"Thailand is safe" - police tell tourists after cop guns down Frenchman in cold blood

[Fex Bluse]

2 hours ago, UncleTouchyFingers said:

 

This is not true. If youre in the USA and avoid dodgy spots you will be exponentially safer by just about every available metric over Thailand. 

Exactly. 

 

What makes many farang feel safer in Thailand is that they don't understand anything going on around them.

 

They can't understand what Thais are saying around them. 

 

They can't read Thai expressions of emotion because they are almost all hidden beneath smiles. 

 

And, Thais (like most Asians) make extraordinary efforts to hide their true intentions and feelings. 

 

If the Thais were, for instance, just a bit darker, larger, English speaking and less coy, most farang would be terrified of Thais. 

Edited December 15, 2018 by Fex Bluse

[hotchilli]

On 12/14/2018 at 9:10 AM, webfact said:

He added in a direct message to tourists: "You can have confidence in the Thai police. I want to tell all tourists - Thailand is safe.

Unless you venture outside of your residence then it's a complete lottery !!

[kcpattaya]

Thailand is as safe (or safer) as ANY other country as long as you stay out of trouble.
Most cases escalate when you start them.

[bushwacker]

Hmm ... looking at the video, I saw the cop and 2 other Thais fighting the Frenchman.  Now I read that a motorcycle driver took the gun happy cop to the doughnut shop.  By  Thai math this might mean only 1 Thai was involved with the fight and death, but foreigner math would suggest 4 Thais were involved to different levels.  

Must be a culture thing as in my country the 2 Thais that jumped in, would be pulling the fighters apart.  Here they gain up for a fun blood letting.  SAFE ... I think NOT.

[talahtnut]

41 minutes ago, bushwacker said:

Hmm ... looking at the video, I saw the cop and 2 other Thais fighting the Frenchman.  Now I read that a motorcycle driver took the gun happy cop to the doughnut shop.  By  Thai math this might mean only 1 Thai was involved with the fight and death, but foreigner math would suggest 4 Thais were involved to different levels.  

Must be a culture thing as in my country the 2 Thais that jumped in, would be pulling the fighters apart.  Here they gain up for a fun blood letting.  SAFE ... I think NOT.

I was involved in a traffic altercation with a

angry Thai, I  apologized and wai'd, which resulted

in a big Thai smile. Its really not worth arguing

with a Thai, its his country, which means, he's

probably right.

[HalfLight]

On 12/14/2018 at 11:38 AM, SammyT said:

I'd question why you're still here if you think it's so unsafe?

 

Then you'd be better off taking care of your own business and leaving me to mine.

[BritManToo]

4 hours ago, Fex Bluse said:

If the Thais were, for instance, just a bit darker, larger, English speaking and less coy, most farang would be terrified of Thais. 

 

If foreigners realised how many Thais carry loaded guns in their belly bags, they'd be too scared to walk down the road.

[TSF]

9 hours ago, talahtnut said:

I was involved in a traffic altercation with a

angry Thai, I  apologized and wai'd, which resulted

in a big Thai smile. Its really not worth arguing

with a Thai, its his country, which means, he's

probably right.

You apologized and wai'd, which is admitting to being in the wrong. If you were in the wrong then yes, you did the right thing. However, if you were in the right, then you backed down out of fear of being assaulted by a savage, which is a deplorable situation and just proves how unsafe Thailand is that you accepted guilt to avoid being attacked.

[BritManToo]

13 minutes ago, TSF said:

you accepted guilt to avoid being attacked.

Sounds like a good move to me.

Most men over 60 have the sense to avoid street (and bar) fights.

[Kadilo]

20 minutes ago, TSF said:

You apologized and wai'd, which is admitting to being in the wrong. If you were in the wrong then yes, you did the right thing. However, if you were in the right, then you backed down out of fear of being assaulted by a savage, which is a deplorable situation and just proves how unsafe Thailand is that you accepted guilt to avoid being attacked.

It’s not admitting anything, I’m assuming he has used  a piece of common sense to diffuse a situation that isnt worth prolonging. 

 

[talahtnut]

13 minutes ago, TSF said:

You apologized and wai'd, which is admitting to being in the wrong. If you were in the wrong then yes, you did the right thing. However, if you were in the right, then you backed down out of fear of being assaulted by a savage, which is a deplorable situation and just proves how unsafe Thailand is that you accepted guilt to avoid being attacked.

