Tourist Killed At “full Moon” Party

[southwest19]

I guess what i was trying to say was, that using your own example, if this was a australian forum, yes , we , or someone, would be berating bloody hel_l at the idiotic and down right barbarism of idiots with this type of mentality to perpetuate these type of violent actions. their are many forums in this world, take your choice. I will, however ,understand your feelings of being attacked, I am American, I get it from all sides. rise above.

So you are saying that since this is a forum about Thailand, I should tolerate and keep quiet whenever some farang morons wanna bash my country and the people with their idiotic senseless sweeping generalizations? Interesting.

You have every right to speak up about your country and I can fully understand you taking offence by some the inexcusable previous postings. Please bear in mind that these were only the thoughts of a tiny minority of us farangs.

I am a Brit and we get stereotyped too.

[ThaiGoon]

I am not suggesting for one minute that wealthy people do not have influence at times the west but we are hardly talking about a bunch of Thai stockbrokers here, we are talking about a bunch of thugs who committed murder and yes the chances of them being bought to justice after committing a public murder is a ###### site higher then it is here.

I thought the main suspect was "a son of a local politician"? Besides, didn't this crime just happen a couple of days ago? So why not wait for a couple of weeks and let the police do their work a little bit before jumping to your conclusion? I know it's hard for someone like you to not use your stereotypes about Thais and Thai police in this case, but try not doing it for once. It might be a smarter thing to do.

[southwest19]

I am not suggesting for one minute that wealthy people do not have influence at times the west but we are hardly talking about a bunch of Thai stockbrokers here, we are talking about a bunch of thugs who committed murder and yes the chances of them being bought to justice after committing a public murder is a ###### site higher then it is here.

I thought the main suspect was "a son of a local politician"? Besides, didn't this crime just happen a couple of days ago? So why not wait for a couple of weeks and let the police do their work a little bit before jumping to your conclusion? I know it's hard for someone like you to not use your stereotypes about Thais and Thai police in this case, but try not doing it for once. It might be a smarter thing to do.

You are starting to iritate me now. I am not jumping to conclusions but where I come from when a mob attack and murder someone one of the politer terms used to describe them would be 'a bunch of thugs' regardless of who they are or how much money they have.

I am not anti-thai far from it I have many Thai friends as I expressed in my earlier posts who are good honest non-violent people.

[dog412]

I guess what i was trying to say was, that using your own example, if this was a australian forum, yes , we , or someone, would be berating bloody hel_l at the idiotic and down right barbarism of idiots with this type of mentality to perpetuate these type of violent actions. their are many forums in this world, take your choice. I will, however ,understand your feelings of being attacked, I am American, I get it from all sides. rise above.

So you are saying that since this is a forum about Thailand, I should tolerate and keep quiet whenever some farang morons wanna bash my country and the people with their idiotic senseless sweeping generalizations? Interesting.

you can say whatever you want, just as all the rest of us can. you have "bashed" my country,but i do not know if you are a moron or not. seems to me you are entitled to your opinion on this forum, within the guidelines. tolerate, yes, keep quiet, no. speak your piece, that's what a forum is there for. Thailand is not outside this realm, at this point.

[Master of the court]

I have been reading the post on this thread for the past 48hours and I would like to offer a different perspective.

As per israelies... i have been also in the tour business in samui for the past 10 years and have met many of them. they tend to be very fun loving loud and sometimes rude but the are also warm hearted and give great tips.

They tend to travel in groups as it gives them a sense of security that if in trouble they have someone to help. when ever an israeli is in trouble others wuld come in to help and assit in any way including money. Something I never seen with any other nationality.

They are very aware of prices and rates and respond impolite when someone is trying to rip them off. Some on this thread have mentioned "tight" with cash. They are very aware of the prices and charges as the information on where to go where to eat and drink is passed amongst them, So they are very aware when someone is making an attempt to rip them of.

A Thai travel agent on Samui has told me that the reason most Thai's dont like the Israeli attitude is that in most cases they speak

the truth and dont want to pay the rip of prices that other tourist gladly pay for.ofcourse we all gladly pay ...... I wonder where you're from

They way in which they respond is based on the nature of Israelis to call it as it is. while most tourist anf thais will walk away from a rip of, some of the israelis beahaving as they would in israel argue about it. unfortunatley this minority is giving many israelis a bad reputation.

