Man Rams Benz Into Bus Passengers, Killing One

[ratcatcher]

I wish to Christ I could get my hands on him. He'd be a fuc_kin' mess.

When I first came to Thailand, I heard that you could get a hit-man for a very reasonable amount.

Maybe some of us on this board might be willing to ante up a few baht to put this piece of excrement out of his misery and allow his irresponsible parents to resume their normal life of pissing on the poor.

Just some idle thoughts.

Would that make us better than them?

No, it wouldn't, you are absolutely right. Taking the life of Mu Ham would be as irresponsible as his own actions.

My anger & frustration is directed at the young man & the so-called justice system, but since his parents are responsible for spawning this failure, I guess they should show some responsibility.

However by all accounts the father has shown the utmost disdain for the dead woman's daughter and the other injured parties and merely offered petty financial compensation. B500,000 is peanuts to this multi millionaire!

Kan-Anek is a wealthy man yet not one editorial has really criticized them.

They should be shamed before Thai society.

No remorse, no true,genuine heartfelt apologies,just money.

Edited March 25, 2008 by ratcatcher

[thaigene2]

Kan-Anek is a wealthy man yet not one editorial has really criticized them.

And no one ever will..precisely because he's a wealthy man.

Edited March 25, 2008 by thaigene2

[Big A]

quote

They should be shamed before Thai society.

Thai society would never look down on or indeed shame a very rich man. Money is power and face, and no matter how the recipient came across his/her wealth, they will never be looked down upon.

[mrtoad]

^

No. But at least justice would be meted out. However, I appreciate your sentiment.

As much as I hate to say this, it is possible that the man may well have a mental illness and then the responsibilty should be on those who allowed him to drive. To despise or seek revenge of someone who is mentally unwell is as fair as hating a baby for crying. The family in this case appear to have failed their son on so many counts. It is they who should possibly be in the dock.

Lets be honest here, even with the knowledge that daddy will get you off the hook, it still takes one pretty disturbed bunny to deliberately harm others. What never ceases to make me wonder is how his parents, who appear to be intelectually bankrupt can be so stinking rich? If I were buddhist I might wonder if the neglect of their fellow human beings is currently returning in the form of a son that they simply cannot ignore.

It is possible, but still highly unlikely that he has a mental illness. If this is the case, then he would be on numerous types of medication, which would certainly make it risky to drive. There has been no mention of this in previous reports, or no suggestion of a Major Mental illness prior to and after the event being verified by an independent doctor.If as is now stated by the press that he had an "epileptic fit", then there is no way that he should be driving a motor vehicle, and it should now be very easy for them to rescind his licence on that basis. Having spent 14 years working in Psychiatry mainly in Forensic, I have seen many incidences of people feigning mental illness to reduce sentences and such like. My personal opinion is that he's trying to pull a fast one. I am sure that the family are easily in a position to buy an opinion from a Doctor if it is so required and he has probably received some good legal advice on this.Hopefully, the courts will take great care in examing any medical notes and assesments that are available.

Either way, people shouldn't overlook the attitude and contempt that the family have shown towards the victims of this heinous act. It also appears, that Mu Ham is more than aware of his actions when he is threatening police officers with "Do you know who I am" after his latest incident. He is a by product of poor parenting and a lack of social responsibility caused by his parents not making him take responsibility for his action.

I feel that this circus will continue for sometime yet.

My professional opinion could only be given with a thorough MH asessment, so as I have already said, this is just my own personal view.

[sriracha john]

Malingering is a medical and psychological term that refers to an individual fabricating or exaggerating the symptoms of mental or physical disorders for a variety of motives, including getting financial compensation (often tied to fraud), avoiding work, obtaining drugs, getting lighter criminal sentences, trying to get out of going to school, or simply to attract attention or sympathy.

The DSM-IV-TR states that malingering is suspected if any combination of the following are observed

- Medicolegal context of presentation

- Marked discrepancy between the person’s claimed stress of disability and the objective findings

- Lack of cooperation during the diagnostic evaluation and in complying with prescribed treatment regimen

- The presence of Antisocial Personality Disorder

[PadThaiGuy]

The outcome is obvious.

He isn't mental ......he doesn't have a temper.....he has a medical condition and we should feel sorry for him.

No one will second guess or question this rich family with police connections.

[Plus]

If he is mentally ill he should be locked in a mental hospital, his parents can afford it. He is certaionly dangerous to society.

You can take away his driving license but you can't stop his fits, and you can't garantee he won't attack others. What if he attacks children? You don't need a car to really harm them? Or women.

It would be nice if the court plays along with defence and puts him in a straight jacket for a year or so, I bet they'd change their defence strategy right away.

[tourleadersi]

I am sure when the gavel strikes at the end of this case different people will here a different sound:

The judge will hear the sound of a new Toyota Fortuner starting up.

