Bad Police Experiences

[ColPyat]

So what's so attractive to becoming a provincial police chief? Tens of millions of baht to buy yourself a job? How much do they earn once they become one, or is it just for the status and power?

How do you think police generals on salaries less than 100 000 Baht a month can afford multi million dollar estates and other assets the average person can only dream about in the name of their wifes and minor wifes?

[andook]

So what's so attractive to becoming a provincial police chief? Tens of millions of baht to buy yourself a job? How much do they earn once they become one, or is it just for the status and power?

How do you think police generals on salaries less than 100 000 Baht a month can afford multi million dollar estates and other assets the average person can only dream about in the name of their wifes and minor wifes?

True, and remember Chalerm and his horrendous brood, too?

Its obviously worth the initial outlay...

[ColPyat]

What I read here is not beaten over the head repeatedly, who will allow to get beaten more than once. What I understand here is that he got teased. The usual way of self defense is: inform the restaurant that you want them to get rid of the bugger, if that does not help, to leave.

Sorry, but that may be "teasing" in a western middle class context, in a Thai context though this is a deadly provocation and one of the worst insults imaginable. Touching the head of a stranger already assures a fight, but whipping a stick over somebody's head repeatedly is more than serious.

If you think that walking away from something like this is a solution, than you may be very wrong, and might expose yourself to even worse as soon as you turn your back. This is Thailand, and you have to judge such actions within Thai context, otherwise you might underestimate a situation badly.

The best lesson learned out of this is to stay away completely where drunk Thai men are around, whom you don't know very well, and when you are alone. There are many Thais who do carry a huge chip on their shoulder regarding farang, and that often comes out when drunk.

When you are already faced by such a situation, don't think that just walking away is a solution, as it it might be in a western middle class context. This here in Thailand can make it far more dangerous.

[JacknDanny]

What I read here is not beaten over the head repeatedly, who will allow to get beaten more than once. What I understand here is that he got teased. The usual way of self defense is: inform the restaurant that you want them to get rid of the bugger, if that does not help, to leave.

Sorry, but that may be "teasing" in a western middle class context, in a Thai context though this is a deadly provocation and one of the worst insults imaginable. Touching the head of a stranger already assures a fight, but whipping a stick over somebody's head repeatedly is more than serious.

If you think that walking away from something like this is a solution, than you may be very wrong, and might expose yourself to even worse as soon as you turn your back. This is Thailand, and you have to judge such actions within Thai context, otherwise you might underestimate a situation badly.

The best lesson learned out of this is to stay away completely where drunk Thai men are around, whom you don't know very well, and when you are alone. There are many Thais who do carry a huge chip on their shoulder regarding farang, and that often comes out when drunk.

When you are already faced by such a situation, don't think that just walking away is a solution, as it it might be in a western middle class context. This here in Thailand can make it far more dangerous.

You really do talk a load of twaddle!!!!

The OP is NOT Thai, therefore your 4 line diatribe at the top of the post is senseless.

You trying to say that staying there and standing your ground is safer than walking away and that walking away is MORE dangerous

Keep reading the comics

[TAWP]

Jackndanny>> So you are saying that thai people turn off their moral and ethic values if they see a farang and do things that are tabu in their culture...just for fun, against a farang?

Remind me to never go out to a pub with you...

[JacknDanny]

Jackndanny>> So you are saying that thai people turn off their moral and ethic values if they see a farang and do things that are tabu in their culture...just for fun, against a farang?

Remind me to never go out to a pub with you...

What are you guys on??

This was an isolated incident involving a drunk Thai man.

Why get involved?

Just walk away.

Now if you are one of these guys whose testoterone is flowing whenever someone gives you a look, then I dont want to go to the pub with you

[ColPyat]

You really do talk a load of twaddle!!!!

The OP is NOT Thai, therefore your 4 line diatribe at the top of the post is senseless.

You trying to say that staying there and standing your ground is safer than walking away and that walking away is MORE dangerous

Keep reading the comics

The OP may not be Thai, but the incident happened in Thailand, and the offending part was Thai. So, basically, if that is not a too difficult concept for you, the intent of the action and therefore the situation, and the numerous possibilities of the escalation, has to judged along Thai standards and not western standards.

In simple terms, so you can understand it - the drunk cop was going for a fight, no matter what. Walking away would have solved nothing.

[jumnien]

Running away, perhaps?

[jdinasia]

You really do talk a load of twaddle!!!!

The OP is NOT Thai, therefore your 4 line diatribe at the top of the post is senseless.

You trying to say that staying there and standing your ground is safer than walking away and that walking away is MORE dangerous

Keep reading the comics

The OP may not be Thai, but the incident happened in Thailand, and the offending part was Thai. So, basically, if that is not a too difficult concept for you, the intent of the action and therefore the situation, and the numerous possibilities of the escalation, has to judged along Thai standards and not western standards.

