Two Tourists In Pai Shot By A Police Officer

[Soph]

Thai police are obliged to interfere if there is trouble brewing, even if they are off duty.

I have never ever seen a Thai policeman intercede in a Tha/Thai domestic dispute. I've seen them watch though.

A very valid point - from beginning I found it very hard to beleive that a Thai would get involved with any kind of incident such as this - ive seen for myself people walk right past withough even a pause when domestics are taking place. Surely there must be some other reason for the cop to have got involved

[rafval]

A man has just learned that his Girlfriend, wife, exgirlfriend, or exwife is pregnant by another man and is having an emotional interaction with her!

I find it odd that thats the one thing the police do know, they dont know what happened but they know what the couple was talking about presumably in english before it happened, they must have some english speaking witness who was at the restaurant

[brahmburgers]

Most likely scenario: the cop, who's already out on bail, will get off with a reprimand. Main reason: his word against a dead farang man who can't talk. Because the two farang were purportedly drunk, they've got no decent defense (from the view of Thai justice). Doesn't matter that the Thai cop was in street clothes or that he might have been drunk (again, in the view of Thai justice) - indeed, he can use his drunkeness as an excuse. Thai justice will bend over backwards to try to find a way to sweep this under the proverbial carpet. It's bad for tourism, it's bad for cops' (already bad) reputation. If there were any Thai witnesses, they won't talk, that's for sure.

Next likely scenario: the Thai cop will get put behind bars for a few weeks - and get let out either by his buddies or by a royal pardon.

Least likely scenario: there will be a fair and objective and thorough investigation and Thai justice will show that it can really do the right thing - the sentence will fit the crime and the criminal will stay behind bars for many years.

[inmemorylsx]

I think the nadian was "accidentially shot to death" not murdered. Murder carries intent. POM's call this "misadventure" Great word.

I would tell both families involved to bypass the bs and lies they will get from the Canadian Embassy in Bangkok. Canadian Embassy employees in Asia are lazy and useless and liars.

If you ever run into any problems, call upon friends, family or locals as you will not get proper assistance or any help that you deserve.

Staff at the Embassy in Bangkok are useless and you will notice that with this case and also with the past pedophile from Quebec that they have learned to shut their big mouths and not be so public.

[neion2000]

Anyway a big mess.

I think it's called a "murder". Anyway we're speculating which we shouldn't do.

You think this is "murder" sounds like the policeman was there to stop the situation PERIOD!! If the now DEAD Canadian was close enough to get shot in the mouth, he must have been struggling with the off duty policeman.. and the outcome was due to the Canadian and his actions..

The way I've been seeing the way Thai justice works, the tourist are the one's getting away murder and are always expect to be right in any situation, even if they're wrong..

There of course, must be a full investigation, then let the law dictate the outcome.. I think the policeman is screwed.. I hope he's vendicated!!!

[bino]

This just broke on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation website:

Canadian man, 25, killed by Thai police officer

A Thai police officer fatally shot a Canadian man and wounded his pregnant companion during a scuffle outside a bar in northern Thailand, authorities said Monday.

The officer told investigators the shooting was an accident, but he was charged with premeditated murder, said police Col. Sombat Panya of Pai district in northern Mae Hong Son.

John Leo Del Pinto, 25, died early Sunday of two gunshot wounds — one to the face and one to the torso — and his partner, Carly Reisig, also of Canada, was in hospital with a bullet wound in her body, Sombat said.

The bullet grazed Reisig's upper left torso and the fetus was unharmed, Sombat said.

Del Pinto's and Reisig's hometowns were not immediately known, Sombat said.

The couple, who had rented a home in the town Mae Hong Son, were drinking at a bar in Pai and began arguing, Sombat said, citing witnesses.

A Thai police officer fatally shot a Canadian man and wounded his pregnant companion during a scuffle outside a bar in northern Thailand, authorities said Monday.

The officer told investigators the shooting was an accident, but he was charged with premeditated murder, said police Col. Sombat Panya of Pai district in northern Mae Hong Son.

John Leo Del Pinto, 25, died early Sunday of two gunshot wounds — one to the face and one to the torso — and his partner, Carly Reisig, also of Canada, was in hospital with a bullet wound in her body, Sombat said.

