German Shot Dead In Pattaya

[Jai Dee]

Retired German Police Officer murdered in Banglamung.

Police Sub-Lieutenant Nitipoom from Banglamung Police Station was alerted to a suspected case of murder on Sunday Night involving a German National. He made his way, along with rescue workers to Soi Suksomboon in Nong Get Yai Village in Nong Pla Lai sub-district just before midnight and inspected the body of Mr. Heinrich Hermann Friedrich aged 63, a retired Police Officer from Germany. He was lying in the road next to his motorbike and initial inspections determined the victim had sustained four gun shots, one in his left temple, one in his back, another in his chest and the other bullet penetrated his left leg.

His current partner, Khun Nantha aged 25 soon arrived at the scene after being alerted to the shooting. She mentioned that she was the wife of the victim but explained that no official marriage papers had been signed. The pair had been together for 1 year 8 months and Mr. Freidrich was previously married to Khun Roongnapar aged 32, although this marriage appears not to have been officially registered as well. Khun Nantha explained that Mr. Freidrich had purchased the house he and his new partner were living in at a cost of 5 Million Baht. This house along with a car and motorbike were purchased in the name of Khun Roongnapar. The house was then leased to Mr. Freidrich for a period of 30 years. When the pair split, Khun Roongnapar initiated a civil lawsuit to recover her asset and remove Mr. Freidrich from the house. She subsequently lost the case and Mr. Freidrich was permitted by the court to remain in the house.

Back to the crime scene where Khun Nantha explained that Mr. Freidrich had gone to a local 7-Eleven Convenience Store to purchase some beer. This was confirmed by the presence of two bottles of beer in the tray of the bike and a receipt timed at 11.27pm from a local 7-Eleven Store. Witnesses mentioned hearing four shots and saw two men on a motorbike following the victim moments earlier who double-backed after the shooting and appeared to check the victim to ensure he was dead. No items were stolen suggesting this may have been a contracted killing. Police are now investigating this murder and at the moment are exploring all possibilities.

Both Mr. Freidrich’s current and previous partners will assist Police in their enquiries and, based on witness accounts, photo-fits of both the alleged shooter and the driver of the bike that was following the victim moments before the shooting are being produced. The German Embassy in Bangkok is involved in the case and we are keeping a close eye on this story and expect further updates in the coming days.

Source: Pattaya City News - 25 June 2007

[Tommyd827]

TIT

Many here joke about this sad tale, some will meet the same fate.

I agree! I am willing to bet that at least 1% of all of the people reading this post may in fact meet the same popular fate here in LOS. So all should remember that if you have pissed off a Thai lover who has more to gain from seeing you dead, remember the cost of hitmen is inexpensive.

[FATNAPPY]

HIRED GUNMAN SHOOTS EX-GERMAN COP; POLICE SUSPECT HIS FORMER WIFE

A former German policeman was shot dead on the road by men on a motorbike. It is suspected that a gunman was hired to kill the man over properties worth more than five million Baht. Police are investigating his present and former wives.

On 25 June 2007, at 2 AM, Pol. Sub. Lt. NitiPhum Butr-wong, Investigator, Banglamung, Pattaya, was notified that a foreigner was shot dead on Soi Suksomboon (Nongket Yai), Moo 8, Nongplalai, Banglamung, Chonburi. A team of police officers, with Sawang Boriboon Rescue and a doctor from Banglamung Hospital, rushed to investigate.

At the scene was the body of Mr. Heinrich Hermaan Friedrich (63), an ex-policeman from Germany, who was shot dead in front of house No. 27/2 , Moo 8, Nong Plalai, Banglamung, Chonbori. On his body was a gold necklace, a gold watch, twelve baht in coins, a mobile phone, as well as, a pair of glasses at the side of his body. Mr. Heinrich was shot in the head, back, chest and knee. Police found four 9 mm bullet casings on the floor.

