Gun To The Head!

[Nirvana]

After many years living here, I too thought the gun problem was over-rated. That idea came to shattering end when I was involved in a road rage incident on Nanai Rd. I was on my m/bike, on the receiving end of some bad driving by a big Gold coloured Fortuna. I gave a mild tut tut to indicate I was about to be run over, no hand or eye contact (I was too busy trying to survive). The guy turned round and raced after me, and tried twice to run me off the road. When I stopped he pulled a gun out of the car pocket, pointed the gun at my head (some 3m away), and ranted like a mad man. Even pulled the clip to dispaly the bullets. I was sure he would shoot, and I patiently calmed him down. Now this guy is a well known Tesiban foreman, is well known as a crazy, and he considers himself an 'honorary' policemen, so he carries a gun in his car.

I'm much much more careful now, with a much more jai yin yin attitude, at all times.

Incredible and shocking

[LoveDaBlues]

the policeman took out his gun and pointed it first at my neighbour's wife's head, and then at my neighbour's head. My neighbour's wife pulled the policeman's arm

That was an EXTREMELY dangerous thing to do with a gun-wielding, drunk policeman who's leveled a pitol at the husband's head.

[LoveDaBlues]

well i have been in Thai a long time too and never seen anything like that . i find that very hard to believe, i think there might have been a lot more envolved than a problem with a left hand turn .

cheers

Then you don't live in CM or you'd know about the cop that flipped over nothing but a few words and he killed 3 ppl and then turned the gun on himself.

But I'm sure you find it hard to believe.

[Prakanong]

well i have been in Thai a long time too and never seen anything like that . i find that very hard to believe, i think there might have been a lot more envolved than a problem with a left hand turn .

cheers

Then you don't live in CM or you'd know about the cop that flipped over nothing but a few words and he killed 3 ppl and then turned the gun on himself.

But I'm sure you find it hard to believe.

There was another up there in CM a couple of years before the case you talk about too - at the airport where a cop shot some farangs because his GF had left him for a farang I think it was - Italians shot i think

[cali4995]

Gun possession is out of control. I know in pattaya every other day they arrest some

kid, literally kid who has been racing around his motorbike with a loaded pistol in his

pocket. I thought they were illegal but they seem so easy to obtain. It's a little

unnerving knowing there are so many high on yaba, drunk, just racing around looking

for other little gang-bangers to fight with. definitely way too many guns around.

[zorro1]

Cop was having a bad day at the office and just letting of some steam. He probably has a thing for watching farangs actually sh-t their pants. I flicked a rubber band at a co worker once and nearly lost my job

[sriracha john]

the policeman took out his gun and pointed it first at my neighbour's wife's head, and then at my neighbour's head. My neighbour's wife pulled the policeman's arm

That was an EXTREMELY dangerous thing to do with a gun-wielding, drunk policeman who's leveled a pitol at the husband's head.

well i have been in Thai a long time too and never seen anything like that . i find that very hard to believe, i think there might have been a lot more envolved than a problem with a left hand turn .

Well maybe you should (or should not) get out more. I have known these neighbours for eight years, and they are very much of the 'keep your head down' variety. The man is in his fifties and certainly doesn't need to go looking for trouble from the locals for kicks.

As to the 'mental health' issue, the cop was so drunk he could hardly ride his bike to the station, and fell off whilst dismounting. Why can you not simply accept that these things do happen, and are happening more and more frequently here cankeroo?

[LoveDaBlues]

the policeman took out his gun and pointed it first at my neighbour's wife's head, and then at my neighbour's head. My neighbour's wife pulled the policeman's arm

That was an EXTREMELY dangerous thing to do with a gun-wielding, drunk policeman who's leveled a pitol at the husband's head.

well i have been in Thai a long time too and never seen anything like that . i find that very hard to believe, i think there might have been a lot more envolved than a problem with a left hand turn .

Well maybe you should (or should not) get out more. I have known these neighbours for eight years, and they are very much of the 'keep your head down' variety. The man is in his fifties and certainly doesn't need to go looking for trouble from the locals for kicks.

As to the 'mental health' issue, the cop was so drunk he could hardly ride his bike to the station, and fell off whilst dismounting. Why can you not simply accept that these things do happen, and are happening more and more frequently here cankeroo?

I stand corrected, having missed the post about the cop being drunk. Thanks for setting me straight.

[sriracha john]

mai pen rai.... to err is human .... to forgive is...

[chiang mai]

I was in my local watering hole up North one evening around midnight when a very drunken Thai man staggered in and demanded a drink. The bar owners Thai wife had to refuse to serve him since he could barley stand or speak. The man took a swing at the wife and she went down and three farang regulars pounced on the man to restrain him, punching him a couple of times in the process. The drunk pulled away and took out a gun from his waste band and put it to the ladies head, at which point several uniformed policemen arrived in the bar. Everyone was taken down to the police station only to find out that the drunk was an under cover cop and the entire incident was smoothed over and no police report was made. Over the following weeks the bar became the subject of intense police scrutiny which culminated in the a raid at five minutes after closing time and the bar owner arrested and subsequently fined for late opening. The farang who had punched the drunken cop was the subject of a man hunt by police but he had chosen wisely to return to his home overseas.