As per Terry,s famous hit man story... this is a fine example of how things can realy go wrong.

So lats look at the facts as terry tells them.

an Israeli rents a bike and brings it back broken. The farrang sets a price to repair the bike. the israeli disagrees and the Thai partner is then called in. when not reaching a decision they offer to take him to the Police.

BUT.... instead of going to the police they taking to a former police man that has a gun and when the gun is placed the israeli pays the demanded money.

SO... instead of going to the real police or the tourist police to handle that.. the farrang and his thai partner decide to use a hit man and extort the money... what a wonderfull example of true justice. and they seem so proud of it.

In a normal situation they could have gone to the tourist police and pressed charges and the real police would end this event with out the need to pull out a gun.

The same thing happened to me when i first came to thailand. the bike shop owner told me that I have dammaged his "brand new" bike and asked to be paid 7000 baht. I told him that i would fix it myself and bring the bike back. the repair ended up costing 600 baht.

many farrangs have been extorted for money, and riped of and those who are doing it give thailand a bad name.

After being here for so long and learning the lingo it surprises me how many thais actually use the Phrase"its ok Farrang has money, Farrang can pay" and they are realy hurt, insulted, and rude when you disapprove of them trying to rip you off with bogus excuses. dont get me wtrong I love thailand and love its people but as with the Israelis it only takes a few bad apples that are giving service to tourists to give many wonderful thais a bad name.

Terry was correct that this is the way things are done in Thailand. This has been going on for so long young Thai teen agers are thrilled with this "wild west" attitude and assume that violence is the right way to resolve issues.

It is not surprrising at all that a few years later a bar brawl ends with a dead tourist. or that the general perception is that anything goes...rape, stabing, extorting etc..

It will not be long before another farrang can find himself on the other side of the table with a gun to his head. because someone decided that to clear things up the Thai way and call the hit man. it will not be long before another murder happens.

As per Lap lao

thank you for being a solid rock of sense and sticking to the facts. at this point of time no one realy knows why the fight broke out and if there was or not provocation, spitting etc... As the truth usualy has many sides it will be difficult to know what realy happened.

The only true fact is that a person a human was killed. such a waste it so terrible.

[Boo]

I think everyone needs to take a deep breath, have a read through the forum rules & not flame each other.

If this can't be done then I will close the thread until more actual evidence is provided by an accredited news source

[dantilley]

As per Terry,s famous hit man story... this is a fine example of how things can realy go wrong.

So lats look at the facts as terry tells them.

an Israeli rents a bike and brings it back broken. The farrang sets a price to repair the bike. the israeli disagrees and the Thai partner is then called in. when not reaching a decision they offer to take him to the Police.

BUT.... instead of going to the police they taking to a former police man that has a gun and when the gun is placed the israeli pays the demanded money.

SO... instead of going to the real police or the tourist police to handle that.. the farrang and his thai partner decide to use a hit man and extort the money... what a wonderfull example of true justice. and they seem so proud of it.

In a normal situation they could have gone to the tourist police and pressed charges and the real police would end this event with out the need to pull out a gun.

In full agreement...

[Mai Krap]

Time for my second bag of popcorn, You guys keep typing. By the way, has there been one more relevant fact revealed since it was found out he spit his drink in a Thai dudes face which is basically asking to be killed? The more important the Thai saw himself the more violent the reaction would be so the end result is telling a story in itself. I predict what will happen is some Joe Khao will step up and take the heat for a payment to his family while he does a little time to make the story go away. The odds of the actual murderer ever even being arrested is low but for him to face the music if he is a VIP? That ain't happening, not now, not ever. I'm just kicking back waiting on the Thai/Lao version of the Sopranos to make it on TV, we already had one Thai beat down on "Lost" a couple episodes back. Is life imitating art or is art imitating what some Hollywood producer saw on holiday in the LOS?

[ThaiGoon]

You are starting to iritate me now. I am not jumping to conclusions but where I come from when a mob attack and murder someone one of the politer terms used to describe them would be 'a bunch of thugs' regardless of who they are or how much money they have.

I am not anti-thai far from it I have many Thai friends as I expressed in my earlier posts who are good honest non-violent people.