Miss Nantha Lukdee (25) address 70/1, Moo 9, Songchin, Grasang, Burirum, Mr.Heinrich's current girlfriend, arrived in a black Ford automobile, license 8715, Chonburi. She was distraught and said that she had been living with Mr. Heinrich, as husband and wife, at house No. 40/1, Moo 8, about one hundred meters from the shooting. The marriage was unregistered. She said that Mr. Heinrich had bought a house in his ex-wife's name (who he was now divorced from), worth about five million baht. The house, car and motorbike were all in his ex-wife's name. His ex-wife sued Mr. Heinrich to get the properties, but was unsuccessful because Mr. Heinrich had the right to reside in the house as per a thirty year lease.

Miss Nantha, his current wife also said that Mr. Heinrich was a friendly person, who never had problems with his neighbors. Mr. Heinrich told her that he was going to the 7-Eleven store, about one kilometer away on Sukhimvit Road, to buy beer. She was not concerned until her neighbor shouted that her husband had been shot. When she went to investigate, she found her husband had been murdered. Police were unsure as to the veracity of her account and are conducting an ongoing investigation. The body was sent for autopsy.

Pol.Lt.Col. Somchai Yotsombat, Deputy Superintendent, questioned the neighbors around the area. Many of them said that Mr. Heinrich left the house, presumably to get a beer. They heard some arguing and shouts for help before hearing four gunshots. The neighbors saw two men on a motorbike drive quickly to the front of the soi and go back to look at the body to make sure that Mr. Heinrich was dead. They then drove away.

Police are investigating several possible motives for this murder. These include adultery; that his ex-wife wanted to get back the properties; and robbery. However nothing seemed to have been taken from the body, but police still do not rule out the robbery.

Pol.Lt.Col.Somchai said that this is a very serious case and the police will try to solve it expeditiously. The ex-wife and the present wife will be closely scrutinized. He believes that the murder was carefully planned and the gunman was very skilled. A police artist will develop sketches of the killers based on witness descriptions.

Source: Pattaya Daily News - 25 June 2007

going to 7 eleven to buy beer with 12 baht in coins in his pocket ???????

[ding]

New wife maybe thinks troublemaking first wife will be well out of the way, in prison, if the dirty deed gets done somehow... by someone.

Wonder if there's a connection with the motocyc description or # -and the new wife.

Too sad, what a waste.

[Mobi]

this site is a disgrace a times

There's nothing wrong with the site.

The problem - if there is one - is with some of those who post.

IMHO there is nothing wrong with speculation and comments , even if much of it is far fetched and has been regurgitated a thousand times over the past few years - that's what THai Visa is all about.

But I would draw the line at sick humour at the expense of the deceased.

RIP Heinrich Hermaan Friedrich.

There, but for the grace of God........

[SiriusBlack1]

When somebody tells me "I bought XXX in my girlfriend's name, I always correct them. "No, dude, you bought your girlfriend an XXX."

[Baan Kiki]

Pattaya...... where else !!!

Patong !

[Jimjim]

going to 7 eleven to buy beer with 12 baht in coins in his pocket ???????

He was coming out of the 7-11, meaning he had already bought the beer I believe.

And, does it really matter?

edit -- Yep, I just read it again and he had bought the beer already.

Edited June 26, 2007 by Jimjim

[westcoastnative]

I guess the moral of this sad story is...If you are having a dispute over money, property, etc. with your ex-Thai wife then it's time to get out of town. Hire an agent sell the property and relocate to somewhere they can't get to you.

[IMA_FARANG]

German shot dead in Pattaya

Pattaya, Chon Buri - A 63-year-old German man was shot dead late Sunday night police said.

Heinrich Hermann Friedrdch waas shot dead shortly after leaving a convenient store on Soi Suksomboon in Tambon Nong Palai of Chon Buri's Bang Lamung district at 11:27 pm.

He was shot four times by a pillion rider. The bullets hit his left temple, his back, his chest and left leg.

His Thai wife, Nantha Sukdee, 25, said she has been living with the German man for two years without registering their marriage.

She said the man had bought a house worth Bt5 million under the name of his former Thai wife whom she was suing for the return of the house and other assets.

Source: The Nation - 25 June 2007

He was shot after leaving a convenient store.......shouldn't that be a convenience store?......or maybe it is right after all. The store was a convenient place to shoot him, I guess.

