Thailand criminality on the rise?

[gejohesch]

4 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

The fact that you weren't in town while this robbery took place does raise some questions such as how long you have been out of town, and whether you are away on business frequently or for prolonged periods of time while your wife is in Thailand on her own. The significance of this should be obvious: idle hands, and all that. You portrayed your marriage as very solid and happy, but I'm wonder if you're away from Thailand or separated from her for periods of time how confident you can be that nothing's going on while you're not around.

 

You also made a comment about guys who 'can barely say 10 words in Thai' which kind of implied that your Thai was at least half-decent. But if you're in and out of Thailand frequently, it's pretty hard to build and maintain language skills. During the pandemic I think everyone's foreign language skills have deteriorated because no one wants to engage in conversation, and everyone's wearing a N-95 mask. Could you read a typed police report if you needed to?

 

I've seen more than a few marriages over the last 20 years living in Thailand where a significant language barrier persists for years and years into the marriage, and let's just say, everything's not always as hunky dory as the hubby imagines.

 

Just one last thing. In going back over your earlier posts, you described where you live as a "relatively peaceful little town." You don't really say just small it is, but in my opinion, the smaller the town, the less likely it is that an armed robbery like that would occur, because the more likely it is that the perpetrators were from the surrounding area. Because everyone knows everyone in a small town, and outsiders draw attention, even wearing masks, they could potentially be identified just by their height, build, clothing, voice, or getaway vehicle. I live in a small village, official population maybe 4500 people, but the number actually living here at any time is probably closer to 2000. I absolutely cannot imagine an armed robbery at an ATM taking place here.

All fair comments, as usual. And btw thanks for reading with such attention.

 

Yes, I could read a typed police document, although I would need time because of the special language they would use.

 

It's a town of ca. 30,000 people I would say. Sure, the smaller, the less likely such an incidentwoud occur. But as said so many times already, bear in mind how weird Thais can be. Do we, do you, understand everything that crosses their minds?

Edited November 23, 2021 by gejohesch
adding a line

[michaelgoulden]

You have lived there many years with your wife.You trust your wife.SHE went to the police.She has experienced an horrific ordeal.Very scary situation for her.

It will take a long time for her to heal from this.

She will obviously feel she has let you down too,to loose this money. 

All you can do is tell her its not her fault.Bad things happen.And change your habits of drawing money so you are together in the future for security.

You and only you know you can trust your wife based on history and time spent together.

You come on here to warn people of possible increases of crime and end up with insults and snide remarks regards your wife.

Well try get those videos from the ATM ( there wont be any).

If its never happened before it probably wont happen again if you go with her to drawer money.

Could you even imagine the fear of having a gun to your head and being surrounded by three nasty robbers.

She needs your 100% support.

[CH1961]

14 hours ago, gejohesch said:

I am not in Thailand right now, going back there in a few weeks.

Ok, now we know. And you will too. 

Just another Thai fairy tale. 

[seedy]

Sorry this has happened to you and yours.

Hope there are no lasting effects on your Wife or yourself.

Ignore all the sheet posted above.

[ColeBOzbourne]

17 hours ago, gejohesch said:

I am not in Thailand right now, going back there in a few weeks. Are you insinuating sthg?

No, not insinuating anything at all. Actually, I just had the impression from the beginning of your post that you were not in Thailand based on the way you phrase things. Maybe I assumed others had the same impression. So it caught my attention when other posters made suggestions for you to, "Go to the bank and see the video. Go to the police. Go to the media." I was just curious to whether it was possible for you to take action yourself, or if your wife was handling this on her own and keeping you informed long distance. I'm sorry to hear about your ordeal and wish the best for both of you.

[gejohesch]

4 hours ago, ColeBOzbourne said:

No, not insinuating anything at all. Actually, I just had the impression from the beginning of your post that you were not in Thailand based on the way you phrase things. Maybe I assumed others had the same impression. So it caught my attention when other posters made suggestions for you to, "Go to the bank and see the video. Go to the police. Go to the media." I was just curious to whether it was possible for you to take action yourself, or if your wife was handling this on her own and keeping you informed long distance. I'm sorry to hear about your ordeal and wish the best for both of you.

