Small gate maker in pattaya.

[Terry2905]

Hi everyone. 

 

3 days ago I was robbed at knife point from the balcony of the condo I stay in, on the ground floor. 

 

I was standing outside having a cigarette at 02:30 am when a Thai man suddenly came out of nowhere, and threatened me a meat cleaver. 

 

He demanded money, which I gave him from my wallet, about 3,500 baht, and he also demanded a box of cigarettes, which I also gave him. 

 

He had originally just snatched my whole wallet, but I persuaded him by sign language (he did not speak English and I can't speak Thai), to hand me my wallet, and I took all the money out of it. I guess I was lucky, because if he had taken my wallet, I would have to have cancelled my credit and debit cards and get them replaced, and I would have had to get replacement Thai driving licences.

 

Although my mobile phone and laptop and tablet were in full view, he didn't steal them! Phew!

 

Anyway, the entrance to my balcony has an open area, with only 2 steps, about 2 metres wide.

 

I want to have a gate fitted across that entrance way, as a deterrent, and to give me added security and a little peace of mind?

 

If I had a gate, it would give me the time to get into my room and lock the door, should the same thing happen again in the future. 

 

But I don't know anywhere in pattaya that would make and fit a custom gate.

 

Does anyone know where there is a steel manufacturer in pattaya that would come and measure and manufacture and install a small gate?

 

The condo I stay in, in central pattaya has no security guard, but does have cctv. 

 

Of course I did call the police, made a report, and the police were very good, and took me back to my room at 04:00, and took some photos. They returned later, and found out that the guy next door has also had an attempt to rob him, and the police came back the next day to review the cctv. The Thai man was clearly seen, carrying the meat cleaver. 

 

Of course I am s**t scared! Although I am only 65 years old, I don't have the skills to take on a guy with a meat cleaver!

 

I don't want to smoke inside my room, and please don't reply with any comments about giving up smoking!

 

There is actually more to the story than the theft from me being threatened with a lethal weapon. The guy next door actually has an open area beside his room, and it turns out that the Thai man that robbed me, had also tried to rob the guy next door of a microwave, a barbecue grill and an outside tv! The guy next door had turned his open area into a small outdoor bar, which was why he had a small kitchen area and tv, to entertain his friends. The police found all that outside, on the floor in the road outside, so the burglar must have been seen by someone and had run away? All that was actually stolen from my next door neighbour was the tv remote control and a pair of sandals! He has now installed cctv and motion sensors in that recreational area, with an alarm linked to his phone. 

 

In conclusion, all that I can really do is to put a gate across the open entrance to my balcony, obviously padlocked,  which would at least give me those precious few seconds to get inside my room and lock the door and call the police. 

 

I have asked the owner of the condo, both for permission to put a gate, at my own expense, which he has agreed to, but he doesn't know anywhere that makes gates, although he will ask around, but I am posting this in case someone knows of a place in pattaya that would make a small gate, probably 2 small hinged gates with a central place to put a lock.

 

And as cheap as possible, because I am by no means rich!

 

As an aside, when the police viewed the condo cctv, they actually saw the Thai man following another farang up the road, but he lives upstairs from me, and the main door is a security door, with a key card, and that door automatically locks when it shuts. He was lucky, because he was the initial intended victim!

 

I was unlucky, and was robbed of about 3,500 baht, and a pack of cigarettes, but I was also lucky that the robber didn’t take my new phone or my laptop or tablet. The robber could have taken everything, because he had a meat cleaver. 

 

Of course I know that the police will not do anything more! It is very unlikely that they will identify the robber, even though it is actually a serious offence! Armed robbery is serious.

 

Never mind the emotional stress also. I am s**t scared to go outside now!

 

I have "lashed up" a temporary barrier, using a big clothes horse with a chain, a lock, and an old car battery, to make it heavier, but of course that is not really a permanent solution. 

 

Thanks for any advice or help where I can get a gate made.

 

[Gsxrnz]

I was gonna ask how small the gate maker had to be, but after reading the thread I decided to recommend these guys to you.  I used them to repair a gate years ago, they were good to deal with.

 

albardoorsthailand.com

 

 

 

 

[Terry2905]

Thanks. I will try and find or contact them. 

[gargamon]

You own or rent/lease? If you rent/lease, move to a higher floor. I don't understand why anyone would want to live in a ground floor unit.

[jimn]

Simple solution. Stop smoking

[johng]

He said not to say that

 

I suggest buying a bigger meat cleaver or samurai sword for defence whilst smoking on the balcony..

and could you let us know where in Pattaya this meat clever maniac is menacing...so others will know to be on the lookout...it's fortunately quite an uncommon thing to happen...though I do recall the case of a Thaivisa memeber uears ago who was hit over the head with his own frying pan and robbed whilst sitting at his computer.