The defense lawyers will hear the sound of cement being poured in their new beach villa.

The agrieved will hear the condescending laughter from this family of muppetts.

Society in general will hear the collective shrugging of shoulders.

And Nuttus Maximus will hear the clapping sound of his Daddy's hand on his back for a job well done.

But no one will hear the sound of justice being served, of that my friends I think we can be certain. When I was young I used to watch 'The Equaliser' starring Edward Woodward who went around righting social injustices. Where is he now?

[hanibal7]

the only illness he has is lack of control of his temper.as some say,he is from rich parents who frankly dont give a flying effff about the lower classes.what is all this i read about thai losing face.i am sure i would lose face if my son ran amock in england.court hearing nov???? give me a break.everything will die down then and not good news.

i am appaled by these rich arseoles of thailand who think they can do anything.execute him and make him an example of the new government eradication corruption.

did i say the new government want to eradicate corruption,sorry guys and girls i must be drunk or in dreamland

disgusted with the thai people for accepting this,get off yer fat asses and do something and stop being wimps.

[Flatouthruthefog]

I am sure when the gavel strikes at the end of this case different people will here a different sound:

The judge will hear the sound of a new Toyota Fortuner starting up.

The defense lawyers will hear the sound of cement being poured in their new beach villa.

The agrieved will hear the condescending laughter from this family of muppetts.

Society in general will hear the collective shrugging of shoulders.

And Nuttus Maximus will hear the clapping sound of his Daddy's hand on his back for a job well done.

But no one will hear the sound of justice being served, of that my friends I think we can be certain. When I was young I used to watch 'The Equaliser' starring Edward Woodward who went around righting social injustices. Where is he now?

Well written, tourleadersi, but surely in a case of such importance it MUST be a Merc starting up, not a common or garden Toyo?

Seriously, very few threads have ever shown such universal outrage as this, and rightly so. Is it not time to band together and demand that justice should be SEEN to be done and done PROMPTLY?

Thing is, such a campaign would need to be headed by a Thai to be credible and to have any chance of success. And the right Thai at that.

How about Tan Thongbai, 'Bangkok Post' legal writer, lawyer and champion of the poor?

Who is going to co-ordinate this?

Provided it looks like being done properly, I have 1,000b (to start the kitty) burning a hole in my pocket and I am a low budget expat. How about the rest of YOU?

In my view we would not be doing this for "us", whoever we may be, we would be doing this for Thailand.

[Maejo Man]

Provided it looks like being done properly, I have 1,000b (to start the kitty) burning a hole in my pocket and I am a low budget expat. How about the rest of YOU?

In my view we would not be doing this for "us", whoever we may be, we would be doing this for Thailand.

I'll see your 1000 and raise it another 1000 if only to see the snivelling whimp get his just deserts

[hanibal7]

good idea,count me in for a 1000 baht.i have just said to my gf its the thais fault for not expecting justice.you shoulddemand justice and get this disgusting creature off the roads and for the family to pay up,if he hasnt got money.

pathetic,horrible disgusting sewer rat,now thats losing face isnt it.

[crocodile]

Provided it looks like being done properly, I have 1,000b (to start the kitty) burning a hole in my pocket and I am a low budget expat. How about the rest of YOU?

In my view we would not be doing this for "us", whoever we may be, we would be doing this for Thailand.

I'll see your 1000 and raise it another 1000 if only to see the snivelling whimp get his just deserts

Me too! Another 1,000 to help fund justice on this thing.

[Heng]

the only illness he has is lack of control of his temper.as some say,he is from rich parents who frankly dont give a flying effff about the lower classes.what is all this i read about thai losing face.i am sure i would lose face if my son ran amock in england.court hearing nov???? give me a break.everything will die down then and not good news.

i am appaled by these rich arseoles of thailand who think they can do anything.execute him and make him an example of the new government eradication corruption.

did i say the new government want to eradicate corruption,sorry guys and girls i must be drunk or in dreamland

disgusted with the thai people for accepting this,get off yer fat asses and do something and stop being wimps.

Just as I suspected... there are some overfed poor people out there.

[Big A]

You've read my last few posts about this animal. I'll put my money where my mouth is. B1,000

3 2 1 You're back in the room!!

[thaigene2]

You know - you can all keep your little pan-bahts (one-thousand bahts: $30) in your pockets. You know as well as I do that you cannot even think about going up against the wealthy pooyai in Thailand - since you all know how they made their money in the first place - and squeezing pip-squeeks is what they do just for fun. Our outrage may be well placed - but that's all it is: 'well placed'.