[Amir]

It's amazing, but every post I have read that is geared to making people aware of just how dangerous the place CAN be, there is always someone who "can't believe it" or "or has never seen it". Just because you haven't seen it, doesn't make it a lie. I have seen it but in moderation. It is not an everyday occurance, but it does happen. I have seen Thai Cops with 50 Caliber Desert Eagles in their holsters. If you have ever seen what a 50 cal. bullet does, you would wonder why would there be such a need for such a weapon, except for charging rhinos. Thai police are very good and brave men. They probably had every intention of being a good cop, but the system makes them do these bad things. There are many who are forced to do things that they don't want to do, and are expected to just deal with it. I know a few cops through a friend, but none very well. I know that most mean well, but alcohol can make even the best person do bad things.

Arguing with a cop, regardless of the situation, is asking for trouble. Your friend should have just paid the fine, and told his wife to shut up. Sounds like she was way out of place, and this casued the incident to get worse. He was probably broke, and was looking for a "farang traffic fine" so he could continue drinking. Notice I said probably. These guys are paid hardly anything compared to what they subject themselves to. Arguing with him was stupid. He says the offense, just say "I PAY FINE NOW, HOW MUCH?"

Otherwise, you might get crossed, especially if you have a loud mouthed Thai wife that would have normally kept her mouth shut had she no been married to farang. This is a big problem with a Thai wife. She thinks she has justification to wrestle and argue with the police. She is lucky he didn't do her worse.

As for Thai Police as a whole, put yourself in their shoes. And show some respect, or you might get a gun in your face.

I think and hope that most of the people around here haven't seen this before. Otherwise it would mean that there is a big problem in Thailand. And i don't believe that there is...

[stuandchris]

I am repeating myself from another post here but farangs have to get real in a big way, I first came here in 1975 and went all over asia, you think it's bad now it was the wild west then.

Just before I left the UK a black lad got an axe through his head for no reason except that he was black, imagine the posts here if this was a Thai expat web site for the UK.

Stay calm in all things, smile and learn to shrug your shoulders in that order.

This isn't our country and you can't put western values on any asian country, if you want it to be little Europe or North America you really need to evaluate whether this is the plsce for you.

[DLock]

I can believe this.

A few years ago, I was dining in Phuket Town. As I walked towards my car another car bumped into the rear of my car while he was parking. I went up to his window and told him he hit my car. He didn't really react, so I slapped his windscreen. A guy approached from a restaurant on the other side of the road, and told me "no problem, get in my car and go". There was damage to my bumper and light and I said that he needed to pay for the repairs. He repeated again for me to leave. I refused, while the other guy stayed in his car.

The guy then ran across the street to his car, grabbed something and put it under his shirt and walked back. When he was close he pulled out a handgun and put it to my forehead and told me to leave. I did, but I asked my wife to get the Thai plate on the car. The next day, I went to the police station to lodge a complaint, which they accepted, only to be called back that afternoon and told to drop it, as the guy was an off duty cop.

You never know how you will react when you have a gun to your head, but you are utterly powerless. I'm sure some people will say I should have grabbed the gun, or reacted differently, but I just froze.

I did not pursue it any further as we all know what the consequences may have been.

Lesson learned, situations here can escalate from nothing to life threatening very fast, so be more Thai in your approach - smile, sawesdee and let people save face - you may just get to play another day.

[sriracha john]

the policeman took out his gun and pointed it first at my neighbour's wife's head, and then at my neighbour's head. My neighbour's wife pulled the policeman's arm

That was an EXTREMELY dangerous thing to do with a gun-wielding, drunk policeman who's leveled a pistol at the husband's head.

But a truly understandable gut reaction to someone pointing a gun at your loved one's head don't you think?

Understandable if she wanted to have the gun go off.

Although we don't know the exact situation at that time, as it is described my mind pictures that scenario happening very easily.

My gut reaction would tell me to keep quiet and not escalate the situation of a drunk with a loaded pistol in a volatile moment by physically grabbing their arm, particularly if at the time it was pointed directly at a loved one's head.

You never know how you will react when you have a gun to your head, but you are utterly powerless. I'm sure some people will say I should have grabbed the gun, or reacted differently, but I just froze.

IF they were stupid they might....

You reacted with proper instincts.

[LoveDaBlues]

I had a .45 pointed point-blank between my eyes, back in the USA. I swear the barrel looked like a 55 gallon drum. The only thing that moved was my bowels.

[IgnacioE]

and its this kind of recklessness that makes me feel like im better off out of here.

it does;nt happen everyday ,its still safer here than most places .

Most places? care to elaborate ?, if we cant trust the cops and the qualifications to join seem to be greed surely that makes this not too high up on the safe places to live,.

I feel safer walking around Phuket Town or Patong at 3 a.m. than I do in the "walking areas" of Berkeley, San Fran, or Oakland at 3 p.m.

And, to answer another post, yes there are gangs of Thai kids riding around on scooters in the wee hour of the mornings with home-made 2-bullet guns on them. I keep my head down when they ride by and I make a point not to stare at the gorgeous girls riding with them, just as I wouldn't stare at a gorgeous girl riding with a big biker dude on a Harley in the U.S...

[patongpanda]

I also got a gun in my face from a blind-drunk policeman. (Just walking down the road minding my own business.) Didn't make a complaint though. The cops are some bad dudes in Kamala and Patong.

[Ping]

Speaking of guns, the price for a pistol on the black market is around B4,000 (according to a newspaper article). May seem a lot for a Thai to purchase, but probably small beans for those involved in drugs/other crime. Little wonder that there seem to be so many of them around.