A Murder

[soihok]

Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated.

[soihok]

Just to update.

Nothing has changed.

Life is worthless

Sad

The murderers are free to murder again.

Please dont give any more <deleted> one lines about how dangerous Thailand is.

Are you really trying to help or what?

Edited August 16, 2008 by soihok

[soihok]

Please dont give any more <deleted> one lines about how dangerous Thailand is.

Are you really trying to help or what?

I apologise for these sentences.

[TopDogger]

Well things will only get worse if the police are acting like this...

[soihok]

Family now have the services of a Lawyer from Bangkok on the case. He tells them that they have a good case although it may take time.

Lets hope that matters can now be turned around and justice be done.

Good news from me for a change.

[soidog2]

Well things will only get worse if the police are acting like this...

I wasn’t going to comment any more, but just in case there are any naive people left out there!

In Thailand, law enforcement is not a duty or a profession, is a money making machine for those involved.

From the lowly traffic cop, that unexpectedly stops you and asks for two hundred baht for some imaginary offense, to the highest echelon.

As you step up the ladder, the payments get steeper and discrete.

For starters any prospective employee, no matter what grades they passed or whatever, if they want to get hired must pay the station chief a stiff 5/6 figure number.

Therefore, if they do, on their first day on the job, they need to come up with extra curriculum money to make up for the bribe paid to get in.

Any thing major you want done, you must pay , at least this way, some unorthodox results can be achieved.

You all get the picture!!

[soihok]

Its been a while since there have been any developments with the murder of my wifes cousin.

As I posted last year , the family have clubbed together and brought in a lawyer from Bangkok.

Well.

The families of the murderers (who are still at school by the way) were hauled down to the court house in Korat this week.

Police present along with the lawyer from Bangkok.

I stayed out of the way as the last thing needed was a Farang hanging around, if you know what I mean.

Basically went like this...pay up to the tune of 8 saeng or some one will be going to prison.

It all sounds a mad to me as I would think some one should go to prison anyway for murder, but this is Thailand.

One of the kids involved has family ties with the police in the area, this is why no action was taken earlier, but now its out of their hands which is good.

I dont know how long it will drag on for but there is a growing feeling of revenge within the family, which would only cause more sorrow and trouble.

[TheWalkingMan]

... 8 saeng ...

Sad story...

But for us linguistically challenged, how much is 8 saeng.

[GarryP]

800,000

[babuhavas]

My condolences to you and your family

i checked with one of my friend in korat,so far no info

[cpofc]

How sad. Please accept my heartfelt condolences.

A terrible waste of a young life. For what?

This is a daily occurrance now in my home town of Melbourne, Australia, it is out of control with this type of senseless, violence, 99% of the time alcohol/drug fuelled. The scarey bit is they can't seem to do anything to stop it and the sentences that are handed out to the perps are laughable and are more than likely bound to encourage rather than discourage.

The chance of you being a victim of random violence, at night, in the city of Melbourne is extremely high. I wouldn't travel on public transport or visit city nite clubs and pubs without a large armed escort.

[abdulrahman]

What a load of bull***A young man lost his life,not on a bike,on a confrontation with others young thugs.My regrets.

The family were offered 8 saeng,more as the going price,for the loss.

Lots of posts about how bad the crime is in other(more civilized?)countries.

Do you understand we are in LOS,not in Shangry la?

Many things are same as at home,only different.

Stay at home at night,double lock the door,go on TV and whine!The vampires are right out of your door!

[MJP]

OP, I do hope your family find justice and some kind of closure. Very sad.

Regarding some of the other posters arguments regarding serious crime statistics between Thailand and the UK.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_...ders-per-capita

Thailand is currently No. 14 in the world for murders per capita with 0.08 murders per 1000. The UK is No. 46 with 0.014 per 1000.

As a reference, the US is No. 24 with 0.042 per 1000.

I make neither comment or judgement on these statistics.

Edited July 1, 2009 by MJP

[soihok]

What a load of bull***A young man lost his life,not on a bike,on a confrontation with others young thugs.My regrets.

The family were offered 8 saeng,more as the going price,for the loss.

Lots of posts about how bad the crime is in other(more civilized?)countries.

Do you understand we are in LOS,not in Shangry la?

Many things are same as at home,only different.

Stay at home at night,double lock the door,go on TV and whine!The vampires are right out of your door!

Ok, thanks for the advice and comments.

Are you always this cheery?

Edited July 3, 2009 by soihok

[soihok]

Well the saga continues.

Having started this thread and due to the sensative nature of it I will up date what is happening now.

All are back in the court in Korat again for two days, there are numerous witnesses along with family members of the deceased and another boy who was badly injured.

