28 Year Old Englishman Assaulted

[cali4995]

Source: http://www.pattayapeople.com/default.asp?F...IdArticle=10482

In what is becoming a weekly routine here, yet another assault on a tourist.

There is a photo on the news link if you care to look. Despite the smiles,

they are not all our friends and you must be careful if travelling alone.

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Pattaya Police were notified in the early hours of the 5th March that a foreigner

had been beaten up by a group of teenagers at the intersection of South

Road and Second Road.

Officers and Sawang Boriboon went to the scene near the Wat Chaimongkon to

find 28 year old David Jones from England. He was given immediate treatment

for a neck wound which he had received when he was attacked by 4 teenagers

and was then taken to the Memorial Hospital for further treatment.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[gburns57au]

In the right perspective please.

3 Brits involved in altercations in 2 weeks....all in the early hours and I suspect that this one will also involve alcohol consumption.

When you arrive at the airport inbound.....its the attitude that needs leaving at the airport not the brains.....

[timekeeper]

In the right perspective please.

3 Brits involved in altercations in 2 weeks....all in the early hours and I suspect that this one will also involve alcohol consumption.

When you arrive at the airport inbound.....its the attitude that needs leaving at the airport not the brains.....

you sound like a balanced individual, you have a chip on both shoulders.

this forum is littered with reports of Aussie citizens bahaving badly, why would you target only Brits?

[jonniebkk]

Thanks Cali for your paranoia post of the day...

What we really need is some survery of the number of petty crimes against those boring families and farang couples we see wandering around town every nite and young drunken farang guys who think they are tough, all Thais are poor, that all the girls are available for the asking, and like to go around picking fights with little brown skinned Asian people.

I think we would find that crimes against the former are very few and that altercations of locals with the latter make up most of the reported "crimes" in Pattaya.

[davethailand]

In the right perspective please.

3 Brits involved in altercations in 2 weeks....all in the early hours and I suspect that this one will also involve alcohol consumption.

When you arrive at the airport inbound.....its the attitude that needs leaving at the airport not the brains.....

you sound like a balanced individual, you have a chip on both shoulders.

this forum is littered with reports of Aussie citizens bahaving badly, why would you target only Brits?

Because he's probably right!

I see it on a nightly basis and unfortunately the majority does involve Brits.

[soundman]

There are many companies in Pattaya providing personal security services. Their prices are competative. Seriously worth consulting if you are planning on leaving the confines of your hotel after dusk.

As an added incentive, you get to look like a rockstar for an evening!

[naka]

Pattaya has them all ... Condo Jumpers ... Farang Thumpers ... Conclusion Jumpers ...

4 on 1 this time ... do they gain 'face' from this ?

Naka.

Edited March 8, 2008 by naka

[funfun]

"Pattaya Police were notified in the early hours of the 5th March that a foreigner

had been beaten up by a group of teenagers at the intersection of South

Road and Second Road"

ya dont want to be down there at that time of night, thats like asking for trouble

[Prakanong]

In the right perspective please.

3 Brits involved in altercations in 2 weeks....all in the early hours and I suspect that this one will also involve alcohol consumption.

When you arrive at the airport inbound.....its the attitude that needs leaving at the airport not the brains.....

you sound like a balanced individual, you have a chip on both shoulders.

this forum is littered with reports of Aussie citizens bahaving badly, why would you target only Brits?

Cos he is a Brit who migrated to Oz - problems with seld identity and insecurity.

[Prakanong]

Pattaya has them all ... Condo Jumpers ... Farang Thumpers ... Conclusion Jumpers ...

4 on 1 this time ... do they gain 'face' from this ?

Naka.

ROFL - that made me laugh

[BigSnake]

All to common in the land of smiles these days.

[gburns57au]

In the right perspective please.

3 Brits involved in altercations in 2 weeks....all in the early hours and I suspect that this one will also involve alcohol consumption.

When you arrive at the airport inbound.....its the attitude that needs leaving at the airport not the brains.....

you sound like a balanced individual, you have a chip on both shoulders.

this forum is littered with reports of Aussie citizens bahaving badly, why would you target only Brits?

Cos he is a Brit who migrated to Oz - problems with seld identity and insecurity.

I only read what I see here on TV, I dont read the rags......If there is a report of an Aussie or any other farang being assaulted by Thais in the early hours of the morning in Pattaya over the same period then please post it.

But as Dave has said.....it is the Brits that seem to be getting into these situations more than others....And yes some Aussies do behave badly but not very often do you see a report of Aussies being involved in punch ups with the Thais.

I dont have a self identity problem.....I am an Aussie Citizen and proud of it...My British past is long forgotten...there wasnt that much of it to remember.

[Kerryd]

"Pattaya Police were notified in the early hours of the 5th March that a foreigner

had been beaten up by a group of teenagers at the intersection of South

Road and Second Road"

ya dont want to be down there at that time of night, thats like asking for trouble

I guess you would have to define "the early hours" a little more.