Thanks. Besides being very observant, you also seem to have a well-meaning approach to others. These are obviously not qualities shared with everybody on this forum.

 

Btw, so many have said "go to the police, see the videos" etc. The Thai police would probably not entertain me much, not being (until told otherwise) directly involved with what happened to my wife. The most I would get, a few polite words telling me to stand by and wait for the results of their proceedings. Plus, although I'm much better in Thai than the average Farang (I can read it and understand 90% the tone system), I still would struggle in a full-blown discussion with the police in Thai.

 

Now also, imagine to what extent the police in any other country (say in the UK, Australia, the US, Europe) would accommodate me in such situation? It seems to me too many Farangs think they can have rights of way while in Thailand. That's a behaviour to be expected from people who think they are so superior to the locals. A typical "Me, big white man; You, little brown man" syndrome.

[gejohesch]

7 hours ago, seedy said:

Sorry this has happened to you and yours.

Hope there are no lasting effects on your Wife or yourself.

Ignore all the sheet posted above.

Thanks for your kind words. Yes, so many sarcasms coming back from so many, but I've been on Thailand forums before. It does not matter in which language, as long as it is foreigners talking about Thailand, no discussion will unfold without all those people coming with their projections, certain to know everything about Thailand. It's painful.

[ColeBOzbourne]

7 minutes ago, gejohesch said:

Yes, so many sarcasms coming back from so many, but I've been on Thailand forums before. It does not matter in which language, as long as it is foreigners talking about Thailand, no discussion will unfold without all those people coming with their projections, certain to know everything about Thailand. It's painful.

Based on the title of your OP and your post, it seems your real question was if the criminality in Thailand has increased. Maybe you were not looking for suggestions regarding how to deal with the robbery. You probably would have got entirely different feedback if you hadn't mentioned it was your wife that got robbed. You could have said, "A woman in my small town was robbed..."

 

I know, a little late now. But for future reference, I think removing any personal aspects from it tends to reduce the sarcasm and attracts a much different reaction from the negative crowd. Had you not mentioned it was your wife, this thread might have gone in an entirely different direction.

[gejohesch]

10 hours ago, michaelgoulden said:

 

"You have lived there many years with your wife.You trust your wife.SHE went to the police.She has experienced an horrific ordeal.Very scary situation for her. It will take a long time for her to heal from this. She will obviously feel she has let you down too,to loose this money. All you can do is tell her its not her fault.Bad things happen.And change your habits of drawing money so you are together in the future for security. You and only you know you can trust your wife based on history and time spent together."

 

Very good comments, thanks.

 

"You come on here to warn people of possible increases of crime and end up with insults and snide remarks regards your wife."

 

It's painful, but not surprising on a Thailand forum (as I just said in a reply just above). So many Farangs think they know everything about Thailand and come to these forums to pontificate others etc. Someone said it somewhere above in this post, lots of these people are just losers stuck with their negative and/or mediocre experiences.

 

"Well try get those videos from the ATM ( there wont be any)."

Actually, when my wife got to the police for the second time, the police had the videos (but did not show them to her).

 

"If its never happened before it probably wont happen again if you go with her to drawer money. Could you even imagine the fear of having a gun to your head and being surrounded by three nasty robbers. She needs your 100% support."

 

Good words. A few suggested to play brave with the robbers like keying in wrong numbers in the ATM to block the account. That's damn stupid and totally unrealistic. The minimum one would get then is to get beaten by the robbers. In Nigeria (where I worked years back), foreigners were often warned not to look into the faces of armed robbers. Of course, Thailand is (not yet) like Nigeria, but one has to be careful in such situations, anywhere in the world.

 

To be perfectly frank, I can not entirely avoid thoughts crossing my mind that my wife has been playing a game with me, for whatever reason (Thais are so bizarre). But until I know otherwise, yes, she needs my 100% support.

