I still fail to see what the crime is. Never mind the outcome at any future court hearing, which part of what happened is the illegal bit ?

 

 

 

20 hours ago, Briggsy said:

You are still thinking like a Westerner. i.e. thinking analytically and weighing probabilities.

 

The "crime" is whatever the mayor and his lawyer says it is. This is because the police, prosecutor and courts will go along with it at the right price. This is because the mayor has far higher status, far better connections and far greater wealth.

 

In order to understand what has gone on, you need to set aside your Western connotations of what a justice system is and how it operates. If you cannot do that, you will remain perplexed.

 

 

 

Maybe, Briggsy can explain why it has got to the point where the mayor feels he needs to bring in a lawyer and to allege that a ‘crime’ has been committed.

 

As far as I can see, the mayor feels that he has ‘lost face’ in some way. But I am not sure why he feels that he has been publicly himiliated.

 

Possibilities:

 

1. He sold the buffalo to a social inferior. The mayor, perhaps, had never heard of crowdfunding. He named a price, but, in his opinion, he did not think Surat had two pennies to rub together. He may even have been having a good laugh over a few beers with his friends and family about this ‘dirt poor’ farmer wanting to buy HIS buffalo. 

 

When Surat raised the money, and so quickly, the mayor’s judgment of Surat was shown to be p**s poor, and that’s how he lost face. 

 

2. The mayor did not know that Surat and the buffalo were going to be an internet sensation. He realises, with the benefit of hindsight, that he should have asked for a lot more than 100,000. 

 

3. Maybe, however, the mayor is a whizz, or thinks he is, with the internet and knows all about crowdfunding. He knew that Surat and the buffalo, would melt people’s hearts and that he could ask a lot more than the 10,000 baht that steve73 (quoted by me in the first quote above) would normally pay.

 

He asked for 100,000 but was totally surprised by the speed with which Surat raised the cash.

 

The mayor now realises that maybe 200,000, or, with all these silly online animal lovers, who have more money than sense, maybe even 500,000 would have been closer to the buffalo’s true worth, as an internet sensation and celebrity.

 

By asking for ‘only’ 100,000, the mayor has lost face in front of his friends and family for having such poor business judgement.

 

4. Maybe, he feels unhappy, because he never made the buffalo smile like that. So he has lost face in front of friends and family, because his buffalo is obviously happier living with a low caste farmer.  And now the whole world knows this. Oh, the shame he must feel.

 

Maybe it’s a combination of all these possibilities.

 

The only way that the mayor can defend himself is by saying that Surat ‘tricked’ people into helping him raise the cash.

 

 

Edited November 29, 20187 yr by silver sea

On ‎11‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 10:04 AM, steve73 said:

100,000 for a buffalo...?  Most I ever paid was 10,000...

Hummm...

Seems my self-mockery comment was misunderstood.

Perhaps I should have added  - when asked by TGF "teelak, family buffalo has just died, can you buy me another?"

 

Although a few years ago I did buy a few young heifers - priced from 5k to 15k, and sold a year or so later for 25-30k (or 50k+ with calf) after they'd proved their motherly capabilities....  Bloody hard work though...   

21 hours ago, Grusa said:

It would be a pile of nonsense, except that the mid-so losers of "face" have turned a simple minded soul into a money -laundering fraudster and international criminal, facing bankruptcy and years in jail.........for nothing but their own hubris.

 

And no reason whatsoever.  Unless they signed a contract to sell, they could simply have said "never mind, changed my mind, keeping the buffalo" when he showed up with money in hand, right?  But no, they had to resort to all this BS.

*sigh* why are these people so obsessed with money? They make every little thing about money... Why not leave a man and his favorite buffalo be? 

A troll post containing a rap music video has been removed. 

 

He is an ordinary person who finds himself in conflict with a mayor of a sub-district. A mayor of a sub-district may not sound a big deal but it is several notches of social status above and a net worth of perhaps 100 times that of an ordinary Thai.

 

Under Thai culture, the police and courts will always give far greater weight to the concerns and complaints of the side with the higher social rank and wealth. In fact it is enshrined under a system called sakdina.

 

From your comments you are approaching this from a Western or British perspective, looking at the facts and the law and using judgement and ethics. You need to put all that to one side here. It is the side with the higher social status, connections and wealth that will be listened to.

Sad But True.