I walk through that area almost every night when I'm in town, usually (fairly) sober in the "early hours" of the evening, and (usually) pretty soused when coming back in "the early hours" of the morning. Yet for some strange, unidentifiable, mysterious, obscure, mystical reason, I've never been robbed, assaulted, fondled (unwontedly), pick-pocketed, attacked, mugged, molested, murdered or maliciously slandered (in a language I could understand).

Makes me wonder what I'm doing wrong (or right) sometimes..........

[misterman21]

Thanks Cali for your paranoia post of the day...

What we really need is some survery of the number of petty crimes against those boring families and farang couples we see wandering around town every nite and young drunken farang guys who think they are tough, all Thais are poor, that all the girls are available for the asking, and like to go around picking fights with little brown skinned Asian people.

I think we would find that crimes against the former are very few and that altercations of locals with the latter make up most of the reported "crimes" in Pattaya.

Elderly Scotish woman knocked out by young thai man (use the word man lightly) for refusing to buy photos she didnt want.

Old English woman assaulted by security gaurd for parking her car in wrong place.

Russian woman stabbed

Another Russian woman stabbed

Just a few recent incidents that spring to mind

Check your facts

[misterman21]

"Pattaya Police were notified in the early hours of the 5th March that a foreigner

had been beaten up by a group of teenagers at the intersection of South

Road and Second Road"

ya dont want to be down there at that time of night, thats like asking for trouble

I guess you would have to define "the early hours" a little more.

I walk through that area almost every night when I'm in town, usually (fairly) sober in the "early hours" of the evening, and (usually) pretty soused when coming back in "the early hours" of the morning. Yet for some strange, unidentifiable, mysterious, obscure, mystical reason, I've never been robbed, assaulted, fondled (unwontedly), pick-pocketed, attacked, mugged, molested, murdered or maliciously slandered (in a language I could understand).

Makes me wonder what I'm doing wrong (or right) sometimes..........

Simple explanation is that 100% of the population are not affected by crime - so your still in the majority, no real problem then eh! Most victims of violent crime in thailand deserve it and wouldnt be victims if they were like you.

[jonniebkk]

Check your facts

You list 4 incidents, and I'll add one more...the recent bag snatching of the French lady in Jomtien a few days ago. That's 5...still doesn't change my opinion the Patters is as safe as anywhere where 3-4-5 million tourist visit annually.

Most of the incidents involve drunken young foreigners behaving boorishly or worse...and get some deserved payback from the locals. As to the remaining petty crimes, these will be found anyplace in the world and I would argue happen with less frequency here than in most resort destinations.

[misterman21]

Check your facts

You list 4 incidents, and I'll add one more...the recent bag snatching of the French lady in Jomtien a few days ago. That's 5...still doesn't change my opinion the Patters is as safe as anywhere where 3-4-5 million tourist visit annually.

Most of the incidents involve drunken young foreigners behaving boorishly or worse...and get some deserved payback from the locals. As to the remaining petty crimes, these will be found anyplace in the world and I would argue happen with less frequency here than in most resort destinations.

Why would you argue that - more foreigners are murdered in pattaya than any other place on the planet!

[JacknDanny]

"Pattaya Police were notified in the early hours of the 5th March that a foreigner

had been beaten up by a group of teenagers at the intersection of South

Road and Second Road"

ya dont want to be down there at that time of night, thats like asking for trouble

I guess you would have to define "the early hours" a little more.

I walk through that area almost every night when I'm in town, usually (fairly) sober in the "early hours" of the evening, and (usually) pretty soused when coming back in "the early hours" of the morning. Yet for some strange, unidentifiable, mysterious, obscure, mystical reason, I've never been robbed, assaulted, fondled (unwontedly), pick-pocketed, attacked, mugged, molested, murdered or maliciously slandered (in a language I could understand).

Makes me wonder what I'm doing wrong (or right) sometimes..........

Simple explanation is that 100% of the population are not affected by crime - so your still in the majority, no real problem then eh! Most victims of violent crime in thailand deserve it and wouldnt be victims if they were like you.

Calm down!

What is Kerryd saying that is so upsetting you.

I agree with him. I have lived in Thailand for more than 8 yrs, mostly in Bangkok, visited Pattaya many times. There are times when I have had lets say a few drinks and I have never had any problem whatsoever. It is certainly safer here than back in the UK.

Nobody is saying that there are NO innocent victims of crime, but I wouldnt be the slightest bit surprised if MOST of these assaults were as a result of the aggrieved saying or doing something offensive, probably fuelled by alcohol

[JacknDanny]

Check your facts

You list 4 incidents, and I'll add one more...the recent bag snatching of the French lady in Jomtien a few days ago. That's 5...still doesn't change my opinion the Patters is as safe as anywhere where 3-4-5 million tourist visit annually.