What's worse is that, under Thai law, none of us can even question the verdict that will come out. Usually the first verdict in a high-profile case is something handed down to sound tough, with an opening for appeal (and an immediate bail pending the appeal), which of course results in a softened or overturned verdict on some issue that is never fully explained. The whole thing is stitched up since to question the court's decision is contempt (not just here but in some countries with English Common law systems too). Of course that's all very convenient in countries where there is 'ahem' less than 'transparancy' in the justice system as a whole. You'll note I say this PRIOR to the court's ruling - if I said it after both I and TV would be in trouble. And that is why everyone shuts up.

So save your energies - or pick another day to get even? Revenge is a dish best served cold.

[Heng]

Most people forget that it's even on the menu (not that they really intended to order it in the first place), especially since there is a perpetual supply of new menu items to get all 'worked up' about.

Edited March 26, 2008 by Heng

[Shah Jahan]

There is always a place for him on the Samaksin Cabinet.

Edited March 26, 2008 by Shah Jahan

[tourleadersi]

As we harbour resentment towards the Thai's for their acceptance of the way things, we should not fail to remember the state of affairs in our own back garden. Not intending to say that what is happening here is right, but let's not forget that three leaders of the Western world were re-elected by the populace after it had been shown that they had lied and led their countries into war. The damage and devastation caused by those actions dwarf the topic at hand. None should be allowed off the hook, but so many so often are.

The Thais are not alone in the world as far as indefference goes, it seems like all races are getting shafted by the wealthy and ruling classes. This will always be the case as long as it is allowed by the majority. If I remember rightly, Michael Moore commented that the majority of working and middle class Americans allowed the rich to stay rich in the vain hope that they would one day join their ranks. Perhaps that is what is happening now.

[sriracha john]

Thailand's wealthy untouchables

Sometimes a single incident manages to shine a spotlight deep into the soul of a society.

There was just such an incident in Thailand last year, which has just gone to court, and which speaks volumes about the dislocating impact of more than four decades of break-neck economic growth.

It was a seemingly routine accident along Sukhumvit Road, one of Bangkok's busiest and most traffic-clogged thoroughfares.

A Mercedes-Benz was pulled up alongside a city bus, and a young man was having an angry exchange with the bus driver, whom he accused of scraping against his car. The passengers started shouting at the man, who got back into his car and appeared to be about to leave.

But instead he accelerated forwards onto the pavement and into the crowd of passengers, crushing several of them under his vehicle. One woman later died, and several other passengers were seriously injured.

A fit of road rage perhaps? The police charged the young man, Kanpitak Pachimsawas, with murder. But the case very quickly turned into one about class differences, about the perceived arrogance of Thailand's rich, towards the poor. Kanpitak, it turned out, was the 20-year-old son of a former Miss Thailand beauty queen and a wealthy businessman. He was also the nephew of a powerful police officer.

The bus driver reported that his father had arrived at the scene and threatened to use his police connections against the passengers. "He thinks he has money and a big family name, so he can do things like this to poor people," the bus conductor told reporters at the scene.

Kanpitak's father was unrepentant. Speaking on a TV chat show two days later, he showed more concern for his son than his victims. Responding to the bus conductor's comments he said: "They are uneducated. That's how they are. They think they are abused, that rich people are bad, that the police are bad. Lower class people have a bad attitude towards police officers and rich people. They hate us and curse us."

Thailand has one of the most unequal distributions of wealth anywhere on the planet, despite some recent improvements. And that yawning gap between rich and poor is most openly on view in Bangkok, where ostentatious displays of wealth are commonplace alongside the grinding poverty experienced by millions of migrant workers who have come from the countryside.

Luxury cars costing more than the entire annual income of a village rub up against the battered carts of street vendors. New shopping centres and apartment blocks are crowding out what little open space remains in the city, projects that help the rich get even richer.

It should come as no surprise that it is in Bangkok that a five-star hotel is offering its 50 highest-spending guests what it calls the meal of a lifetime, prepared by a team of Michelin-starred chefs and preceded by the guests being flown by executive jet to a village in eastern Thailand to witness a little poverty before tucking into their 10-course feast.

Total cost: around US$300,000 (£150,000). The event has barely raised an eyebrow in Thailand, but caused such an uproar elsewhere over its questionable taste that many top chefs in France have decided to boycott it.

What is so striking about Thailand's inequality is how little visible social tension there is. For the most part people appear to accept their lot without resentment. Some put this down to Buddhist concepts of fate and karma, others, to Thailand's deep-rooted sense of hierarchy.

The case of Kanpitak Pachimsawas has struck a raw nerve. Websites in Thailand are filled with comments demanding that the young man face the full force of the law, regardless of his family connections. Some poke fun at his father's claim that it was mental stress that caused him to drive his car into the crowd.

But there is little of the blistering anger that erupted in China after a similar case four years ago, when a woman who drove her BMW at a farmer she had been arguing with, killing his wife, was given only a suspended jail sentence. It forced the Chinese authorities to reopen the case, and to close down websites carrying the online debate over the case.