You said, "we are hardly talking about a bunch of Thai stockbrokers here, we are talking about a bunch of thugs" and I wanted to point out that maybe they are not just ordinary thugs. And if somehow they get away with this crime (which would be a real shame), it should not be a shock to your system either as powerful people in the west do get away with their crimes and murders as well.

And Dog412, I only "bashed" your country only when your countrymen said something like Thailand and Thai people were filthy. I only wanted to point out that your shit stunk as well. That's all. My reactions were never unprovoked.

[Ijustwannateach]

I'd like to second Boo's comment.

[PhanganIsland]

it was brilliant to see, as when the hitman pulled out his gun the israili started crying like a little baby and payed up what he owed us.

What sort of person posts something like this on a thread about the tragic death of a young man, regardless of his nationality?

Disgusting IMO.

R.I.P.

Oh god, not Terry and his Thai hitman experiences again.

And just in case you forgot, the Thai hitman was an ex-police officer.

Is that right, Terry?

i got to tell you mee thai,

i love my hitman story as it happened in my second year in thailand, so i learnt a very valuable lesson on how things work in the los.

i mean i was'nt scared by the experience but impressed, because this dude had caused all his own problems and the thais were sorting it out thai way.

nobody got hurt, the dude learned a very good lesson and hopefully passed it on to his friends.

thats why i never have any problem what so ever in los, as i know the rules and im in possession of top respect for the locals.

its a very good system once learned and understood.

i got another hitman story when i was on koh tao, but i'll save that for latter.

and just to keep on topic,

its very disrespectful to spit in someones face.

You seem to be very informed on the subject, can you arrange hits ... are you running an hitman agency ? ... If not it could be a great success ...

... About the story:

I'm also sure our famous Royal Thai Police on KPG will solve the case in a convenient way ... the son of the local mafia ... aehh sorry politician will be found innocent ... but some burmese worker will be found to be the murder ...

[sbk]

Phangan Island, obviously you are unaware who the guy is or you wouldn't slander his father by calling him mafia. I suggest you keep your uninformed opinions off a public forum.

As for the rest, I third the sentiments of Boo and endure and if we continue in this vein of flaming, abuse and off-topic bs the thread will be closed forthwith.

LAST AND FINAL WARNING TO ALL POSTERS.

Is that clear enough?

[bina]

HEY, I'M THE RESIDENT ISRAELI ON THE FORUM:

with a name like kashkivili he was probably russian background (gruzini); they are more inclined to fight; theya re usually the 'arsim' (bad/tough boys in the neighborhood, leatherjacket knife drunken brawl style)....i know, stereotypes but true; i know my ethnic groups here in israel.

and

most of the kids that are running around thailand are like my daughter and my friends' kids: theya re just out of active duty for three years from age 17/18 til 21/22; they are turned loose and all hel_l breaks loose. they do lots of stupid things they wont do a year or so after.

they take stupid risks as they already made it out of a war zone so they are 'untouchable'. this makes them arrogant, brass, loud, aggrssive and 'push the envelope' so to speak. they've made it through without getting killed so now they let loose. they are doing what american kids do when american kids go to college and act animal house style. only its international, not in the backyard.

HOWEVER, differentiate between them and the rude nasty 'arsim' (like: psuedo mafia wannabe types, boys in the hood style, ) that also run around on vacations. they behave the same way here where i work with animals. they are violent, tough, think they deserve to get everything their way, aggressive and so are their young kids. in general, as i work in tourism in israel, i can testify to the fact that this past two years the amount of aggressive behavior, nastiness, violence etc has increased more than 200 %. we have fights in our family oriented amusement park. i have been pushed! spit upon! etc.;

so, stabbing etc is not the answer, but it was bound to happen.

and for all those that bitch and complain, those young backpacker types will return and become good parents and shave off their rastas and baggy pants will be exchanged for office high tech wardrobes and they will become high paying tourists in thai hotels. it just takes a while to get it out of their systems.

as for teh 'arsim'; once an 'arse' always an 'arse' (not a...hole, its an arab word i believe which describes someone with oily slicked back hair, leather jacket sharp shoes types. its a behavior pattern. sleazy low class low life )...

thats my israeli perspective.

and for god's sake people, dont mix antisemitsm with anti israeli attitudes when involving tourists. . two separate animals here.

shalom

bina

token israeli

[jdinasia]

Nice post Bina .....