Most of the incidents involve drunken young foreigners behaving boorishly or worse...and get some deserved payback from the locals. As to the remaining petty crimes, these will be found anyplace in the world and I would argue happen with less frequency here than in most resort destinations.

Why would you argue that - more foreigners are murdered in pattaya than any other place on the planet!

Total <deleted>!!

Where are your figures to support such a ridiculous statement?

[jonniebkk]

Why would you argue that - more foreigners are murdered in pattaya than any other place on the planet!

Can we have a source or citation please...or is this just an opinion or hunch?

Also, what's your definition of "foreigners?" Tourists, expatriates, both, what? Are you arguing it's dangerious for tourists, residents, or both. Do you have an actual annual murder figure? In many mid-sized American cities, there are 200-300 murders per year. I don't think Pattaya would even come close.

[cali4995]

Jonniebkk, believe me, I would really prefer to subscribe to your theory that

"only bad foreigners get assaulted here". This dreamlike notion helps us all

sleep better at night. And Yes, perhaps most of the time it is also true.

Although I'm not sure if it warrants beating people unconcious, what should

be happening is the tourist police being called. No idea what they really do.

Sure, the crime is still far less than most major American cities I'll agree.

But I'm telling you, there is a growing segment of the locals here, who are in

a money crunch. They've borrowed money they can't pay back. They've spent

their money on drugs, they've come to Pattaya to party but don't have the funds.

There is also a group who seem to have a deep resentment for foreigners, and

is this really so hard to understand with all the nonsense that you see here?

So there are druggings, incidents of stealing and assaults on the tourists.

Who is at risk? It's generally not the muscular tatooed 40 something guy who looks

like he' be perfectly happy to get into a scrape. It's usually the late 50's or 60's

foreigner who has had a little to drink and doesn't look like he'd put up much of

a fight. I'm sorry but that's human nature. This guy wanders off with a ladyman not

realizing what he's got, or gets drawn off into the shadows by pleas from his new

friends. I just try and relay the news. I know it shakes us all out of our comfort zone.

[jonniebkk]

Jonniebkk, believe me, I would really prefer to subscribe to your theory that

"only bad foreigners get assaulted here".

I never espoused such a theory...only that most of the reported serious assaults (and sometimes murders) result from incidents between such persons and certain elements in the local population. IMO, these incidents escalate into serious confrontations because of a lack of cultural awareness on both sides and the male penchant for not backing down or appearing weak.

But I'm telling you, there is a growing segment of the locals here, who are in

a money crunch.

This may well be true...and account for much of the petty crime that does occur on occasion. However, these crimes (purse snatchings, pick-pockets, etc. rarely result in serious injury and are common around the world against tourists. Like I have said many a time, considering the fact that most tourists out on the town carry in their wallet at a minimum 2-3 months pay of an average Thai person, it's amazing that the hold-up rate isn't 10 or 20x what it is. I mean, if back home, if everyone was know to carry around US$ 6,000-10,000 cash in their wallets, believe me, there would be allot more armed robberies than you see in Patters.

There is also a group who seem to have a deep resentment for foreigners, and

is this really so hard to understand with all the nonsense that you see here?

So there are druggings, incidents of stealing and assaults on the tourists.

Again, I agree there is some of this. But who is to blame...the drunken culturally insensitive tourist here to indulge their pleasures of the flesh and go into their I'm a millionaire for a week act and cause these people cause the resentment

It's usually the late 50's or 60's foreigner who has had a little to drink and doesn't look like he'd put up much of a fight. This guy wanders off with a ladyman not realizing what he's got, or gets drawn off into the shadows by pleas from his new friends.

Well, if he can't hold his liquor, maybe he needs to drink less. As to wandering off with ladyboys, again, if he is playing with fire he may get burnt (or drugged and robbed). Again, he is a grown man and needs to take responsibility for his actions or inactions.

[cali4995]

Well, you can probably write a more sensible explanation for all of this than me,

I just know it happens a lot here. Just in the last couple of days a German got

whacked in the head walking down the beach path. Valubles on his person

stolen. It appeared on the pattayacitynews channel but not yet the online version.

It kind of is supposed to be a beach resort so I would think security of guests should

perhaps be considered important. It maybe not fair to compare it to "anytown U.S.A.".

The troubling thing about the profiling is that even if you are a considerate, kind,

generous visitor, when you wander out of your neighborhood where everybody

knows you, you're basically just another horrible farang to some of these people.

It's just the pros and cons of tourism I guess, there is a cost for everyone involved.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Jonniebkk, believe me, I would really prefer to subscribe to your theory that

"only bad foreigners get assaulted here".