[gejohesch]

3 minutes ago, ColeBOzbourne said:

Based on the title of your OP and your post, it seems your real question was if the criminality in Thailand has increased. Maybe you were not looking for suggestions regarding how to deal with the robbery. You probably would have got entirely different feedback if you hadn't mentioned it was your wife that got robbed. You could have said, "A woman in my small town was robbed..."

 

I know, a little late now. But for future reference, I think removing any personal aspects from it tends to reduce the sarcasm and attracts a much different reaction from the negative crowd. Had you not mentioned it was your wife, this thread might have gone in an entirely different direction.

Sarcasms would have come back just the same, even if less personally directed.

[ColeBOzbourne]

5 minutes ago, gejohesch said:

Sarcasms would have come back just the same, even if less personally directed.

I agree. But also must say you have handled it all well. You didn't lower yourself to their level, and you have replied kindly to everyone that tried to be supportive.

[Gecko123]

2 hours ago, gejohesch said:

It's painful, but not surprising on a Thailand forum (as I just said in a reply just above). So many Farangs think they know everything about Thailand and come to these forums to pontificate others etc. Someone said it somewhere above in this post, lots of these people are just losers stuck with their negative and/or mediocre experiences.

You seem to be working both sides of the aisle, gejohesch. I have this uneasy feeling that you're talking about me in the above comment, even though you've responded favorably to most of my posts, and you, yourself, have admitted having doubts about whether the robbery took place.

 

You can argue that anybody who expressed skepticism or advocated a cautious approach is "a cynical loser" who "probably can't string 10 Thai words together" and is "just projecting their negative and/or mediocre experiences onto the situation" if you wish. But you might be interested to know that I have an equally strong suspicion that some of the people who reflexively leap to the defense of Thai women, and take great offense at any suggestion that their character or moral fiber may not be above reproach, might be equally clueless about what's going on around them because they can't speak Thai, and have zero social engagement in the local community.

 

I studied Thai for 9 years before moving here 18 years ago. I can't get into the specifics of my personal situation here, but I believe I have had a fairly unique opportunity to integrate into my village and understand what's going on around me beyond what most foreigners experience. Of course, my perceptions have been colored to a certain degree by personal experiences, but during my almost two decades in Thailand, and (hard to believe) 36 years since I first came here, there's been an awful lot of confirmation that a potential for deception exists that one can choose to ignore at one's own peril. I don't consider myself to be particularly cynical at all, just street smart. If my views seem jaded to some, all I can say is that most Thai men that I know would probably agree with much of what I said on this thread. 555.

 

Edited November 24, 2021 by Gecko123

[gejohesch]

22 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

You seem to be working both sides of the aisle, gejohesch. I keep getting this uneasy feeling that you're talking about me in the above comment, even though you've responded favorably to most of my posts, and you, yourself, have admitted having doubts about whether the robbery took place.

 

You can argue that anybody who expressed skepticism or advocated a cautious approach is "a cynical loser" who "probably can't string 10 Thai words together" and is "just projecting their negative and/or mediocre experiences onto the situation" if you wish. But you might be interested to know that I have an equally strong suspicion that some of the people who reflexively leap to the defense of Thai women, and take great offense at any suggestion that their character or moral fiber may not be above reproach, might be equally clueless about what's going on around them because they can't speak Thai, and have zero social engagement in the local community.

 

I studied Thai for 9 years before moving here 18 years ago. I can't get into the specifics of my personal situation here, but I believe I have had a fairly unique opportunity to integrate into my village and understand what's going on around me beyond what most foreigners experience. Of course, my perceptions have been colored to a certain degree by personal experiences, but during my almost two decades in Thailand, and (hard to believe) 36 years since I first came here, there's been an awful lot of confirmation that a potential for deception exists that one can choose to ignore at one's own peril. I don't consider myself to be particularly cynical at all, just street smart. If my views seem jaded to some, all I can say is that most Thai men that I know would probably agree with much of what I said on this thread. 555.

 

Allow me to say, I don't really understand your reaction. My words that you quote here are not directed to those like you who come with well-weighed comments, including words of caution regarding how treacherous some aspects of life in Thailand can be. I don't have a problem with that, of course. I have a problem with those that come up with short, pseudo witty comments and statements like everything in Thailand has got to be poison.