The lawer from Bangkok also there, I was not as I have no place to be there and would,nt understand much anyway.

So there are 5 families that are to pay around 200,000 baht each or go to prison.

Four families have agreed, one has offered 7,000 baht for some reason,,maybe like prison or something.

All this comes around as my Mother in law was not prepared to not let it go, unlike the local police who really did,nt want to know. Amazing Thailand eh?

Its at court now for the second time.

Goes to show that its possible to get away with murder here.

[soihok]

I was at the court room today in Korat and the saga continues.

What I can only described as haggling over the price of a life took place and all settled on 700,000 baht. Neither party happy.

But its not over yet, as the people to pay say they dont have the money, so, it goes to the higher court in about 4 months.

This is the big new building behind the Government offices, across the moat, in Korat.

They will have the means to confiscate land , etc....but I guess thats another story.

Anyway, I,ll keep posting the story as it goes along,, its unfolding to be a bit like a "Lord Of The Ring" epic up to now.

Just to give all an insight of what actually goes on with the Judicial practices in Thailand for the common people.

And this is only my personal experience,, I,m a mechanic, not a lawyer.

Its a funny old game innit?

[ricklee]

I was at the court room today in Korat and the saga continues.

What I can only described as haggling over the price of a life took place and all settled on 700,000 baht. Neither party happy.

But its not over yet, as the people to pay say they dont have the money, so, it goes to the higher court in about 4 months.

This is the big new building behind the Government offices, across the moat, in Korat.

They will have the means to confiscate land , etc....but I guess thats another story.

I find it extremely odd that murder can be so easily transformed into a business negotiation here. Hardly seems like justice. And it does nothing to get these criminals safely off the street where they can do no more harm. My condolences to your family and all the best of luck.

[Dave the Dude]

I find it extremely odd that murder can be so easily transformed into a business negotiation here. Hardly seems like justice. And it does nothing to get these criminals safely off the street where they can do no more harm. My condolences to your family and all the best of luck.

I couldn't agree more but this useful information about the system doesn't suprise me anymore.

I hope Soihok and the family can find solice somehow and I think it very wise how Soihok has kept in the shadows. Good idea IMHO.

Dave

[soihok]

It ran into a third day on Friday, more signing of documents and witnesses.

I did,nt go into the court just lurked around outside, the wife did.

Interestingly, the police chief of the district where this murder took place was there also, he is the one who just to decided to sweep the affair under the carpet and pretend it never happened. Keep it in the family eh?

He has obviously been brought to account but what this may mean or lead to for him , we shall never know.

Probably nothing in my view.

Edited October 31, 2009 by soihok

[idiot farang]

I was at the court room today in Korat and the saga continues.

What I can only described as haggling over the price of a life took place and all settled on 700,000 baht. Neither party happy.

But its not over yet, as the people to pay say they dont have the money, so, it goes to the higher court in about 4 months.

This is the big new building behind the Government offices, across the moat, in Korat.

They will have the means to confiscate land , etc....but I guess thats another story.

Anyway, I,ll keep posting the story as it goes along,, its unfolding to be a bit like a "Lord Of The Ring" epic up to now.

Just to give all an insight of what actually goes on with the Judicial practices in Thailand for the common people.

And this is only my personal experience,, I,m a mechanic, not a lawyer.

Its a funny old game innit?

those who quote and compare Thai crime rates with the UK or US seem to be missing the point in this post. back home, murder someone and get enough evidence against you and you're going to prison. can you imagine a negotiation over suitable monetary compensation for taking a life like this back home?!? of course, Thailand isn't alone in terms of countries where life is cheap- LITERALLY. in Thailand, it seems, it's a known fact that if you have the right connections, you CAN and WILL get away with murder. to do that in the US, you either have to: A. be a combination of lucky, very wealthy, have hire the right attorney and have the police/prosecutors be inept, or, of course, B. be a Kennedy!

[neverdie]

A shocking story and situation. Soihok, my thoughts are with you and your family. Theres absolutely no doubt about it, this is Amazing Thailand at its worse.

[WaatWang]

So there are 5 families that are to pay around 200,000 baht each or go to prison.

Four families have agreed, one has offered 7,000 baht for some reason,,maybe like prison or something.

Soihok,

My sincere condolances to you and your family. What a tragic end to a life, and needless suffering for those who survived.

To put a price on a life - how can it be done? Perhaps the perpetrators will find greater remorse in putting their families through the shame of the trial, and having to sell off properties to come up with BHT 200,000, than actually serving jail time (since it sounds like that will not be happening). I think best possible outcome of these events at this point is for them to be changed for the better, and never do something like this to anyone else in the future.