In simple terms, so you can understand it - the drunk cop was going for a fight, no matter what. Walking away would have solved nothing.

Not according to the post 24 where the OP says he had been drinking and overreacted

[JacknDanny]

You really do talk a load of twaddle!!!!

The OP is NOT Thai, therefore your 4 line diatribe at the top of the post is senseless.

You trying to say that staying there and standing your ground is safer than walking away and that walking away is MORE dangerous

Keep reading the comics

The OP may not be Thai, but the incident happened in Thailand, and the offending part was Thai. So, basically, if that is not a too difficult concept for you, the intent of the action and therefore the situation, and the numerous possibilities of the escalation, has to judged along Thai standards and not western standards.

In simple terms, so you can understand it - the drunk cop was going for a fight, no matter what. Walking away would have solved nothing.

You are now expert in predicting what was going to happen without being there.

Maybe the drunken cop was looking for a reaction?

He got one the OP rightly or wrongly reacted and ended up getting battered.

Had he walked away or gone and sat in a different seat the first time he was TAPPED on the head, then I strongly suggest the assault would not have taken place. But there again neither of us were there so who knows. The safest option is to walk away. I have lived over here for over 7 years, never been assaulted or even close to it. Why because I never allow myself to get into situations. Maybe its my 6th sense, but there is nothing shameful about walking away from a potentially dangerous situation.

[ColPyat]

Running away, perhaps?

Perhaps. But then forget about face, which is very important when living in Thailand. Lack of face is an open invitation for anybody to abuse you.

Anyhow, i know of the potential for rapid escalation into horrendous violence in any conflict here, and try to stay away from any drunk male i do not know well here. That is the lesson which should be drawn of the OP's nightmarish story - things can go bad within a split second, and if not very aware of your surroundings, it can happen to anybody.

One should not fall into the trap of becoming jaded.

[davidjtayler]

You really do talk a load of twaddle!!!!

The OP is NOT Thai, therefore your 4 line diatribe at the top of the post is senseless.

You trying to say that staying there and standing your ground is safer than walking away and that walking away is MORE dangerous

Keep reading the comics

The OP may not be Thai, but the incident happened in Thailand, and the offending part was Thai. So, basically, if that is not a too difficult concept for you, the intent of the action and therefore the situation, and the numerous possibilities of the escalation, has to judged along Thai standards and not western standards.

In simple terms, so you can understand it - the drunk cop was going for a fight, no matter what. Walking away would have solved nothing.

You are now expert in predicting what was going to happen without being there.

Maybe the drunken cop was looking for a reaction?

He got one the OP rightly or wrongly reacted and ended up getting battered.

Had he walked away or gone and sat in a different seat the first time he was TAPPED on the head, then I strongly suggest the assault would not have taken place. But there again neither of us were there so who knows. The safest option is to walk away. I have lived over here for over 7 years, never been assaulted or even close to it. Why because I never allow myself to get into situations. Maybe its my 6th sense, but there is nothing shameful about walking away from a potentially dangerous situation.

I agree with you 100% JackDanny ... Never had a prob here in 8 years whether around drunk farangs or Thais.

If things look like they are hotting up just walk away ...simple and safe !

As I said in an earlier post there are far more drunk idiots where I come from in the UK on any given night and I still found it not too hard to avoid potential situations by .. yes you guessed it, 'just walking away'.

It is very unlikely that you will get clobbered if you walk away from a 'situation' but if this is a big concern then you can always try the Donz tactic of backing away slowly and keeping a beady eye on the potential perpertrator until out of the danger zone.

Edited March 19, 2007 by davidjtayler

[ColPyat]

You are now expert in predicting what was going to happen without being there.

Maybe the drunken cop was looking for a reaction?

He got one the OP rightly or wrongly reacted and ended up getting battered.

Had he walked away or gone and sat in a different seat the first time he was TAPPED on the head, then I strongly suggest the assault would not have taken place. But there again neither of us were there so who knows. The safest option is to walk away. I have lived over here for over 7 years, never been assaulted or even close to it. Why because I never allow myself to get into situations. Maybe its my 6th sense, but there is nothing shameful about walking away from a potentially dangerous situation.

In almost two decades here i had several situations where things were hairy, to say the least. During one, in Cambodia, a very similar country, in a slightly similar situation, i have made the mistake to walk away from a group of not very polite drunk cops, who then caught up with me in a secluded spot and started beating on me. Fortunately they were too drunk to do any damage, and i only blocked their punches.

My mistake was that i stood up and walked out on them. And trust me - i was shit scared.