The bullet grazed Reisig's upper left torso and the fetus was unharmed, Sombat said.

Del Pinto's and Reisig's hometowns were not immediately known, Sombat said.

The couple, who had rented a home in the town Mae Hong Son, were drinking at a bar in Pai and began arguing, Sombat said, citing witnesses.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - January 7, 2008

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/01/07/thai-cdn.html

Edited January 7, 2008 by bino

[mikethevigoman]

It's just that every day I see tourists doing stupid, terribly insulting things here in Thailand without reproach.

oh yes, and murder is an appropriate punishment is it? people do stupid things all over the world but they do not deserve to die for them.

A society sick at the core.

agreed. the longer i stay here the more i see and the more it disgusts me.

At least you still find it disgusting.

Some of the posters on this forum seem to have reached "Acceptance" of this type of behaviour with the worst of them condoning or excusing it - their moral compass, if they ever had one, is truly lost in their efforts to toady up to Thai's and Thai society believing they are somehow part of it or even accepted and which they never will be.

I dont think we are accepting it, just getting used to it, i dont see any way for change to prevail,. keep your head down i say !

[inmemorylsx]

I do hope the families get involved and do not rely on the USELESS Canadian Embassy staff in Bangkok!

[BlackArtemis]

Pol Sgt-Major Uthai Dechawiwat claimed shots were fired accidentally after the foreign couple tried to snatch his pistol from him.

Case closed, found not guilty on all accounts, lets go home.

[mikethevigoman]

-snip-

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - January 7, 2008

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/01/07/thai-cdn.html

You have to agree that in most of these scenarios it is drink related,.drink and guns, a terrible cocktail,.ban em both ?

[samsara]

Pol Sgt-Major Uthai Dechawiwat claimed shots were fired accidentally after the foreign couple tried to snatch his pistol from him.

Case closed, found not guilty on all accounts, lets go home.

so the guy who FLED THE SCENE gets the ultimate say as to what really happened?? baffling logic there.

first off, why is he being charged with pre-meditated murder? makes no sense UNLESS the story about him coming back and shooting the guy in the bar is at least partly credible. second, whens the last time you saw 2 people having an argument randomly go after a policeman and try to take his gun? sounds full of bs to me. third, why are the various news reports so different?

[chrislarsson]

Please do not respond to offensive posts but use the report button, thanks.

Posts have been deleted, lets try to avoid offensive, inflammatory and abusive posts.

Probably more than half of the posts here are offensive to Thailand. How can this be accepted? And most of it is just judgmental jibberish.

If a Thai say something offensive about Thailand so be it. If a Thai say something offensive about farangs, who can blame them. Have you ever seen such a high concentration of white trash anywhere else?

If a farang being a guest in Thailand say something offensive about Thailand that is so disrespectful. And why waste time writing posts here when it can be spent more wisely on buying a ticket to move somewhere else.

Edited January 7, 2008 by chrislarsson

[mrdome]

check out the guardian story

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/st...2236672,00.html

And my favorite quote from that, "The policeman, who is about 1.6m tall, was beaten to the ground by the man, a bodybuilder, and the hippy woman," said the local police chief, Wanchai Suwanririkate.

There is also the issue of 'losing face' to be considered here, sometimes leading to decisions made we might label as 'irrational' and short sighted.

[jumnien]

WE should email the Thai Embassies of our respective countries to express our disgust.

I've emailed the Thai Embassy in Los Angeles and expressed my disgust of farang tourists in Thailand. Do you really think this will help?

[advice]

my wife and I live on samui, for 6 years now, the violence against tourists here is terrible, mainly taxi drivers

Phuket also..

edited by me due to being not PC - truth seems to offend the majority.

Edited January 7, 2008 by advice

[Norrad]

Thing I don't understand. The bullet entered the mouth and then went through and exited the shoulder. Now imagine the position you would have to be in to place a shot like that. It would suggest that person firing the shot was very much in control and firing from a higher vantage point. ie. Standing while the person being shot was lower down, maybe on their knees. Very execution style if you ask me.