The UK is the same, the righteouse may be stabbed,

shot, clubbed or punched in any 'road rage' incident.

Is your pride really worth the bother?

 

[Kadilo]

Some self righteous foreigners over here just  want to argue about anything. They think they are still down the local back home. 

 

I walked into a bar/cafe this morning and an English guy was ranting with a Thai waitress. Everyone was head turning, you couldn’t not. An Aussie guy attempted to diffuse it and was growled at. When the <deleted> left I asked what it was about and the Aussie said his egg was too soft. 

 

A ridiculous situation which could easily have escalated the way he was speaking with the Thai lady all because he was being a dick and behaving like he would at home. 

Some people just can’t adjust. They are the ones with most to fear. 

Edited December 15, 2018 by Kadilo

[Jiggo]

On ‎12‎/‎14‎/‎2018 at 9:30 AM, SammyT said:

4. Balconies

5. Bar Girls

[Jiggo]

On ‎12‎/‎14‎/‎2018 at 10:00 AM, happy chappie said:

A more comprehensive list..

1 roads

2 the sea or pools

3 balconies 

4 thais

5 disease 

6 pesticides-herbicides in most food

7 asbestos in building

8 electricity

9 police

10 caves,jungle,elephants,snakes,spider and anything else with legs and teeth

11 dodgy expats

12 dodgy tourists

From stepping off the plane you have entered a very dangerous country and if you make it back home without an incident you should consider yourself very lucky.

13 Bar Girls

[shootsLeft]

Police are NOT your friends, especially in Thailand. They will only help u if it benefits them, most likely financially. This shooting by a presumably off-duty cop is "just another day" in "safe" thailand.

[talahtnut]

20 minutes ago, shootsLeft said:

Police are NOT your friends, especially in Thailand. They will only help u if it benefits them, most likely financially. This shooting by a presumably off-duty cop is "just another day" in "safe" thailand.

In the US you are more likely to be shot by the

police than shot by a terrorist.

The police are not there to make friends, but

a policeman did help me shove my poor old

vehicle off the Sukumvit highway.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[fouryesrs]

9 hours ago, Fex Bluse said:

How about me? My opinion of Thais at the upper end of the socioeconomic spectrum is worse than my opinion of average Thais. 

 

I've been in Thailand 30+ years and have worked with and lived among elite Thais. Our company, for example, employs, almost exclusively, Thais with MBAs from top global universities. 

 

However, I find these Thais with money to be among the worst in many ways. 

 

For you guys who think you have Thai friends from this class, most are old men being fooled by insincere Thai smiles. The Thais are sticking around because they are getting something material from the relationship. If a farang would suddenly be out of work or out of money, not a single one of these Thai "friends" would help. 

 

Thais are not and will never be friends of Farang. They are trained from birth for this. 

maybe ...unless you speak and read fluent thai u have no way to understand how people really feel and think ..u will only know what u are told unable to learn for yourselve by listen to what is not meant for your ears.....here most things done differently cause people think and feel very different about  life and death...coming on with a western expat view of the world mostly backed with plenty of cash will fix u up with a certain type of "friends"...also I think the concept if friends is a very odd one...there are only a changing set of associates who change from time to time from place to place and depending on environment and interest...

[Rimmer]

Troll post removed

[josephbloggs]

On 12/14/2018 at 5:13 PM, fruitman said:

While swimming in thai pools i've cut myself twice...once on broken tiles under water...another time the pool stairs broke when i stepped on it and it cut my foot deeply.

Call in the press!!  Inform the embassies to issue warnings!!  This man cut his toe in a swimming pool!  People need to know the truth about Thailand.

[josephbloggs]

On 12/14/2018 at 5:39 PM, KevinboyCM said:

....and it's your fault if you get in an accident even if hit from behind by a drunk thai driver.

Good to see this old nonsense trotted out again.  Utter nonsense.  So, how many times have you been rear ended by a drunk Thai driver and been blamed for it?

 

It's happened to me twice.  Once at high speed and it totalled my car (I was stationary waiting to do a right turn across a major road, he piled into the back of me at great speed).  The driver blamed me, said I didn't have any lights on, I wasn't indicating to turn, etc etc.  Police interviewed us both, very quickly came down on my side and the Thai was prosecuted.

 

The second time I have been in an accident here had the same result - the police apportioned blame where it should have been (and it wasn't with me).  So please stop spewing nonsense like that because people believe you and then perpetuate the myth.  As you said so aptly yourself, "Saying it doesn't make it so", so don't be a hypocrite.