There are a lot of shoulds and should nots i should maybe have observed, but hindsight...

You learn as you go along. Just because of a few years in this part of the world nothing having happened does not mean anything at all. Better be aware that things do not always happen to others, things can happen to you as well. One tiny mistake, a few to many Jack Daniels, and things can happen.

It is childish to assume that you are beyond mistakes, and blessed with a cloak of invulnerability.

Edited March 19, 2007 by ColPyat

[ColPyat]

It is very unlikely that you will get clobbered if you walk away from a 'situation' but if this is a big concern then you can always try the Donz tactic of backing away slowly and keeping a beady eye on the potential perpertrator until out of the danger zone.

Well, tell that to the British couple who got killed by a cop in Kanchanaburi.

[jumnien]

Perhaps the fading martial art of Chung <deleted> would have been appropriate here. In the practice of this defensive posture the master recommends channeling the spirit of Bruce Lee, ignoring one's attacker, and absurdly brutally destroying a nearby inanimate object. I honestly feel that that had our friend, at the point of being teased with a twig, ignored this inebriated law enforcement officer, and had instead verbally abused and savagely beaten the crap out of his steamed fish dinner, he could have beaten a hasty retreat amidst the ensuing confusion.

The question remains however, technically, is the steamed fish an inanimate object?

[Couthy]

Tsk, tsk.

Now, all the "We are in Thailand brigade and must live by their rules".

Fact : Thais do not start hitting each other over the head.

Do that and an early arrival in the next life is likely.

Any Thai starts smacking me around the head in public is going to get the standard, in public lecture (verbally) about his or her manners.

Cop, drunk, or not drunk cop, simply unacceptable behaviour.

[JacknDanny]

You are now expert in predicting what was going to happen without being there.

Maybe the drunken cop was looking for a reaction?

He got one the OP rightly or wrongly reacted and ended up getting battered.

Had he walked away or gone and sat in a different seat the first time he was TAPPED on the head, then I strongly suggest the assault would not have taken place. But there again neither of us were there so who knows. The safest option is to walk away. I have lived over here for over 7 years, never been assaulted or even close to it. Why because I never allow myself to get into situations. Maybe its my 6th sense, but there is nothing shameful about walking away from a potentially dangerous situation.

In almost two decades here i had several situations where things were hairy, to say the least. During one, in Cambodia, a very similar country, in a slightly similar situation, i have made the mistake to walk away from a group of not very polite drunk cops, who then caught up with me in a secluded spot and started beating on me. Fortunately they were too drunk to do any damage, and i only blocked their punches.

My mistake was that i stood up and walked out on them. And trust me - i was shit scared.

There are a lot of shoulds and should nots i should maybe have observed, but hindsight...

You learn as you go along. Just because of a few years in this part of the world nothing having happened does not mean anything at all. Better be aware that things do not always to others, things can happen to you as well. One tiny mistake, a few to many Jack Daniels, and things can happen.

It is childish to assume that you are beyond mistakes, and blessed with a cloak of invulnerability.

I do not know what you are like in person ColPyat, but if you are anything like the persona you portray on this board, then I understand why you have had 'several situations that were hairy'

I do not know who you are referring to as being childish, I for one am capable of making mistakes, however I find a good sense of homour and a good sense of timing, all but eliminates any trouble.

But if you walk around with a pompous attitude, then it will catch up with you one day

[ColPyat]

Tsk, tsk.

Now, all the "We are in Thailand brigade and must live by their rules".

Fact : Thais do not start hitting each other over the head.

Do that and an early arrival in the next life is likely.

Any Thai starts smacking me around the head in public is going to get the standard, in public lecture (verbally) about his or her manners.

Cop, drunk, or not drunk cop, simply unacceptable behaviour.

And given the absurdly high murder rates in Thailand, it appears that Thais do a lot what they are not supposed to do.

I doubt though that a drunk cop out for a fight would be very responsive to a lecture (verbal) on how Thais should behave themselves according the to views of a westerner.

[jdinasia]

It is very unlikely that you will get clobbered if you walk away from a 'situation' but if this is a big concern then you can always try the Donz tactic of backing away slowly and keeping a beady eye on the potential perpertrator until out of the danger zone.

Well, tell that to the British couple who got killed by a cop in Kanchanaburi.

or all the people in Tak Bai .... (but since neither event was like the one described in the OP ... and then in post 24 where the OP says he overreacted .... not a valid comparison

Let me add being beaten by police in Kampuchea to the list of amazing things I don't want to do

[davidjtayler]

It is very unlikely that you will get clobbered if you walk away from a 'situation' but if this is a big concern then you can always try the Donz tactic of backing away slowly and keeping a beady eye on the potential perpertrator until out of the danger zone.