I like meeting new people .... but I DO shy away from groups of early 20's foriegn guys ... and Thai guys .... if they are drinking and being rowdy ....

why? common sense

Have been to the FMP ... a few times ... far too much for me now ... just not fun when it is that crowded. I'd rather sit around with a few friends on a quiet beach now

[davidjtayler]

Well put Bina

I've been working on Khaosan road (travel agent) for 7 years and have encountered and personally dealt with many Israeli customers.

Many of thses guys and girls have been lovely people and I have many good Israeli friends, however, a significant number have exhibited simply awful behaviour and it is unfortunately the 'rotten apples' that have developed the Israeli reputation here within Thailand and Asia.

I have many Thai friends who run and work within travel and tour agencies here on Khaosan road and surprisingly most of the locals in this area are level headed enough to realise that most Israelis traveling in Thailand are very young straight from the army as Bina has pointed out ... hence some of their 'feistiness'.

They also realise that most Israelis here are very well behaved and the poor actions of a few are not representative of a whole nation.

However, bad behaviour, even though from a minority can only be tolerated for so long which is why it wouldn't surprise me if this had even a subconcious bearing on this violent incident ... not everyone here (or anywhere for that matter) is as level headed as some of the locals aforementioned, especially at 2am with possible alcohol involvement and possible severe antagonism.

As had been previously mentioned until the true facts emmerge there will always be wide speculation but as I have said before whatever this young Israeli man may or may not have done to warrant the end resultant tragedy may have unfortunately been out of his hands, to some extent, due to the many years of exposure to bad behaviour by some Israeli tourists in this particular area.

All in all a sad, bad chain of events leading to a very sad ending.

[terry57]

while it happens everywhere, what could possibly be the mindset to stab a stranger to death? only a sickness i presume.

Yeah, almost the same kind of sickness that a couple of Australian serial killers who in the late 90's picked up random foreign backpakcers and then killed them senseless in the nearby woods, had I suppose. The point is this kind of sickness is not exclusive to Thais.

Also, I'm not sure what you mean by this, "as you know this is a forum about Thailand." Are you saying that it's a forum about Thailand so it's a smart and wise thing to generalize the country and the people everytime a crime commited by Thais happens?

P.S. Here's the story about the backpacker murders: http://www.discoverychannel.co.uk/crime/se...rer/index.shtml (It actually happened in the early 90's.) And before anyone will misunderstand my intention, I'm posting it to show that I wasn't making up the story, not to bash every Australian.

sorry to go off topic for a tad, but im an aussie and the amount of backpackers who have been killed by mad australians is quite horrifying.

they did'nt get murdered because of a bar brawl but ended up dead because some sick person had stalked them with the intent of killing them and then did.

the last englishman was executed buy a mad man in the outback whilst his girlfriend somehow managed to escape with her life. ( joanne lee's ) read the book.

in thailand backpackers are usually murdered because of bad behaviour but in australia they are murdered because they are here.

think i'll take my chances with thailand and just be on my best behaviour.

thank you very much

[terry57]

I have been reading the post on this thread for the past 48hours and I would like to offer a different perspective.

As per israelies... i have been also in the tour business in samui for the past 10 years and have met many of them. they tend to be very fun loving loud and sometimes rude but the are also warm hearted and give great tips.

They tend to travel in groups as it gives them a sense of security that if in trouble they have someone to help. when ever an israeli is in trouble others wuld come in to help and assit in any way including money. Something I never seen with any other nationality.

They are very aware of prices and rates and respond impolite when someone is trying to rip them off. Some on this thread have mentioned "tight" with cash. They are very aware of the prices and charges as the information on where to go where to eat and drink is passed amongst them, So they are very aware when someone is making an attempt to rip them of.

A Thai travel agent on Samui has told me that the reason most Thai's dont like the Israeli attitude is that in most cases they speak

the truth and dont want to pay the rip of prices that other tourist gladly pay for.

They way in which they respond is based on the nature of Israelis to call it as it is. while most tourist anf thais will walk away from a rip of, some of the israelis beahaving as they would in israel argue about it. unfortunatley this minority is giving many israelis a bad reputation.

As per Terry,s famous hit man story... this is a fine example of how things can realy go wrong.

