Report on sentence for Thai taxi driver who killed American with a machete

[Bang Bang]

Troy was a jerk. The driver was a loose cannon. They met. Troy died. Somchai got 10 in the slammer. And God's looking down and thinking I sent my only Son down to die for these clowns, shit.

[katana]

A lot of the crime stories in the Thai language press have very poor follow-up once sentence is passed down.
Often the final news report is that they were found guilty and a certain sentence passed down, and then right at the bottom of the article it's printed they applied for bail, which was granted. Thereafter it goes quiet.
Additionally, sentences are sometimes reduced after serving a certain amount of time due to pardons etc.

[LomSak27]

11 hours ago, Bang Bang said:

Troy was a jerk. The driver was a loose cannon. They met. Troy died. Somchai got 10 in the slammer. And God's looking down and thinking I sent my only Son down to die for these clowns, shit.

You have no clue what actually happend, all you have is the statement from the killer. Charlie Manson said that Sharon Tate was a loose canon. Are you gullible enough to believe him too ??  

[BritManToo]

6 hours ago, katana said:

A lot of the crime stories in the Thai language press have very poor follow-up once sentence is passed down.
Often the final news report is that they were found guilty and a certain sentence passed down, and then right at the bottom of the article it's printed they applied for bail, which was granted. Thereafter it goes quiet.
Additionally, sentences are sometimes reduced after serving a certain amount of time due to pardons etc.

My step-daughters dad got 25 years (car full of yaba tablets), he's done 20 and another 5 to go, no time off so far.

[BritManToo]

22 hours ago, kkerry said:

Getting in any dispute over two dollars in Thailand just isn't worth it imo. Do the smart thing, walk away, get on with your day.

Is there a line for you?

$2, walk away ....... how about $10, $50, $100, $1,000, $10,000 will you still walk away?

 

Just wondering where you draw the 'walk away' line.

[Pique Dard]

a very sad story! but killing somebody for 51 baht?

anyway, thank you daeng1212 for the updating!     

[ShortTimed]

 
15% of all Thai adults have a license to carry a gun, open carry is illegal, concealed carry is allowed with a permit, carrying a concealed weapon with a permit and then using it in self defense is not aggravated murder.
 

Very good post.


I am not familiar with the original events except for what little I read here and much of that is conflicting.

A sisters testimony that the brother did not drink coffee at night is simply heresay.

It was mentioned there is CCTV of the deceased chasing the taxi driver. If that is true then the deceased failure to retreat means he shares atleast some responsibility for the future events.

I have now read of a few instances where farang make a big tadoo about amounts of a couple dollars. I don’t understand that thought process myself.

[ShortTimed]

Is there a line for you?
$2, walk away ....... how about $10, $50, $100, $1,000, $10,000 will you still walk away?
 
Just wondering where you draw the 'walk away' line.

I would consider factors such as on my home turf or in a foreign land with a different culture.

I would consider if it was night time and did I know the surroundings in case I needed to escape.

I would think about whether there were others nearby who would lend assistance.

I would factor in whether the other guy “may” have a weapon hidden.

But none of these things really matter because I long ago made the decision to never carry more than I could safely afford to lose. At night that is about $100.

Howabout you?

[ShortTimed]

Long way around and 51 baht fare seem to contradict each other.

How long could it have been for 51 baht?


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[daeng1212]

4 hours ago, Pique Dard said:

a very sad story! but killing somebody for 51 baht?

anyway, thank you daeng1212 for the updating!     

You're welcome.

[kkerry]

5 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Is there a line for you?

$2, walk away ....... how about $10, $50, $100, $1,000, $10,000 will you still walk away?

 

Just wondering where you draw the 'walk away' line.

All comes down to what you are prepared to risk your life for, knowing how things can and do play out in Thailand. I consider my life worth more than two dollars, that's for sure.

[katana]

9 hours ago, BritManToo said:

My step-daughters dad got 25 years (car full of yaba tablets), he's done 20 and another 5 to go, no time off so far.

Obviously no connections and not high-so enough.

PS Nice family you married into ????

Edited March 23, 2019 by katana

[bowerboy]

No doubt this was a tragic story and I remember it well as he lived in the same part of Bangna as me and I remember thinking at the time that the fare was about right.

 

I think 10 years is about right with all things considered.

 

I remember the CCTV footage and to be honest the American pretty much threw himself into the machete (I can understand his thinking ie: aggression is the best form of defence).

 

IF the taxi drivers account is true then then it seems more like manslaughter to me and 10 years seems right or even excessive. You probably wouldn’t get that in UK after good behaviors etc.

[grifbel]

On 3/21/2019 at 2:16 PM, Kieran00001 said:

Do you know the whole story?  He refused to pay his 51 baht taxi fare which he claimed was the result of a rigged meter and then he threw a cup of coffee over the driver, the driver then got out the taxi in a rage and struck him with a sword.

You believe the word of a convicted murderer???  You do not seem too intelligent!

[grifbel]

12 hours ago, bowerboy said:

No doubt this was a tragic story and I remember it well as he lived in the same part of Bangna as me and I remember thinking at the time that the fare was about right.

 

I think 10 years is about right with all things considered.