Edited June 26, 2007 by IMA_FARANG

[elsie]

I'm not saying that Thais go around murdering each other,but they do manage to murder over 5000 people a year.(http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur-crime-murders) Not a bad effort for 60 mill people.

My comment wasn't aiming at you. But my point is, as a Thai who has been living here for 33 years, with all the people I know including my big family, etc - and I'm sure I know quite a few Thais - there was ONE murder. My uncle's ex-wife managed to have the new wife (pregnant) shot. I'm not saying that Thailand is a great country with no flaws. <deleted> to that. But it's not as bad as some posters here are trying to make it out to be.

Now if you could get accurate figures for Pattaya, I would say that it would be up there (per capita) with Joberg and Rio.

Granted Pattaya is a special place in its own way. Prostitution, greed, jealousy, lonely old men with more money than sense, etc. Not a good combination for my liking.

[mespike]

I found a bar girl once and she made the hairs stand up on the back on my neck. So then i got this great idea to buy a house and put in her name. Later I broke up with her you know like trading an old car in for a newer model. And she was 30 something back in the beer bar. Ya Ya. so i think its best to gives the house to the new girl because i think its obvious the other girl killed him.

[Kerryd]

How about this: find me a city in the world where there are more foriegn tourists and residents killed each year, than in Pattaya.  

OK, here are some stats (from the FBI) for various US cities in 2006:

Reno Nevada: population-210,354, Serious Crimes-1,478 (Murders-23, Rapes-100, Robberies-523, Assaults-832)

(North) Las Vegas: population-182,540, Serious Crimes-1,695 (Murders-22, Rapes-57, Robberies-584, Assaults-1,032)

Fort Lauderdale (Florida): population-170,203, Serious Crimes-1,683 (Murders-21, Rapes-83, Robberies-832, Assaults-747)

New Orleans: population (est)-431,153, Serious Crimes-2,255 (Murders-162, Rapes-87, Robberies-761, Assaults-1,245)

Washington (DC): population-581,530, Serious Crimes-8,418 (Murders-169, Rapes-194, Robberies-3,604, Assaults-4,451)

(note these cities are either similar in size to Pattaya's "unofficial" population estimates, or smaller)

Oops. You said "foreign tourists and residents". I don't think there are many places that keep stats on the number of foreign tourists/residents killed (compared to locals).

How ever, as far a Canadians are concerned, the gov't recently released some statistics that showed Mexico as being the most dangerous place for Canadian tourists (based on the number of reported deaths/rapes/assaults/robberies/ect). How ever, one has to take into account that far more Canadians visit/reside in Mexico than in Thailand. For what ever reason, the news article I had a link to has been removed (Maybe the Mexican gov't complained that it would hurt tourism to their country ? )

(note 2: Many cities that rely heavily on tourism, don't like to differentiate between victims who are tourists and residents. Bad for business and all)

Some other stats:

Rio de Janeiro registered 4,253 murders in 1993, up from 3,545 in 1992.

Rio de Janeiro had seventy-two murders per 100,000 residents in 1993, compared with thirty per 100,000 in New York City.

(population est at 6 million)

Some more info:

Based on Crimes per Capita (i.e. number of crimes per 1,000 people), Thailand ranks 47th !

Looking at the Top 20 countries in Crimes per Capita and who do we find ?

#2 - New Zealand !

#6 - the UK !

#8 - the USA !

#11 - Germany

#12 - Canada

#14 - France

#20 - Switzerland !

Now lets look at the Total (reported) Crimes per Country stats:

Thailand ranked at #17

Who do you think fills out the Top 5 ?

#1 United States: 23,677,800 total crimes reported

#2 Germany: 6,264,720 total crimes reported

#3 United Kingdom: 5,170,830 total crimes reported

#4 France: 3,771,850 total crimes reported

#5 South Africa: 3,422,740 total crimes reported

To be fair, if we single out the Murder rates per Capita, Thailand ranks 14th.