I never espoused such a theory...only that most of the reported serious assaults (and sometimes murders) result from incidents between such persons and certain elements in the local population. IMO, these incidents escalate into serious confrontations because of a lack of cultural awareness on both sides and the male penchant for not backing down or appearing weak.

But I'm telling you, there is a growing segment of the locals here, who are in

a money crunch.

This may well be true...and account for much of the petty crime that does occur on occasion. However, these crimes (purse snatchings, pick-pockets, etc. rarely result in serious injury and are common around the world against tourists. Like I have said many a time, considering the fact that most tourists out on the town carry in their wallet at a minimum 2-3 months pay of an average Thai person, it's amazing that the hold-up rate isn't 10 or 20x what it is. I mean, if back home, if everyone was know to carry around US$ 6,000-10,000 cash in their wallets, believe me, there would be allot more armed robberies than you see in Patters.

There is also a group who seem to have a deep resentment for foreigners, and

is this really so hard to understand with all the nonsense that you see here?

So there are druggings, incidents of stealing and assaults on the tourists.

Again, I agree there is some of this. But who is to blame...the drunken culturally insensitive tourist here to indulge their pleasures of the flesh and go into their I'm a millionaire for a week act and cause these people cause the resentment

It's usually the late 50's or 60's foreigner who has had a little to drink and doesn't look like he'd put up much of a fight. This guy wanders off with a ladyman not realizing what he's got, or gets drawn off into the shadows by pleas from his new friends.

Well, if he can't hold his liquor, maybe he needs to drink less. As to wandering off with ladyboys, again, if he is playing with fire he may get burnt (or drugged and robbed). Again, he is a grown man and needs to take responsibility for his actions or inactions.

Time to get off your high horse, jonnie.

Just last week I witnessed two young Thais(from the Tattoo shop in Soi Post Office, opposite Max Italian Restaurant) attacking an old Danish man who was wearing glasses(I would estimate that he was between sixty and seventy years old).

One of them punched him full in the face, knocking his glasses off. The other made a run at him and it was only my and other bystanders intervention that prevented a further attack.

Some other Thais within earshot was ashamed of what they had seen.

The old man ran away, leaving his glasses, fearing another attack and composed himself at the Copenhagen restaurant on Soi Post Office. Luckily, a couple found his glasses and brought them to him.

We encouraged him to call the police, but he declined, simply calling them 'swine'.

Punching a defenceless pensioner full in the face? Inexcusable.

Even if the old man had made a 'cultural' mistake, a simple warning or a shove could suffice.

Let us read your ridiculous excuses for their excessive violence now.

[jonniebkk]

Punching a defenceless pensioner full in the face? Inexcusable.

Even if the old man had made a 'cultural' mistake, a simple warning or a shove could suffice. Let us read your ridiculous excuses for their excessive violence now.

I don't excuse or defend such attacks...petty crime and attacks related to cultural clashes occur. I just don't subscribe to the opinion that they are rampant or out of control as some seem to think.

Of course an attack as you describe on an elderly person, no matter the provocation, is inexcusable. Of course a verbal comeback would have been sufficient if one were dealing with a person capable of reasoning.

A point I have made often is that most of the Thai riff-raff that are involved in these altercations are uneducated morons and unable of level such reasoning. Therefore, it is even more imperative that one just walk away (without even sharp words or hand gestures) when things start to get dicey.

[edwardandtubs]

Some people of this forum are too quick to blame the victim. Some of you come across as very unpleasant people. Remember the English man attacked with a sack of rocks. The usual suspects all piled in with claims that he must have done something to provoke the attack or be in some way to blame for it but it now seems his only "crime" was drinking in the wrong bar.

There have been articles posted on this forum recently that show statistically you're much more likely to be a victim of crime in Pattaya than in the UK or other popular tourist destinations for Brits. It's nothing to panic about but you should be vigilant and show a bit of empathy with victims of crime.

Edited March 10, 2008 by edwardandtubs

[cali4995]

I'm just a blue-collar slob, I really try not to philosophise about these things

too much. What I think is the most distressing, is that within the Thai culture,

elders are treated with greater dignity and respect. Within the foreigner

population, they are often becoming the first targeted for crime.

In the last few years, there does seem to have been a major paradigm shift

where it somehow is less of an offence to commit crimes against farangs. In

particular, seniors who are less capable of defending themselves. I think the

media has spent a little too much time demonizing and this is the fall-out.

[Humphrey Bear]

Just last week I witnessed two young Thais(from the Tattoo shop in Soi Post Office, opposite Max Italian Restaurant) attacking an old Danish man who was wearing glasses(I would estimate that he was between sixty and seventy years old).

Even if the old man had made a 'cultural' mistake, a simple warning or a shove could suffice.

Let us read your ridiculous excuses for their excessive violence now.

They must have been Muslims, knew he was a Dane and were upset about the republishing of the Mohammed cartoons. Nothing to do with being Thai.