In Thailand, Kanpitak Pachimsawas was released on bail and, amazingly, even allowed to continue driving. On his first day in court he was apparently overcome by nerves and said he was unable to answer any questions. The judge adjourned the case until November. He may never go to prison.

Suchira Insawan, the daughter of the woman he killed, says she feels no anger towards him. She has yet to receive any compensation from the Pachimsawas family - she has asked for 7m baht ($222,000; £111,000) but is likely to get less, perhaps even less than the list price of the Mercedes-Benz that crushed her mother. "The damage is done," she told me. "I forgive him. I don't want to destroy his future, I don't want him to be jailed. I don't want bad karma." She also had little faith that the courts would find against such a privileged young man. "Many parts of the Thai bureaucratic system favour rich people. If you are not one of them, you will always be left at the back of the queue."

- BBC (today)

[apetley]

This story has reached the BBC.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7328054.stm

[apetley]

Dammit SJ your just too quick!!!!!!!

[thaigene2]

Well done. Won't change a thing of course - and the Thai establishment/politicians won't even bat an eye at the article before moving on to their next little rip-off scheme

EDIT: Well, I just read the full unedited article on the BBC site: they may bat an eye if they read the bit SJ cut out! Just the kind of excuse they would use to ban/block the site.

Edited April 7, 2008 by thaigene2

[marquess]

Well done. Won't change a thing of course - and the Thai establishment/politicians won't even bat an eye at the article before moving on to their next little rip-off scheme

EDIT: Well, I just read the full unedited article on the BBC site: they may bat an eye if they read the bit SJ cut out! Just the kind of excuse they would use to ban/block the site.

Good article and only highlights what the more astute foreign observer and occasional Thai would have already known, but probably swept under the carpet by the average Thai and even most of those with an education, it is probably endorsed by the latter; as it helps to keep them in their positions.

[mrtoad]

Well done. Won't change a thing of course - and the Thai establishment/politicians won't even bat an eye at the article before moving on to their next little rip-off scheme

EDIT: Well, I just read the full unedited article on the BBC site: they may bat an eye if they read the bit SJ cut out! Just the kind of excuse they would use to ban/block the site.

Good article and only highlights what the more astute foreign observer and occasional Thai would have already known, but probably swept under the carpet by the average Thai and even most of those with an education, it is probably endorsed by the latter; as it helps to keep them in their positions.

Sad, but so true.

[Plus]

I wish someone had run her over, too:

"Suchira Insawan, the daughter of the woman he killed, says she feels no anger towards him. She has yet to receive any compensation from the Pachimsawas family - she has asked for 7m baht ($222,000; £111,000) but is likely to get less, perhaps even less than the list price of the Mercedes-Benz that crushed her mother. "The damage is done," she told me. "I forgive him. I don't want to destroy his future, I don't want him to be jailed. I don't want bad karma."

[RusticCharm]

but let's not forget that three leaders of the Western world were re-elected by the populace after it had been shown that they had lied and led their countries into war. The damage and devastation caused by those actions dwarf the topic at hand

But it's not the topic at hand, is it?

Please leave your liberal soapbox bullshit for other threads. I thinks you'll find quite a few of them. Thanks.

[highdiver]

some of our posters seem to think that the Thai justice system is somewhat different the the ones in the west.

some of those poster from a very ""high moral ground"" seem to reflect the notion that this system is treating the rich and pooyai differently then the common people.... Wow what a revelation!!!

does OJ Simpson ring a bell??

Michael Jackson Ring a bell??

President of France with a very elaborate wine expanses?

president Clinton??

Do rich people and famous people get away with it only in Thailand??

[marquess]

some of our posters seem to think that the Thai justice system is somewhat different the the ones in the west.

some of those poster from a very ""high moral ground"" seem to reflect the notion that this system is treating the rich and pooyai differently then the common people.... Wow what a revelation!!!

does OJ Simpson ring a bell??

Michael Jackson Ring a bell??

President of France with a very elaborate wine expanses?

president Clinton??

Do rich people and famous people get away with it only in Thailand??

In all the above cases you mention there, was room for reasonable doubt, but a broad day light running over of a crowd at a bus stop is hardly comparable, also the night club case of Duncherlem shooting someone was again not a case of reasonable doubt. Injustice is everywhere, but here if you are rich your unlikely to go to jail for almost virtually anything! I doubt that in the States or the UK you would still be driving around after running into a crowd deliberately. But this subject is not really about those countries it is about poor people being rail roaded blatently at the expense of the rich here in Thailand.

Edited April 11, 2008 by Maestro

[Plus]

Look, if the victim doesn't want him to go to jail and would gladly accept a small payment, why are you getting so worked up about the rich taking the chance?