So lats look at the facts as terry tells them.

an Israeli rents a bike and brings it back broken. The farrang sets a price to repair the bike. the israeli disagrees and the Thai partner is then called in. when not reaching a decision they offer to take him to the Police.

BUT.... instead of going to the police they taking to a former police man that has a gun and when the gun is placed the israeli pays the demanded money.

SO... instead of going to the real police or the tourist police to handle that.. the farrang and his thai partner decide to use a hit man and extort the money... what a wonderfull example of true justice. and they seem so proud of it.

In a normal situation they could have gone to the tourist police and pressed charges and the real police would end this event with out the need to pull out a gun.

The same thing happened to me when i first came to thailand. the bike shop owner told me that I have dammaged his "brand new" bike and asked to be paid 7000 baht. I told him that i would fix it myself and bring the bike back. the repair ended up costing 600 baht.

many farrangs have been extorted for money, and riped of and those who are doing it give thailand a bad name.

After being here for so long and learning the lingo it surprises me how many thais actually use the Phrase"its ok Farrang has money, Farrang can pay" and they are realy hurt, insulted, and rude when you disapprove of them trying to rip you off with bogus excuses. dont get me wtrong I love thailand and love its people but as with the Israelis it only takes a few bad apples that are giving service to tourists to give many wonderful thais a bad name.

Terry was correct that this is the way things are done in Thailand. This has been going on for so long young Thai teen agers are thrilled with this "wild west" attitude and assume that violence is the right way to resolve issues.

It is not surprrising at all that a few years later a bar brawl ends with a dead tourist. or that the general perception is that anything goes...rape, stabing, extorting etc..

It will not be long before another farrang can find himself on the other side of the table with a gun to his head. because someone decided that to clear things up the Thai way and call the hit man. it will not be long before another murder happens.

As per Lap lao

thank you for being a solid rock of sense and sticking to the facts. at this point of time no one realy knows why the fight broke out and if there was or not provocation, spitting etc... As the truth usualy has many sides it will be difficult to know what realy happened.

The only true fact is that a person a human was killed. such a waste it so terrible.

my hit man story has been blown out of proportion and i blame myself, as i did not explain it properly and some people have misunderstood me.

i should of not related the story on this forum and will never again raise the issue but in fairness i'll explain the facts as they happened.

i was only trying to point out the cause and reaction that happen when people get out of order in thailand.

# 1 = we ran an honest business and the guy was only asked to replace the damaged parts at the going rate and was asked to take the bike to the machanic for repairs. i was to accompany him. this is standard proceedure when a farang hires a bike and is written in the contract. some businesses rip people off but we did not. people were required to return the bike to original condition and were then given the damaged parts for a momento.

# 2 = because of the guys obscene and aggressive response i decided to hand ball him to my thai partner.

# 3 = my thai partner was not as forgiving as i was and this guys aggessive behaviour required a quick stop to his nonsense.

# 4 = the thai partner explained in no uncertain terms what was required for him to receive his passport back. ( return the bike to original condition at the going rate of repair. ( approx 6000 baht )

# 5 = because of ongoing abuse the thai decided to take matters into his own hands and take him down for a chat with the hitman.

# 6 = the hitman spoke quietly but forcefully to the guy and repeated to him that he was required to return the bike to original condition as per contract. his passport would then be returned and he was free to go.

# 7 = the guy continues with his abuse to the hitman, myself and the thai partner.

# 8 = hitman places gun on table and repeats the above request.

# 9 = reality hits home, the israeli finds his manners, pays us the money , collects his passport and leaves the island on the next boat.

i suppose the thai should of taken the dude to the police station but the result would of been the same.

more than likely he would off got a flogging of the police because he was being so obnoxtious and i think we done him a favour.

hope that clears things up and to this day i believe that was the best cause of action regards this particularly nasty piece of work.

once and only time it happenned so it gives you an idea of what this fellow was like.

anyway,

this gives you an idea of what some travellers are prepared to act like and they bring some serious trouble there way.

fortunately most travellers are ok including the israeli's, but the small minority can do a huge amount of damage to ones reputation.

thank you very much.

[Begbie]

The deceased, according to a friend of mine who was there, started the fight by spitting his drink in the Thai guy's face. He and his group then started fighting with the group of Thai guys, one of which then stabbed the Israeli.