[robblok]

5 hours ago, gejohesch said:

Thanks. Besides being very observant, you also seem to have a well-meaning approach to others. These are obviously not qualities shared with everybody on this forum.

 

Btw, so many have said "go to the police, see the videos" etc. The Thai police would probably not entertain me much, not being (until told otherwise) directly involved with what happened to my wife. The most I would get, a few polite words telling me to stand by and wait for the results of their proceedings. Plus, although I'm much better in Thai than the average Farang (I can read it and understand 90% the tone system), I still would struggle in a full-blown discussion with the police in Thai.

 

Now also, imagine to what extent the police in any other country (say in the UK, Australia, the US, Europe) would accommodate me in such situation? It seems to me too many Farangs think they can have rights of way while in Thailand. That's a behaviour to be expected from people who think they are so superior to the locals. A typical "Me, big white man; You, little brown man" syndrome.

Thai police..  maybe not but a bank with a police report for sure. Gf lost her card in a ATM and someone took 5000 bt out. She went to the bank with police report and got the ATM video from the bank. Sorry to be honest you not being in Thailand and the strangeness of the crime makes me more doubtful. I though you were there right now.

 

Im sorry for not taking everything for true but you not being there sets off more alarm bells. I mean its quite easy to convince someone during a phone call.. Lot different to being around and seeing her act and so on. Ok i just hope im wrong but me personally in this case would ask for a bit of proof. It really is not that hard to get the ATM cam images if you have a police report and if genuine then this lil leg work can even help the lazy police. 

[CH1961]

5 hours ago, gejohesch said:

I still would struggle in a full-blown discussion with the police in Thai.

How old are you?

 

If (!) there was a armed (!) robbery with 3 (!) masked ... there is no need for any discussion with the police. 

[Bohemianfish]

I'm late here, but...Sorry to hear about what happened. Certainly, crime is always present, anywhere, and is very likely to increase when people need money. We live in the States and crime is clearly increasing - a lot due to drugs and there's been an increase in people who can't or won't improve their situations. 

 

Years ago, my wife and I were driving around Chaiyaphum. I noted to her that I like a certain "peaceful" part of it. She said that area was full of druggies and crime. In the States, anywhere, a place can be peaceful, so I'm more wary in the countryside. Local riff-raff taking what they want when you are camping and whatnot. I feel safer in the city. We both feel safer in the city and she feels safe here where we live in a Seattle suburb.

 

My wife's tune has changed over this year. We, I, thought we'd have a piece of land in the countryside, but now she wants to live in a development with guards/security. We both agree it would be prudent for us to take a conservative approach - the security and being near medical facilities. I'm cool with that.

 

It's just good to have a lot of caution when out and about. Prudent caution and precautions, not to be confused with being paranoid and jumpy at everything.

There's plenty of crime in Thailand, like anywhere. Petty and otherwise. 

 

 

[StayinThailand2much]

On 11/21/2021 at 7:27 PM, gejohesch said:

My wife was forced to withdraw all the money she had on her account, some 50,000 THB. 

Why didn't she key in the wrong PIN a few times? I'd rather have the ATM eat my card than hand out my money.

Edited December 13, 2021 by StayinThailand2much

[2009]

Sounds like a porky.

 

She lost the money gambling.

[BritManToo]

On 12/13/2021 at 8:10 PM, Bohemianfish said:

There's plenty of crime in Thailand, like anywhere. Petty and otherwise. 

I've not found that to be the case.

I park my m/c everywhere with shopping hanging off the handlebars and helmet on top.

Only lost one helmet in 12 years.

 

Same with the pickup truck, everything thrown in the back, nothing ever taken.

Pickup is parked unlocked outside now, with the keys in the ashtray.

 

When I shop in BigC extra and then go next door in 7-11 I just leave my previous purchases outside, it's still all there when I walk back out.

 

Try that just once in the UK! 

Edited December 21, 2021 by BritManToo