I am glad your wife's family was able to get a laywer to bring about some form of 'justice'.

Kind regards,

WaatWang

[soihok]

Thanks for your comments.

The reason I first started this thread was to establish who the Murder(s) is( are).

A lot has moved on since as the posts dictate.

Nothing will bring the boy back, he was cremated a long time ago. The situation of his Mum was that she was looking to him to help his family crawl through and out of dire poverty, Father fled the family scene many years ago, so Mum was working and looking after a 8 year old girl as well as Grandpa,,,but thats another story.

So from looking for the Murderer, this post has generated into an account of what lies in store of anyone seeking justice in Thailand.

I have come to accept that everything in Thailand has its price, justice takes a back seat.....so here we are.....settling on a price of the life of a teenage boy....which in this case is about the price of a second hand Toyota .

Thanks are down to the mother in law,, and a helping hand from me....I am family afterall.

The poor boys mothers dwelling does,nt even have a toilet and the young girl is now approaching her teens.

So she had no chance of making a challenge against the local Police, justice....bah....

This is not my country, saying that I have no wish to go back to England....I,ld rather stay in Thailand and take my/our chance.

Says a lot for England eh?

Anyway.......thanks for the comments and its a real eye opener for me.......things are never the way they may seem .

Funny old game.

I will keep posting the saga as it continues, and belive me ,,,,it will continue.

Edited November 7, 2009 by soihok

[Loz]

Sorry for you Loss. Thanks for the updates. Good to have a picture of what is real rather than percieved.

[OzMick]

Reminds me of a lady friend, from Khorat yet, who's brother was murdered in a drunken brawl in BKK. It never actually got to court, the police negotiated a settlement of ฿1000/month for 100 months, less 10% commission for the BIB. If payments were not made on 1st of each month, BIB would chase up, and if no result, charges would be laid.

Seemed rather venal to me, but lass explained that figure was a reflection of how much money lad would have sent his mother each month, and would have been higher if he was a high income earner. Why 100 months??? She was upset over loss of brother, but considered it a fair outcome. Not sure if figure would have increased if killer was wealthy; are the rich allowed to murder the peasants and pay peanuts in compensation? What happens if someone re-offends? can you be a rich serial killer?

On the positive side, the boy was dead and nothing was going to change that, and Mum gets a better (marginally) life than if the offender went to jail. Kill one of mine and try buying your way out. Or can my ex-wife settle without my input? Probably. Strange place, thailand

[Arkady]

My brother-in-law's best friend was murdered in a drive by fun shooting walking along a Bangkok street in broad daylight by some one who didn't even know him but wanted to show off to his friends. The killer was arrested immediately but turned out to be a local policeman's son, so he has never spent a night in jail and the police have shelved the case. This happened three years ago and the boy's family has not even been offered any blood money. The police told the boy's father that he would end up like his son, if he didn't stop causing a nuisance by asking what was happening with the case.

[soihok]

Very tragic and rings the same as my famlies loss.

Police did not want to know also , the family took the case above the local police, who are now being brought into court.

If you go back a few pages of this thread, there is advice for what the family could( have been done, but as its 3 years since the crime took place......sadly there is not much chance of a stand now) have followed.

Strange place it is,,,,Thailand.

[warmwater7]

OP, I do hope your family find justice and some kind of closure. Very sad.

Regarding some of the other posters arguments regarding serious crime statistics between Thailand and the UK.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_...ders-per-capita

Thailand is currently No. 14 in the world for murders per capita with 0.08 murders per 1000. The UK is No. 46 with 0.014 per 1000.

As a reference, the US is No. 24 with 0.042 per 1000.

I make neither comment or judgement on these statistics.

CHANCES GO UP 100% FROM LOS ANGELES TO BKK. WHAT IS FUELING THIS? WHAT IS DRIVING THE DISCONTENT? I MEAN, TIMES ARE REALLY TOUGH NOW IN L.A., RANDOM STREET CRIME IS REALLY LOW.GANGS ARE QUIET.SOUTH,AND EAST.

POSSIBLY THE ECONOMY? ,POLITICS?-LEADERSHIP. HOW IS THE KINGS HEALTH?( I HOPE HE IS OK.) ...............THIS BEHAVIOR WOULD BE SYMPTOMATIC. WHAT RATIO OF EXPATS,TOURISTS, TO NATIONALS?

[soihok]

A bit of a criptic post mate..

I have no idea what is going on in LA and dont give diddley sh*t either.

Niether do the people of Thailand, if you dont belive me, go ahead and ask the next Thai person you meet.

Edited November 8, 2009 by soihok

[callum06]

Any up dates??