[globerunner4]

My condolences to all. But for all their drunkenness, none of this would've happened.

[meadish_sweetball]

Pol Sgt-Major Uthai Dechawiwat claimed shots were fired accidentally after the foreign couple tried to snatch his pistol from him.

Case closed, found not guilty on all accounts, lets go home.

so the guy who FLED THE SCENE gets the ultimate say as to what really happened?? baffling logic there.

Compare with the other news reports. Those to follow will probably be slightly different again.

first off, why is he being charged with pre-meditated murder? makes no sense UNLESS the story about him coming back and shooting the guy in the bar is at least partly credible. second, whens the last time you saw 2 people having an argument randomly go after a policeman and try to take his gun? sounds full of bs to me. third, why are the various news reports so different?

I have no answer to your first question, except to allow for the thought that it's possible the translation of the charges is not entirely correct - terms from one legal system do not necessarily translate easily to another.

News reports are almost always different - individual journalists may use different sources, ask different questions, focus on different facts, and draw different conclusions. Check the Kanchanaburi killings thread or keep following this one and you will see for yourself.

The witnesses who saw the event won't give exactly the same accounts either, even if they were standing right next to each other. It's human.

[stevemiddie]

My condolences to all. But for all their drunkenness, none of this would've happened.

Its believed they had been drinking.........according to reports. Drinking what? We KNOW they were drunk do we??

Edited January 7, 2008 by stevemiddie

[samsara]

WE should email the Thai Embassies of our respective countries to express our disgust.

I've emailed the Thai Embassy in Los Angeles and expressed my disgust of farang tourists in Thailand. Do you really think this will help?

no, not exactly. maybe some trainee read it while sipping coffee and promptly deleted it.

heres the irony, folks. thailand publicly expresses its dislike of the farang trash that visits (and sometimes stays in) thailand. at the same time, many of those same politicians and officials promote and take part in the further development of thailand to cater to exactly the same trash. ko chang is a splendid example. just 2-3 years ago the place was truly a rare find, indeed, in terms of its beauty and tranquility. now, after having been carved up by politicians and other well-to-do people, the place is a mini pattaya.

the hypocrisy is overwhelming.

not saying this trend is at all unique to thailand. thailand gets exactly the kind of visitors it caters to so its really hard to then turn around and point your finger at the trash that comes here and say they arent welcome. in fact, they are welcome.

Edited January 7, 2008 by samsara

[jumnien]

Demon alcohol strikes again! It's been reported the cop was inebriated as well....

[phukethovercraft]

The evidence seems pretty straight forward to me too, the policeman ran away after whatever happened because he was to small to fight back, runaway to get his gun from his pickup. So he was charged with premeditated murder. Simple & logical.

[rigpigonjuice]

I believe the truth will never be known. Right now we can only speculate on the events leading up to the shooting.

We do know that one man is dead and another lady is injured. The shooter is a Thai Police officer and has been charged with premeditated murder.

People who are defending the officer and that claim the "farang" got what he deserved, well I have two words for that. #$@! you.

No one should pass judgment until the facts are known.

[advice]

Demon alcohol strikes again! It's been reported the cop was inebriated as well....

no shock there.

I can imagine what went down..

[samsara]

I believe the truth will never be known. Right now we can only speculate on the events leading up to the shooting.

We do know that one man is dead and another lady is injured. The shooter is a Thai Police officer and has been charged with premeditated murder.

People who are defending the officer and that claim the "farang" got what he deserved, well I have two words for that. #$@! you.

No one should pass judgment until the facts are known.

dont agree. the woman can easily set everything straight. there are enough news agencies involved in this now that its going to be extremely difficult to squash her side of the story (if it needs to be squashed, that is).

[blakegeee]

"Old western-countries saying "Don't pull a knife or gun unless you're willing to use it"

.... expats know that Thai's will do just that, but do tourists? And is it emphasised in guidebooks?"

It sounds to me like the Thai's are willing to use their guns if they pull them. They just don't know when to pull them...