 

I remember the CCTV footage and to be honest the American pretty much threw himself into the machete (I can understand his thinking ie: aggression is the best form of defence).

 

IF the taxi drivers account is true then then it seems more like manslaughter to me and 10 years seems right or even excessive. You probably wouldn’t get that in UK after good behaviors etc.

You are a dunce.  He was being attacked by a machete, and was trying to defend himself.  Unfortunately, not easy to defend against.  If you move a bit forward or a bit backwards in a straight line, you will likely get hit, similar to boxing.  Best defense is avoidance, run away, close the gap completely so the weapon cant be used, or use an advanced martial arts technique, like kotegaeshi.

[ShortTimed]

You are a dunce.  He was being attacked by a machete, and was trying to defend himself.  Unfortunately, not easy to defend against.  If you move a bit forward or a bit backwards in a straight line, you will likely get hit, similar to boxing.  Best defense is avoidance, run away, close the gap completely so the weapon cant be used, or use an advanced martial arts technique, like kotegaeshi.

You may be right or you may be wrong but the fact is you lost the argument in the very first sentence when you resorted to name-calling.

I have not seen the video. Can you send a link?

From what you describe, I think there is only one possible martial art move that could have stopped the machete attack and it has not been used successfully since Southern California 1984.

The Crane Kick.

[daeng1212]

trying to copy the quote above but delete the video link, or delete this post and try again, but this webboard apparently doesn't allow that.

Edited April 4, 2019 by daeng1212

[daeng1212]

On 3/24/2019 at 11:07 AM, ShortTimed said:

 

You may be right or you may be wrong but the fact is you lost the argument in the very first sentence when you resorted to name-calling.

I have not seen the video. Can you send a link?

From what you describe, I think there is only one possible martial art move that could have stopped the machete attack and it has not been used successfully since Southern California 1984.

The Crane Kick.

 

 

 

 

I see that grifbel didn't give you a link to the video, so here it is if you want to watch it -

 

[johnnykak]

saw the video and the news clip. empty coffee cup thrown at the car not hot coffee in the face. well the driver starts it all off with a lie so i tend not to believe him. as for the video of the fight it isnt clear what is happening. the american does go after the guy it seems but its such a short clip he might of been defending himself. cabbie then ditches his shirt and then throws the machette into a canal. might of just been scared but thats not really the actions of an innocent man. could of gone strait to the police station too but didn't do that-just ditched the evidence. 10 years-huh, i guess thats justice. I'm sure id feel different if it was my son or brother.

[grifbel]

On 3/24/2019 at 11:07 AM, ShortTimed said:

I have not seen the video. Can you send a link?

I am not your research assistant so you can dig it out yourself, unless google is too hard for you.

2 hours ago, daeng1212 said:

You may be right or you may be wrong but the fact is you lost the argument in the very first sentence when you resorted to name-calling.

There is no argument to be lost here.  It is a case of, res ipsa loquitur, the facts speak for themselves.  Saying the victim attacked a machete is like saying a gun shot victim attacked a bullet.  The perp was also packing the weapon in his car, which shows premeditation.

 

As for that stupid karate crane move from a movie, it would never work because.

-it's a set piece choreographed scene from a movie

-the streets are not a hollywood set

-even technically throwing a straight line kick at a machete would likely result in getting your leg severed.

 

Note the video supplied in the post before mine has only a few seconds of actual footage, and the rest is unverified animation based on unsubstantiated claims, mostly made by the perp.

 

RIP to the victim of this heinous crime.

 

 

[tlandtday]

On 3/21/2019 at 2:19 PM, daeng1212 said:

The claim that Troy threw a cup of coffee on the taxi driver was just the claim of the taxi driver, and disputed by those who knew  Troy.  Since Troy was dead, he couldn't tell what really happened.  His sister was reported in the Bangkok Post article as saying that he didn't drink coffee at night.  I wouldn't put much faith in what the taxi driver said.  Who knows what really happened? Maybe the taxi driver demanded 500 baht for the trip and that set off the argument.

I fine it hard to imagine that it was over just 50 baht.  I think a more likely scenario was that the initial fee may have been 50 baht but this was challenged and met with violence and anger. 

[FarangDoingHisThing69]

Just goes to show you should always just say Mai and walk away from insane Thai. 100 baht, 10000 baht, this is not worth your life.

 

I’ll also mention in the thousands of rides I’ve taken, I’ve never had anything representing hostility. Maybe because I’m personable and know not to start fights or continue such instances. I am a guest here, the same way I act in other nations. This does not justify any actions.

 

But, preservation in the LOS is both a numbers game and an act of ensuring that you can save face for others. The insane screaming over a certain simple instance proved this much to me, despite being the smiley happy farang. I for one consider myself lucky if the taxi or moto doesn’t have a mechanical issue while using. I set my goals low.

 

Be careful out there and know your life is forfeit if a Thai decides so.

 

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[MiNombreEsFicticious]

On 3/23/2019 at 8:07 AM, ShortTimed said:

I have now read of a few instances where farang make a big tadoo about amounts of a couple dollars. I don’t understand that thought process myself.

 

Thais don't kill over losing a couple dollars, they kill to avenge a loss of face.