Just FYI tax, Israelis are well known in Hadrin for travelling in groups and picking fights with people. This time, they picked the wrong guys. Frankly, everyone who knows anything about Hadrin, knew it was only a matter of time before an Israeli got himself killed.

Well that makes it OK then?

And as far as picking the wrong guys, that's not very difficult in Thailand. But you never here of a Thai man fighting one on one. Why is that?

I will be following the exodus of expats leaving this sinking ship of a nation.

[cdnvic]

I will be following the exodus of expats leaving this sinking ship of a nation.

Bon Voyage

[southwest19]

You are starting to iritate me now. I am not jumping to conclusions but where I come from when a mob attack and murder someone one of the politer terms used to describe them would be 'a bunch of thugs' regardless of who they are or how much money they have.

I am not anti-thai far from it I have many Thai friends as I expressed in my earlier posts who are good honest non-violent people.

You said, "we are hardly talking about a bunch of Thai stockbrokers here, we are talking about a bunch of thugs" and I wanted to point out that maybe they are not just ordinary thugs. And if somehow they get away with this crime (which would be a real shame), it should not be a shock to your system either as powerful people in the west do get away with their crimes and murders as well.

And Dog412, I only "bashed" your country only when your countrymen said something like Thailand and Thai people were filthy. I only wanted to point out that your shit stunk as well. That's all. My reactions were never unprovoked.

You obviously have not spent much time in the west.

If Tony Blair's son was involved in a murder in a public place then he would face justice and all his father would be able to to would be to hire a decent lawyer if you think otherwise then you are just showing your lack of understanding of the laws in the UK and how they are enforced.

I also think the moderators are overreacting you have already dealt with the tiny minority of abusive anti-thai comments in earlier posts or would you rather close down a thread on KP because you have vested interests?

[Kilgore Trout]

Wow did I just stumble on the Aryan Nation or what... What's with all this anti-semitism being rattled off? Sad really on all parts. I mean a young man was senselessly killed. I really don't care where he's from or judge a situation by stereotyping of a group of people. I'm just going by what I read and not by the whole I heard it from a friend bit (we know how reliable a lot of those can be). I don't care how you spin it (guy was cheap, guy spit in someone's face, talked to someone's girl, etc.), there is no justification in this instance for pulling out knives and killing someone. I mean he was said to have 8 knife wounds to the chest, arm, face and back as well as 4 head wounds. As I said, I don't know exactly what happend, but obviously reading the story, the polititians son had major problems with tourists. I hope these guys get what they deserve (Life in Prison), but I doubt very much that is going to happen without a lot of pressure put on by Israel.

It really does iritate me that soon as you say anything negative about Israel your are charged with anti-semitism yet no-one has mentioned religion here only Israel.

I am a Brit and we do not exactly have the best reputation oversees but when I see the way some of my fellow countryman behave I do understand why some don't alway hold us in the highest regard.

Dont get anti semitism mixed up with anti-israelism (maybe Ive coined a new term), I am a jew but not israeli. I have lived there and imagine a whole country of people who are loud and rude. I would never want to live there again.

Most israelis are much different when you meet them alone, the post army brat packs can certainly be obnoxious though.

Thai and Israeli culture seem to be diametrically opposed to one another. Sad someone had to die.

[Ijustwannateach]

Since I have not been posting regarding this topic, it makes me the perfect person to start handing out warnings and holidays (and I have just done so). Fair warning to the rest of you- flametime's over.

[thaiman]

lesson here is:

don't mess with the thais on their turf. You just won't win.

[Boo]

The discussion of moderator actions are also against the rules.

FYI if anyone felt in the past a discussion was being hijacked then there is & has always been a report this post button. If you chose not to use it then please don't complain about a thread weeks after the event if you did nothing at the time & don't use it as an example to complain about moderation in a different thread.

That should be clear enough I hope.

[JimsKnight]

I've met a lot of Israelis in Koh Tao, they were ex-army and ex-navy. Most were very friendly, in fact one of them acted like a very loud and obnoxious idiot but soon realised (when i told him repeatedly) that being quiet and cool headed is the way forward. He was alright and a sound individual after that.