 

Quote

I had a friend who used to take a walk down a private street right next to his apt building for years then one day some homeowner came after him , after he left the complex with a long bamboo pole and hit him twice with it. He yelled for someone to call the cops and when the cop came he took him to the police dept. The desk cop there told him he could go home if he promised not to walk down the street anymore. He had a concussion and asked to go to the hospital and stated he wanted to make a complaint and had to wait one hour for the tourist police to come. They told him he could make a complaint against the guy who nearly killed him but he would go to jail for 5 years for trespassing.  Safe?  Not if you are a farong.  

 

So he was trespassing for several years until the guy came to the end of his tether.  Obviously wasn't right to attack him but did the police not say he can lay a complaint?  Obviously the other guy would lay a counter complaint of trespassing so it would end up in both sides being penalised for their offences.  Or you could just drop it all and everyone goes home.

 

So why did your friend not prosecute?

Edited December 16, 2018 by josephbloggs

[TSF]

22 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Sounds like a good move to me.

Most men over 60 have the sense to avoid street (and bar) fights.

Agreed, I'm become a master of backing down after spending several decades living in LOS. Way too old for street brawls now. 

[TSF]

I stopped recommending Thailand to friends & family some years ago. I'm currently in Australia and people I mix with are always asking me for holiday suggestions, I recommend Siem Reap, I recommend Vietnam, some weeks ago I was in Malacca and I recommend that. I honestly can't recommend Thailand to anyone other than horny single males and homosexuals.

[sanemax]

22 hours ago, shootsLeft said:

Police are NOT your friends, especially in Thailand. They will only help u if it benefits them, most likely financially. This shooting by a presumably off-duty cop is "just another day" in "safe" thailand.

This is just a dispute between two men , one happens the be a policeman and the other happened to be a felang , the fact that ones a policeman and ones a felang is irrelevant , its just two people who had a disagreement 

[sirocco]

Quite, the Thai could have been a coconut seller,
  and no one would be thrown at him deliriously.
It turns out, too, that the policeman fired at the taxi driver,
drug trafficker, in self-defense, the latter having darkened him.

[meechai]

On 12/14/2018 at 9:10 AM, webfact said:

An RTP spokesman has attempted to reassure tourists that Thailand is safe

If you don't count the 60 or so killed every day on the roads alone....

 

Then again, many like Thailand because what makes it unsafe also makes it safer for

them to slip through the cracks

 

Edited December 16, 2018 by meechai

[mauGR1]

7 minutes ago, meechai said:

On 12/14/2018 at 9:10 AM, webfact said:

An RTP spokesman has attempted to reassure tourists that Thailand is safe

If you don't count the 60 or so killed every day on the roads....

 

Then again, many like Thailand because what makes it unsafe also makes it safer for

them to slip through too the cracks

Agree on the principle, although i would phrase it differently.

Let's say that a more tolerant and less controlling society makes life a bit cheaper, but funnier.

I have mixed feelings about that, but i feel lucky to have the chance to experience different worlds.

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, sanemax said:

one happens the be a policeman and the other happened to be a felang

I believe it was a Thai and a 'Kairk'.

No white people were involved.

Edited December 16, 2018 by BritManToo

[natway09]

As long as you stay off the roads,,,,,,, maybe ?

[brewsterbudgen]

So he was trespassing for several years until the guy came to the end of his tether.  Obviously wasn't right to attack him but did the police not say he can lay a complaint?  Obviously the other guy would lay a counter complaint of trespassing so it would end up in both sides being penalised for their offences.  Or you could just drop it all and everyone goes home.
 
So why did your friend not prosecute?

And good to see the myth refuted.

Sent from my SM-A500F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[joecoolfrog]

On 12/14/2018 at 6:52 PM, ChiangMaiLightning2143 said:

Forget about the specifics of the incident.

Can you find an all night illegal bar full of prostitution in your country? If you could what kind of people would you likely find there? Would you engage in physical combat with such people or watch yourself? (And do people who drink until 7AM start at 6:30AM?, no way, they on a tail-end of a long session).

 

Thailand is much safer than America, (or France) if you don’t look for trouble in dodgy spots on the other hand do the most wholesome thing imaginable, like attend a Christmas Market, in France you get killed

 

Or a night market in Yala , or visiting a shrine in Bangkok , selective memory you have !

Edited December 16, 2018 by joecoolfrog