Well, tell that to the British couple who got killed by a cop in Kanchanaburi.

What a crap analogy !

There will always be examples that go against the norm but you will find that nearly always if you walk away from a potential situation the problem is dissolved ... some situations and outcomes are unfortunately unavoidable (and the example above may have been of this ilk) but that is not the norm... otherwise we would all be dead !

Colonel you seem to in a black hole world that attracts trouble, intrigue, spies, bodypart stealers and bodysnatchers.

Someone pass him the spliff again ....!

[jumnien]

The high murder rates in Thailand are very much like the muder rates in our home countries. Take the alcohol and drugs out of the equation and there just aren't very many murders now are there?

[ColPyat]

Colonel you seem to in a black hole world that attracts trouble, intrigue, spies, bodypart stealers and bodysnatchers.

Someone pass him the spliff again ....!

Yes, some part of my life is in that world.

As this thread is about that world, and what that world can do to you, you should better listen carefully.

[ColPyat]

The high murder rates in Thailand are very much like the muder rates in our home countries. Take the alcohol and drugs out of the equation and there just aren't very many murders now are there?

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_...s-with-firearms

[jdinasia]

It is very unlikely that you will get clobbered if you walk away from a 'situation' but if this is a big concern then you can always try the Donz tactic of backing away slowly and keeping a beady eye on the potential perpertrator until out of the danger zone.

Well, tell that to the British couple who got killed by a cop in Kanchanaburi.

What a crap analogy !

There will always be examples that go against the norm but you will find that nearly always if you walk away from a potential situation the problem is dissolved ... some situations and outcomes are unfortunately unavoidable (and the example above may have been of this ilk) but that is not the norm... otherwise we would all be dead !

Colonel you seem to in a black hole world that attracts trouble, intrigue, spies, bodypart stealers and bodysnatchers.

Someone pass him the spliff again ....!

I think he needs to have YOUR signature but the list of things expands ... usually when folks are not buying into what he is saying!

[davidjtayler]

Colonel you seem to in a black hole world that attracts trouble, intrigue, spies, bodypart stealers and bodysnatchers.

Someone pass him the spliff again ....!

Yes, some part of my life is in that world.

As this thread is about that world, and what that world can do to you, you should better listen carefully.

I wouldn't be listening to any of your advice on this thread ... be safer to juggle with old dynamite sticks !

[ColPyat]

I wouldn't be listening to any of your advice on this thread ... be safer to juggle with old dynamite sticks !

Up to you.

[Jimmy in Bangkok]

Perhaps the fading martial art of Chung <deleted> would have been appropriate here. In the practice of this defensive posture the master recommends channeling the spirit of Bruce Lee, ignoring one's attacker, and absurdly brutally destroying a nearby inanimate object. I honestly feel that that had our friend, at the point of being teased with a twig, ignored this inebriated law enforcement officer, and had instead verbally abused and savagely beaten the crap out of his steamed fish dinner, he could have beaten a hasty retreat amidst the ensuing confusion.

The question remains however, technically, is the steamed fish an inanimate object?

and I hate to say it mdeland but the fish cannot be classed as inanimate as it's steaming! Maybe a swift but decisive attack on the nearest folding table may have sufficed though and to finish it off...."take out" a pride (a clutch?) of folding chairs! Cheers for the laugh mate and great post.

Cheers

Jimmy

[kankaroo]

Perhaps the fading martial art of Chung <deleted> would have been appropriate here. In the practice of this defensive posture the master recommends channeling the spirit of Bruce Lee, ignoring one's attacker, and absurdly brutally destroying a nearby inanimate object. I honestly feel that that had our friend, at the point of being teased with a twig, ignored this inebriated law enforcement officer, and had instead verbally abused and savagely beaten the crap out of his steamed fish dinner, he could have beaten a hasty retreat amidst the ensuing confusion.

The question remains however, technically, is the steamed fish an inanimate object?

LOL, now WHY didn't I think of that !!!

ColPyat : glad to see some people actually read a post before replying (and appear to have both feet firmly planted on terra firma) unlike some..........

[ColPyat]

ColPyat : glad to see some people actually read a post before replying (and appear to have both feet firmly planted on terra firma) unlike some..........

Thank you, nice that at least somebody appreciates my efforts.

I think that your post here was very useful, as it shows how easily things can go terribly wrong here, and that there is very little protection once a chain reaction has been set in motion by one little moment of unawareness. Regardless what anybody says here - this, or a variation of it, can happen to anyone.

But maybe some people need to personally experience to be truly screwed in order to comprehend this.

[torrenova]

The fact that we have western people here backing up police brutality is terrible. You expect it from Thais who, after all, will back the worst of their people against the best of us, but not from those who should know better.