One of the wisest farang I've ever met was Israeli, very sound, balanced individual, hardly drank to excess etc. They tend to be masters of making money last and their business ethic is very strong.

He did admit that a bad crowd of his peers existed in the Islands (of Thailand).

As a nasty group of thieves that was / is known to be operating from Koh Samui and Phangyan used to visit Koh Tao individually and go on a stealing spree. Bungalows broken into and so on.

So there is good and bad alas.

[girlx]

i haven't read through all this thread yet but i live on koh phangan and have seen many fights. they are usually mafia related (thai on thai) or if they are thai on farang, it was instigated by the farang every time. the last couple fights i have seen were because some horny drunk french or english guy started grabbing the girls, and started posturing when the thai guys asked them to back off. this happens in every country, but here it could get you killed- even being in competition with a thai guy for a girl is dangerous. i also saw a girl start a fight when she started accusing the thai guys of stealing her possessions from the beach. they went a couple of rounds and then the girl found her stuff on the beach (and was lucky she was a girl). and another was someone who owed a thai guy money for drugs. if you are gonna do them at least pay for them here eh.

anyway bottom line is i have hung out with thai guys in bars for years and i think for the most part it is fine, but if some problem does happen, swallow your pride, apologize, lose face decadently, and get the f*** out. if one punch gets thrown that is probably the end of ya because they will all jump in and try to kill you.

[lannarebirth]

Interesting that every single time a crime is committed by a Thai (or Thais), there's never a shortage of the so called "civilized" and "educated" farangs on TV who can't wait to make a sweeping generalization about Thailand and all Thai people as a whole. I wonder if these same "civilized" and "educated" people do the same to other Western countires where this type of crime also has definitely occured. Maybe they just do it to a country like Thailand because we are a backwater country and they of course are of a superior race and culture. So we, Thais, must all be the same while they, of course, are all individuals.

Anyway, condolences to the victim's family. I hope the culprit(s) will rightly be brought to justice soon.

You make a good point ThaiGoon. It's not just Thailand. Colombia is very similar and I hear Somalia is even worse.

[khall64au]

eveyone that has spent a fair amount of time in thailand..( ive been around 19 years)..knows that to get in any sort of arguement on any sort of level...it can end up costing you your life....as a previos post mentioned....a fight in your own country might end up with a few bruises or a broken nose at the most...in thailand/phillipins and other areas....you are gambling with your life as an insult to a local is a big loss of face and they do not way up the consequences...and do not fight in ones...chances are they will get away with it as well.

thailand wants places like phuket to become world class tourist destinations..like monte carlo...san tropez.

but you cannot have tourists being beaten up / stabbed / raped / murdered over things.....like a disagreement over a tuk tuk fare.

the thai authorities really need to get a grip...as one day the tourists may decide enough is enough.

as when incidents like this do occur ( far to often) ...the first response from anyone in authority is there concern for the tourist industryand loss of revenue.

I pulled up at the local fresh food market a few days ago - on southern Phuket - and was shocked to the core to see a huge serrated dagger sitting in the front basket of a motor-scooter.

Seems to me, the message is that the local population are armed, dangerous and ready to kill?!!!

Please!

By dagger, I guess you mean knife - and of course no-one at the fresh food market could have any use for a knife, could they? for example butchering, gutting fish etc... I don't think I've ever read such a sensationalist statement from someone.

Helloooooooooo!! It was NOT a kitchen knife, it was a mother of a dagger sitting out in the open in the basket of a motor scooter. My point being that 'weapons' such as these are far too common on the streets - check out the array available at Patong's beach road market - a glittering display of lethal weaponry, available for sale to any hot-headed punter. Sensationalist? I don't think so!

[roblin]

Ive been in fights in Haad Rin 2times.

1. I danced with a girl in Cactus. Her thai ex-boyfriend didnt like this. She said "dont worry, I stay phangan long time, everyone know me" to make me feel safer afterwards. I decided not to talk to her anymore. I value my life.

2. I was going down from the toilet in Cactus bar. A Thai guy thought I was a friend of a Israeli guy they were fighting with which obviously was a good enogh reason for them to fight me too.

Its a dangerous place, but a wicked party!

[bkkmadness]

a glittering display of lethal weaponry, available for sale to any hot-headed punter.

When are these weapons going to be taken off the streets? That's a question I rarely see asked.