Pattaya: "Drunk" Brit's night out - faces DUI and fleeing accident scene charges

[Pilotman]

36 minutes ago, connda said:

For every 1000 times the exact same thing happens in Thailand with a drunk Thai, find the one time it happens with a Farang and plaster it all over the media, because everyone knows - foreigners are bad!

hate to point it out again, but its not our country. 

[shackleton]

No excuses drinking and driving enough is said about Thais doing the same 

He should know better and will now suffer the consequences 

[Thingamabob]

Pathetic. Let's us all down. Deport him, hopefully never to be allowed back.

 

[EVENKEEL]

9 minutes ago, Thingamabob said:

Pathetic. Let's us all down. Deport him, hopefully never to be allowed back.

 

Oh please stop the theatrics, he didn't let me down or anyone else. He screwed up, luckily no one was hurt. Maybe he can claim micro sleep.

Edited December 17, 2020 by EVENKEEL

[robblok]

1 minute ago, EVENKEEL said:

Oh please stop the theatrics, he didn't let me down or anyone else. He screwed up, luckily no one was hurt. Maybe he can claim micro sleep.

People who drink and drive are the scum. They put their pleasure before others safety. If you can afford to drink you can afford a taxi too. Same goes for using drugs and driving. The moment your fun puts others at risk your scum.

 

That is not screwing up. But yea given your admission I had not expect differently from you. Though 3 beers over a longer period is not that much. Depending on size of beers and time. But still driving under the influence is driving under the influence. 

[Traubert]

Lots of virtue signalling from the peanut gallery going on here.

 

He'll go to court and take whatever penalty he gets awarded. Problem?

[mogandave]

8 hours ago, Andy from Kent said:

 

 

Nothing good happens at 4:30 AM in Pattaya

 

the criminal was apprehended, that’s a good thing.

[SiSePuede419]

So, do we know if this guy was drunk? ????

[Freigeist365]

Drunk Brits? Thought that was an urban myth... ????

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

I had to laugh at fleeing the scene. Didn't he know the locals do it almost every time, sometimes even when they are innocent. The BiB are used to that and usually catch the culprit. What an idiot, he should have got on an m/c taxi not crashed into it.

I was wondering what the licensing hours are in Pattaya if he was still drinking after 4am?

[Tahoe]

Locals do this all the time because if they get caught it is a slap on the wrist. However, if you are not a local and you hit someone or something then you get the book thrown at you. This probably went through his mind when he hit the vehicle. Not condoning his actions at all, but definitely a double-standard for the same circumstances.

[Jomtien Holiday Guy]

Send him back to his own country with a red note in his passport.....Farangs get a bad reputation due to idiots like him....

[VBF]

11 hours ago, quake said:

what about people that may have young children here or a mortgage to pay, car finance to pay

elderly Thai family members to pay for and take care of.

do they do what you suggest in the country you come form to foreigners ?

i'm not condoning his behavior , but come on, what you suggest is not the way to deal with it.

 

In UK, being caught D&D is a mandatory ban, a substantial fine and several points on your licence whoever you are! 

The length of ban, amount of fine depend on how drunk you are - you can even go to prison if either you're dunk enough, or commit a second offence

If you have family / financial responsibilities it's your job to remember that and behave accordingly.

[bbbbooboo]

Hmmmmm.......stupid IS what stupid DOES ?

[quake]

Oops, got that wrong 

Hang em , Hang em all. 

Nice to see a thread about DUI.

it brings all the TV liars out in force. who conveniently forget a naughty

night  in there past, ( for uk posters only )  

 

 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2020 by quake

[quake]

1 hour ago, VBF said:

 

If you have family / financial responsibilities it's your job to remember that and behave accordingly.

 

They are pished up.

Don't you get it. 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2020 by quake

[Kerryd]

18 hours ago, smedly said:

the police should be setting up random road stops from 12 - 5am to catch and charge them - the only way to stop it

The cops were doing random roadside alcohol tests for awhile. The last 2 times I was stopped were between 08:30-10:30. (No idea how long they'd been there before I arrived.) Both times I was surprised when they asked if I'd been drinking. It seems that even that late in the morning they catch people driving/riding around that had been drinking.

However, the new "top cop" put a stop on those kind of random drunk driving checks due to the "lack of transparency" (i.e. too many people being let off by sliding a few bills under the breathalyzer). 
He decreed that anyone suspected of being inebriated had to be taken to a local hospital to be tested and if they were found to be over the limit, then they would be arrested.

Then, a couple months later, he came out with a new directive that the RTP had to follow in order to set up an "alcohol checkpoint". Something like 15 different things the cops had to do before they could start pulling people over and testing them. Including having a certain number of tables set up, a certain number of signs (set up within a certain distance), lights, cameras, cops to pick who to pull over, other cops to decide if those drivers should be tested, other cops to do the testing, other cops to do the arresting (if need be), other cops to man the paddy wagon and finally some more cops to "pursue" anyone that tries to flee the checkpoint. Plus supervisors of course.