The top 5 are:

#1 Colombia

#2 South Africa

#3 Jamaica

#4 Venezuela

#5 Russia

But then, these are all just numbers. We could spend days and weeks and months comparing various stats, and some people will still base their assumptions on stories heard from a friend that knew a guy who had a buddy whose cousin went to school with a girl that had an uncle that worked with someone who spoke to a guy in a bar that swore up and down that you'd be murdered the second you set foot in Pattaya.

(I use that analogy based on a "fable" I've heard probably 9-10 times over the years, including 4 times in the last 3 years. The "fable" usually starts when you mention that you live in Thailand, and suddenly someone spouts out something like: "Oh yeah, a buddy of mine went there, he rented a big house on the beach for a month, hired 1 girl to do the cooking, another girl to do the cleaning, they both slept with him every night for the month, and it only cost him a total of $50.00 US !"

[andyc2006]

(I use that analogy based on a "fable" I've heard probably 9-10 times over the years, including 4 times in the last 3 years. The "fable" usually starts when you mention that you live in Thailand, and suddenly someone spouts out something like: "Oh yeah, a buddy of mine went there, he rented a big house on the beach for a month, hired 1 girl to do the cooking, another girl to do the cleaning, they both slept with him every night for the month, and it only cost him a total of $50.00 US !"

different buddy, different fable, same point: tell a guy there are a million stars in the sky, he'll believe you and say "wow." tell him the paint on that bench is wet, he'll touch it and say "hmm."

i currently live in Reno. ironic you used it as an example. being at the wrong place & wrong time here is more dangerous than being in pattaya... but mostly it's safe.

[bubbaba]

I have been reading this forum for a year or two and will retire to Thailand in about 3 years. It amazes me the negative comments that have relatively no basis. Why do people live here if they hate it so much? Some of you need to get a life, the U.S. and several other sountries have much worse crime and in my opinion if you mind your own business and do what is right then you won't have a problem...anywhere!

I do appreciate the good info that is posted but all the negativity is ridiculous, as stated above get a life, turn your computer off and enjoy Thailand.....or go somewhere else.

My first post and I expect a rash of ignorance to follow.

ACMIKE

Hello ACMIKE. Welcome to the forum. I have lived in Thailand for three years now and I am married to a Thai. I agree with your comments 100%. Thailand is a great place to live.

[coldcrush]

Greed the ultimate killer.

I send respects to his family.

[Mobi]

I wouldn’t want to speculate whether or not the incident of violent crime in Pattaya or Thailand as a whole is more or less than in other countries or cities. You can produce statistics to support almost any point of view to care to espouse, and at the end of the day it become a somewhat pointless and never ending argument.

What is self evident, however, is that there are a number of incidences of Thai women, being the wives, ex wives, or spurned lovers of farangs, resorting to violence for financial gain or to merely exact revenge. There have been numerous reports of such happenings in recent years, mainly in Pattaya, but also in other popular tourist spots such as Hua Hin, Phuket, and Koh Samui. Life can be very cheap in Thailand, and there are plenty of ‘hit men’ out there who will willingly do the dirty deed for a few thousand baht.

When you consider the extreme clash of culture, age and educational background, it is hardly surprising that these things do end in violence from time to time. If you further consider how much some of these ladies, many of whom come from extremely deprived and desperate backgrounds, stand to lose when their “ATM’ decides to move on, it is even less surprising that sometimes it all ends in tragedy.

That doesn’t mean to say that every Thai Lady who is married to, or living with a rich, elderly farang, is a potential murderer, nor does it mean that every time a Thai/farang relationship goes wrong that the women will resort to violence to settle the disputes. The incidence of extreme violence amongst such couples is still very low, if you consider the large numbers of such relationships that exist these days in LOS. Indeed, I have no doubt there are dozens of farangs out there who can relate perfectly amicable parting of the waves with ex Thai wives, without the slightest suggestion or threat of untoward violence.

Having said all that, and while it is eminently sensible to protect land bought in your wife’s name by getting her to grant you a 30 year lease back, it stretches the bounds of credulity to thinks that you can then kick your ex wife out, remain in the house, and shack up with a newer model, and not expect some serious problems with the ex. This is even more so, if the ex makes it very clear that she is not happy with the situation and even goes to court to try and recover what she regards as her property. Common sense, and the knowledge of what has befallen others in this still violent society would surely tell you that you may be inviting serious trouble, and that the best course of action may be to remove yourself ‘from the firing line’ (literally), or at the very least take some precautions to protect yourself.