Also, I am no CSI guy, but how do you shoot somebody when you are laying on the ground, and the shot goes through their face, then into their shoulder??? You are shooting up at somebody when you are on the ground, but then the bullet changes direction and comes down through their shoulder after going through the face...Or wait, the falang was probably doing a backflip attack at the time so he was completely upside down when he was shot! There we go, now it makes sense...

Ya and the cop will get away with it. I also like how the newspapers always report it simply as being a "police officer", not "an off-duty police officer".

[rigpigonjuice]

I don't think that the woman can easily set things straight. Time will tell.

Edited January 7, 2008 by rigpigonjuice

[Ozziepaul]

What a completely F_ckd situation. Really cannot find the appropriate adjective.

RIP matey and here's hoping the GF recovers fast and doesn't suffer a 'medical emergency' and passes away in the hospital, as I'm sure she could shed some light on what happened.

Yep....Amazing Thailand...how bluddy wonderful.

Jesus..!!

Cheers

Big Paulee.

[Theyreallrubbish]

I believe the truth will never be known. Right now we can only speculate on the events leading up to the shooting.

We do know that one man is dead and another lady is injured. The shooter is a Thai Police officer and has been charged with premeditated murder.

People who are defending the officer and that claim the "farang" got what he deserved, well I have two words for that. #$@! you.

No one should pass judgment until the facts are known.

Unless its proven that the killer was genuinely afraid for his life and had to kill to protect himself then I WILL pass judgement because someone is dead and there is no doubt who the killer was.

This young Canadian man is DEAD. Unless he was killed in self-defence I don't care how drunk and obnoxious he was. I don't care how low class he was. I don't care if he wore a singlet and flip flops and had tattoos or was a steroid head bodybuilder. The young man is DEAD. Whether I would have liked him or not or whether he was a good person or not or whether he was well mannered or not is no reason for thinking that he deserved to die for any other reason than to protect the safety of another.

So unless and until the Thai cop comes up with very good evidence that his life was in danger I WILL pass judgement because there IS a young man DEAD and we do know who the killer was. The Thai cop is savage murderer who should be locked away for life.

"hel_l of a thing killing a man. Take away all he has. And all he'll ever have"

[thehawk]

from the CBC website (Canadian news station)

Deadly Thai shooting unprovoked, says injured Canadian victim

Last Updated: Monday, January 7, 2008 | 8:56 AM ET

CBC News

A Canadian woman shot in Thailand has contradicted an official Thai police report into the shooting death of her Canadian companion, saying they were attacked for no reason.

Thai police on Monday said John Leo Del Pinto, 25, died early Sunday of two gunshot wounds — one to the face and one to the torso — and his pregnant partner, Carly Reisig, also of Canada, was in hospital with a bullet wound in her body.

Police said the pair, who lived in the town of Mae Hong Son, had a fight while drinking at a bar. The fight escalated outside and turned physical when a police officer tried to intervene, said Col. Sombat Panya of Pai district in northern Mae Hong Son.

The officer involved, Sgt. Uthai Dechawiwat, told Thai investigators the pair attacked him when he tried to intervene, and that his gun "accidentally went off" three times as he tried to defend himself.

But Reisig contradicted the official police report Monday, telling a reporter in Thailand that an undercover officer attacked them for no reason.

Cindy Tilney, a reporter with Thai website Citylife Chang Mai, visited Reisig in hospital, where the Canadian is in stable condition with a bullet wound to her chest.

Tilney said Reisig is in shock and upset over the shootings, which she said started when she and Del Pinto left a bar. Reisig, who denied being pregnant, said she arrived in Thailand several days ago to visit Del Pinto, who she said was her ex-boyfriend and good friend.

Reisig said she and Del Pinto were not fighting when they left the bar and passed an undercover officer while walking to another part of town. She said the man rushed up and hit her and that Del Pinto subsequently shoved the man.

Reisig told Tilney she had her face "painted" and believes that may have angered the man.

According to Reisig, the man then rushed to a nearby motorcycle and retrieved a gun. Del Pinto and the man struggled for control of the gun before the man shot them both, she said.

Reisig said she has spoken with Del Pinto's family in Canada and they were very upset.

Tilney said the police officer has been charged with manslaughter but is not being held in custody. The town's police chief said suspects who admit guilt are allowed to be released before their trials.