Something like at least a dozen cops needed each time. As well as a location to set up all the signs and tables and lights. And cameras watching not just the drivers, but also watching the cops, in real time, on wifi so their supervisors can monitor them from the station.

I spoke with my neighbour just yesterday about this. He's been a traffic cop for 20+ years. We were talking about the upcoming "silly season" (Christmas/New Years) and he mentioned they aren't even talking about setting up "alcohol checkpoints" over that time.

I imagine that if there's a spat of drunk driving accidents and deaths, that might change things. But as it stands now, it seems that it's just too much effort required to do simple roadside alcohol checks so they aren't bothering with them at all.

(He says the top cop has apparently turned his attention towards the problems with all the drugs crossing the border from Laos and Burma and the drunk driving issue has been put on the back burner.)

(Note: My Thai friends - who aren't cops - aren't the least bit concerned about being stopped and tested for alcohol. They keep joking that it would be "5,000" and that's it. As in, even if they did get stopped and they were over the limit, they'd be able to skate by with just a 5,000 baht "donation" to the policeman's fund.)

Not sure if they'd get away with it if they were pulled over at one of the "new" alcohol checkpoints though.

[jacko45k]

13 hours ago, kingofthemountain said:

if you throw him out of thailand and revoke his visa for life

you punish at least 1 innocent people (His thai wife) and maybe another (If they have a child)

maybe he is the only source of income for the family.

 

if you think this irresponsible idiot is going to be impacted by this, you are wrong

he will just still act with this bad behaviour in his country of origin, or somewhere else

forgetting quickly his wife and child. It's what the irresponsibles do.

 

It should l be more usefull to hit him where it's hurt (The wallet) with a big fine then

something to try to make him back on the ground (Hence the hospital stage, or even

a therapy if he has an alcool problem

Firstly what you say is the same for any criminal punishment, it goes beyond the individual to family and dependents, but we cannot stop punishment based on that concern. It is part of the supposed deterrent. 

The fact that his bad behaviour will continue in his home country is that country's issue, Thailand should not have to endure more, he was given an opportunity to live here, and treated that hospitality with no respect, and perhaps disdain. Any country should be able to remove the criminals from other places.

 

Not Thailand's financial responsibility to supply therapy either.  

 

Sad, but I want to feel safer here in Thailand, removing criminals and drunk drivers, foreign and domestic, is what it takes. 

[EVENKEEL]

11 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Firstly what you say is the same for any criminal punishment, it goes beyond the individual to family and dependents, but we cannot stop punishment based on that concern. It is part of the supposed deterrent. 

The fact that his bad behaviour will continue in his home country is that country's issue, Thailand should not have to endure more, he was given an opportunity to live here, and treated that hospitality with no respect, and perhaps disdain. Any country should be able to remove the criminals from other places.

 

Not Thailand's financial responsibility to supply therapy either.  

 

Sad, but I want to feel safer here in Thailand, removing criminals and drunk drivers, foreign and domestic, is what it takes. 

So if you go out for 1 or 2 beers (drinks) so you either walk or take a taxi home? 

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, EVENKEEL said:

So if you go out for 1 or 2 beers (drinks) so you either walk or take a taxi home? 

Yes, but more accurately if I go out I usually drink more. I leave the transport at home and get a taxi, or stop over-night. (I live out of town). If I lived in central Pattaya, getting back home without driving is even easier. 

[Techno Viking]

11 hours ago, Thingamabob said:

Pathetic. Let's us all down. Deport him, hopefully never to be allowed back.

 

How exactly has he let "us" down ?

 

What was his level of intoxication.. the limit is 0.05, how far over was he ?

[CharlieH]

Troll comment and response removed.

[EVENKEEL]

20 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Yes, but more accurately if I go out I usually drink more. I leave the transport at home and get a taxi, or stop over-night. (I live out of town). If I lived in central Pattaya, getting back home without driving is even easier. 

When I have a beer it's a couple at a nearby local bar (not Patts) but am sure it puts me over the limit. In the states I would never have more than 1 slow beer and drive because of the consequences. This is one of the perks of living in thailand.

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, EVENKEEL said:

When I have a beer it's a couple at a nearby local bar (not Patts) but am sure it puts me over the limit. In the states I would never have more than 1 slow beer and drive because of the consequences. This is one of the perks of living in thailand.

I simply do not trust myself to keep to 'a couple', which to me means 2 small bottles, when in town. If out having dinner with the Mrs it is not an issue and like you I risk a short drive home through the village. The consequences can be expensive in Thailand and I hear the threat of being taken to immigration is commonplace too. 

[johnarth]

as mentioned, in many road accidents drunk people survive while sober people die, why is that? it can not be an act of god, has it to do with the brain? or is it the state of the body? it can not be luck because it happens to often, has it got to do with nerves at the time of the accident?

[Prairieboy]

21 hours ago, webfact said:

fleeing the scene of an accident. 