Hopefully this will be cautionary tale to others who may find themselves in a similar situation.

[tatt2dude]

I have been reading this forum for a year or two and will retire to Thailand in about 3 years. It amazes me the negative comments that have relatively no basis. Why do people live here if they hate it so much? Some of you need to get a life, the U.S. and several other sountries have much worse crime and in my opinion if you mind your own business and do what is right then you won't have a problem...anywhere!

I do appreciate the good info that is posted but all the negativity is ridiculous, as stated above get a life, turn your computer off and enjoy Thailand.....or go somewhere else.

My first post and I expect a rash of ignorance to follow.

ACMIKE

Great first post, good for you.

Consider this, IF, huge I capital F. It was one of the wives being that stranger things have happened and no one here knows the facts.... again, don't let that stop you!.

My ex common law wife in England took quarter of a million off me, moved her boyfriend into the house I bought for her at which point my son then 12 moved in with me. Not happy with that she then sent new boyfriend (Irish Boxing Champion) round to add insult to injury. That didn't quite work out as they planned.

My point being, had she no protection through courts and no rights to my income or accumulated assets what action would she have taken? Who knows, I never knew she was as nasty as she turned out to be!!

It's got nothing to do with the "Thai's" being worse or better than any other Nation, it's all about people being people. If you hate this place so much, the people here and yourselves, then go home! Oh you can't? Why not?

I hope this guy rests in peace and I also hope his family don't have to read most of the <deleted> written here, which is, in my eyes mostly racist bullshit.

[chinthee]

I have been reading this forum for a year or two and will retire to Thailand in about 3 years. It amazes me the negative comments that have relatively no basis. Why do people live here if they hate it so much? Some of you need to get a life, the U.S. and several other sountries have much worse crime and in my opinion if you mind your own business and do what is right then you won't have a problem...anywhere!

I do appreciate the good info that is posted but all the negativity is ridiculous, as stated above get a life, turn your computer off and enjoy Thailand.....or go somewhere else.

My first post and I expect a rash of ignorance to follow.

ACMIKE

Great first post, good for you.

Not happy with that she then sent new boyfriend (Irish Boxing Champion) round to add insult to injury. That didn't quite work out as they planned.

Hey, it's a slow Tuesday, tell us about what you did to the boxing champ.

[tatt2dude]

I have been reading this forum for a year or two and will retire to Thailand in about 3 years. It amazes me the negative comments that have relatively no basis. Why do people live here if they hate it so much? Some of you need to get a life, the U.S. and several other sountries have much worse crime and in my opinion if you mind your own business and do what is right then you won't have a problem...anywhere!

I do appreciate the good info that is posted but all the negativity is ridiculous, as stated above get a life, turn your computer off and enjoy Thailand.....or go somewhere else.

My first post and I expect a rash of ignorance to follow.

ACMIKE

Great first post, good for you.

Not happy with that she then sent new boyfriend (Irish Boxing Champion) round to add insult to injury. That didn't quite work out as they planned.

Hey, it's a slow Tuesday, tell us about what you did to the boxing champ.

Roughly quarter of a million quids worth of hurt.

[Boomee]

Why are people so stupid,how many more times are we going to hear this story again this year.

[darkside]

All i can say is i hope the deceased Germans friends and family don't read this thread. Amazing how much you all know about this mans life. <deleted>

[Pattaya_Fox]

Any further insults to members may well result in holidays being awarded.

This is an important news topic and it would be a shame to spoil it with flaming or insults.

Thank you for your understanding.

[talueng]

I knew the killed German, I live near his house in Nongplalei. He live before in Erlangen, near Nuernberg. In Kalisch he was born.. before the war it was German, and is now Polish.

Heinrich, called Heiner, was not so easy and friendly, as his girlfriend told to the police. He like to make trouble with many people, speciall when he was drunken.. and this happended often.