 

There are loads of shops around Pattaya that can make you a gate

many also make windows and mosquito nets....ask a motorcycle taxi guy on the corner to take you to a "rarn tum grajock"  or "rarn cheum lek"   they will come and mesure up  shouldn't be expensive  unless the balcony is huge and you want highest grade stainless steel.

[ignore it]

Golly what a bummer.

If your stuck where your at, rig up what you can for now. But in the long run your going to have to spend the bucks to do it up properly.

In the short run, I'd suggest getting some cheap cameras to give the RTP some thing to go on.

Cameras are very cheap nowadays. 

Hang in there, you did the right thing. 

 

 

[Terry2905]

36 minutes ago, johng said:

He said not to say that

 

I suggest buying a bigger meat cleaver or samurai sword for defence whilst smoking on the balcony..

and could you let us know where in Pattaya this meat clever maniac is menacing...so others will know to be on the lookout...it's fortunately quite an uncommon thing to happen...though I do recall the case of a Thaivisa memeber uears ago who was hit over the head with his own frying pan and robbed whilst sitting at his computer.

 

There are loads of shops around Pattaya that can make you a gate

many also make windows and mosquito nets....ask a motorcycle taxi guy on the corner to take you to a "rarn tum grajock"  or "rarn cheum lek"   they will come and mesure up  shouldn't be expensive  unless the balcony is huge and you want highest grade stainless steel.

Thanks for the info. 

 

Yeah, I thought about buying a machete, but I am a bit old and frail to weald something like that, and I certainly would not want to be seen by my neighbours standing outside on my balcony with a machete in hand 😏.

 

 

[Terry2905]

14 minutes ago, ignore it said:

Golly what a bummer.

If your stuck where your at, rig up what you can for now. But in the long run your going to have to spend the bucks to do it up properly.

In the short run, I'd suggest getting some cheap cameras to give the RTP some thing to go on.

Cameras are very cheap nowadays. 

Hang in there, you did the right thing. 

 

 

The condo has plenty of cctv cameras, and the police saw him on the cctv footage actually walking behind another foreign guy along the road, obviously his initial intended victim, so the police have plenty of very clear footage of the robber. The foreign guy was lucky. He lives upstairs from me, and the entrance door is a key card door, and he obviously got inside and closed the door before the robber could! The foreign guy was totally unaware that he was being followed. 

[Terry2905]

7 hours ago, gargamon said:

You own or rent/lease? If you rent/lease, move to a higher floor. I don't understand why anyone would want to live in a ground floor unit.

I rent, and have been in this room for 6 years without any problems. Yes I could move upstairs, but it is a daunting task to move everything I have, (deep fryer, kettle, table and chairs, microwave, cooker, kitchen cabinet, etc), and there is no lift, and I am a little frail to carry shopping up flights of stairs. 

 

The ground floor suits me well. 

Edited May 8 by Terry2905
Added info

[gargamon]

1 hour ago, Terry2905 said:

I rent, and have been in this room for 6 years without any problems. Yes I could move upstairs, but it is a daunting task to move everything I have, (deep fryer, kettle, table and chairs, microwave, cooker, kitchen cabinet, etc), and there is no lift, and I am a little frail to carry shopping up flights of stairs. 

 

The ground floor suits me well. 

Cheaper to hire someone to help you move than buy a gate. And the daily walk up a flight of stairs to your new room may help with your fitness.

[jacko45k]

12 hours ago, gargamon said:

Cheaper to hire someone to help you move than buy a gate. And the daily walk up a flight of stairs to your new room may help with your fitness.

Be fair, it may not be  matter of fitness. 

[Terry2905]

Hi everyone. 

 

Just a small update. The lady owner of the condo block helped by arranging a gate maker. I chose galvanised steel, which will be painted white. The steel gate will cost 4,000 baht. Stainless steel would have cost 9,000 baht, so I went for the cheaper option. 3 days to have it made and fitted. 

 

It will certainly ease my mind with the extra bit of security, and make things a lot easier for me. I currently have a temporary lash up, using a large clothes hanger, strapped with a chain and padlock to a post on 1 side, and weighed down with an old car battery on the "free" side, but it is a pain having to do that every day!

 

I still haven't really recovered from the initial shock of being robbed with a lethal weapon, but the gate will give me some peace of mind, because it will give me those vital few seconds to get into my room and lock the door. (Yes I know that the robber could easily climb over the gate, but it would give me those few extra seconds to get into my room). 

 

A big thank you to you guys for your support.