Isn't this normal for all accidents or only punishable if one is a farang.

 

[tinca tinca]

21 hours ago, quake said:

Only doing the same as most of the locals do. LOL.

Naughty boy, letting the side down.

 

 

 

 

 

spoiling the image of patts and thailand too !!!

[Kerryd]

As I am wont to do on occasion, I decided to check out the source (unlike most here). I found the OP article to be a bit "sparse" in detail, such as the lack of the (alleged) perpetrator's name and full residential address as is usually published by the more established news sources. (But they did note the victims name, age and vehicle plate number.)

"RukSiam" newspaper ? Never heard of it. Their website and Facebook pages were established 2 1/2 years ago. 

Their Facebook page has a fair amount of recent articles but when you look at the website, not so much. Under the "Breaking News" section, there are 2 in December. 1 in November. 1 in September. 2 in August
Under "Latest News" all the articles listed are from the "Local News" section and all are dated 2018.
1 article under Sports, also dated 2018.

Wow. 

Seems a bit odd that this story hasn't appeared in any of the other news outlets for some reason. (Must be a conspiracy, right ?) I've checked the usual suspects (Pattaya One, Pattaya News, Pattaya Today, Pattaya Mail) and not a whisper about this from any of them.

Usually an incident involving a foreigner, especially a Brit, is from page news on most of those sites.

Seems "RukSiam" has scooped all of them !

[transam]

Seems the guy wasn't one of Patts SAS brigade.....????

[Kerryd]

I was a bit surprised that it took 6 pages of posts before someone tried to claim the guy was innocent (or wasn't drunk as they had no "proof") in an attempt to excuse his actions. Probably someone who doesn't know Thai law or what "rights" people have (and don't have) here. 

From an article in Dec 2018:
"Drivers involved in accidents could be asked by police to undergo a blood test, said assistant National Police chief Pol Lt-General Damrongsak Kitti-prapatr. 

"If they refuse, they will be considered as driving drunk,” he said."

Personally, if I think I might do some drinking when I go out, I take a (moto) taxi. Your "standing" in Thailand, regardless of how important you think you are, is next to nothing and it doesn't take much for them to decide to cancel your Visa (yes, "Visa", not "Extension of Stay") and deport you.

And as some of you know, they can and will do that without giving you the slightest chance to settle any affairs beforehand. Regardless if you have a home, family and/or business. 
Just like when they catch an "over-stayer", throw him in jail, send him to the IDC in Bangkok, charge him, blacklist him, then throw him back in jail until he can be deported. 
Without so much as the opportunity to take out the garbage or lock the front door of his (condo/house/whatever) first.

And over here, you aren't going to get away with the same BS that people try to do back home, like blaming your drunk driving on the bar or the waitress that was serving you.

However, in the case of a drunk driving offence, the penalty depends on the severity of the incident.
As of January 2020, they are:

http://www.thailawforum.com/drunk-driving-remains-a-huge-problem-in-thailand/
https://www.chiangraitimes.com/crime-chiang-rai-thailand/drunk-driving-a-serious-problem-with-thailands-motorists/

So you could get away with as little as a 5,000 baht fine (and 6 months license suspension) up to 20,000 baht for simply driving under the influence. Or you could get up to a year in jail. Or both. Worse if someone was injured or killed. 
(Apparently, if the authorities want to get nasty, they can even hold the vehicle owner and any passengers as being responsible as well !)

What is the Thai law regarding foreigners being allowed to stay in the country ? Can't be sentenced to a crime that would result in 2 years (or more) imprisonment ? (I'll have to look that up.) (Can't find anything definite on it, but a Visa site notes: 

"You will not pass the police character requirements test if:

you have a substantial criminal record, meaning you have been sentenced to 12 months or more in prison,
or multiple sentences that add up to more than 24 months in prison. A suspended sentence is considered a prison sentence.")

Also, fleeing the scene of an accident is not only punishable in itself, but anyone who does so is considered guilty of whatever offense they were fleeing from. (Driving Under the Influence in this case.)

Tack on another 1-3 months to the DUI sentence, plus another possible fine.

So we end up with (at least) - Driving Under the Influence and Fleeing the Scene. Refusing the blood test and fleeing the scene are considered automatic admissions of guilt to the DUI charge.

What he ends up getting for a sentence could work a couple of ways, one of which will depend if he pleads guilty outright (and gets a reduced penalty) or if he does the "Western" thing and pleads not guilty (after which he will no doubt be found guilty and given the maximum sentence possible).

Pleading guilty and hoping for a reduced sentence might see him being able to stay in Thailand, even if he does go to jail for a (short) stretch. Of course, if he displays a lot of attitude, he could end up spending the rest of his time in Thailand in prison before being deported (and blacklisted of course).

And no such thing as a jury trial here, so parading the wife and kiddies in front of the court isn't going to tug many heart-strings.

Quite frankly, it would take decades of using moto-taxis to get home from the bar to make up for what you could lose from a single DUI charge.