He was a know-all, lordly and insult many people severley. Additional the 5-Mill.-house, I think this was a reason more to order the killers, special by hurd feelings of a proud Thai woman...

PS: Sorry, for my bad English - I`m German

[walterego]

I knew the killed German, I live near his house in Nongplalei. He live before in Erlangen, near Nuernberg. In Kalisch he was born.. before the war it was German, and is now Polish.

Heinrich, called Heiner, was not so easy and friendly, as his girlfriend told to the police. He like to make trouble with many people, speciall when he was drunken.. and this happended often.

He was a know-all, lordly and insult many people severley. Additional the 5-Mill.-house, I think this was a reason more to order the killers, special by hurd feelings of a proud Thai woman...

PS: Sorry, for my bad English - I`m German

did you just sign up to say ill of the dead?, this post ISP should be tracked and reported to authoritys. any lead no matter how insignificant is worth investigating.

RIP Doichlander.

 

[talueng]

did you just sign up to say ill of the dead?, this post ISP should be tracked and reported to authoritys. any lead no matter how insignificant is worth investigating.

RIP Doichlander.

Sorry, you missunderstood me.. this message is not for to sound bad about dead.. it`s for the living human, what can happen of own "unlucky" acts.

Thai women are also human with feelings and not only bought pleasure and later ######ing bullshit...

[gharknes]

so true, the Thais will do something or commit a crime knowing they will be caught. The same is true when it comes to driving a vehicle Just drive with reckless abandonment, have an accident, no problem.

I quess they figure Budha will look out forthem

maybe they do get away with it, you hear about these cases but unfortunately never hear about the final outcome, my guess is they do get away with it after negociating a settlement with the BIB, a million baht can make things dissapear.

[cyprean]

The murder makes sense, "someone" wants to keep the house, people like money.

What doesn't make sense (though is very common) is this:

63 year old man marries woman aged in 20s (lets assume the ex is too) and transfers considerable wealth to her, does this within a country where legal protections are whoeful and he by virtue of nationality can be expected to be treated second class.

He didn't see trouble would eventuate? hel_l this guy was a policeman...

Now maybe the guy was cashed up and the house was nothing to him. Seems to be his current lady was sueing the old, so could be she was chasing the money for her own gain and he's become the unfortunate victim.

Lesson learned: RENT, dont own.

[madi]

Very true and well said.

RENT

I rent and pay a load to do so but it is money well spent.

I am very sorry for the family of the dead gent here. It is of course unjustified to kill or fight in these cases.

Did it ever occur to anyone here that there could be an angry thai boyfriend involved here?

Just thinking

All so

Think about your home in your nations. If I were to marry a woman who is the age of my grandchildren it would be seen as a stupid move on my part. Then if I were to choose a woman who was a prostitute, it would be even more stupid. Now if I were to put her in a situation where she could lose everything she had from me, would I be surprised that she might get violent?

No No and NO

So you see, it is not just a Thailand thing here.

It is the group of facts involved that makes this thing precarious.

Of course racism is always more possible among uneducated people but again that is true everywhere.

This is not just a Thai thing.

[qualtrough]

You know why we'er still talking about it? Because it can happen to anyone of us. You think its hard to order a hit by a friend of a friend of of some distant cousin of a ex girlfriend or wife? You don't think your little misses can get in touch with some rather ruthless individuals if she puts her little mind to it? You're kidding yourselves. Thailand has the allure of a very safe place to be but belive me, it can be a ruthless place particularly if you cut off the flow of the only reason why our partners are with us....our MONEY! Wake up its the MONEY and nothing more!!!! Shit, for most of us we could be sitting at the same table while the wife and some stranger discuss th manner of our ..shall I say..disapperance. This is a nice little reminder of ...reality...

Just because your relationship is based on money does not mean everyone, or even nearly everyone, is in the same boat as you. There is a tendency on the forum for losers you have been burnt to assume that everyone is in the same situation. As someone pointed out in another thread, this assumption tends to give the losers comfort in that they do not feel as alone.

Edited June 27, 2007 by qualtrough