Swedish Couple Sentenced To 15 Month In Jail.

[Hawkup2000]

Move to News clippings, I can´t post there...

http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/artikel_2316645.svd

Translation:

"A couple, 21 and 24 years old, from Uriceham were on Tuesday sentenced to 1 year and three months in prison in Thailand. They were convicted of stealing two T-shirts in a store in Patong Beach.

They were arrested in November and have since then been sitting in remand prison together with hundreds of other criminals. According to the Swedish foreign ministry have staff from the Swedish consulate in Phuket visited the couple.

At first the couple were sentenced to 2 year and 6 months but that were later changed because the couple confessed the crime and gave up the right to appeal the sentence.

Edited January 14, 2009 by Hawkup2000

[mrtoad]

Good, they also should be horsewhipped for good measure.

What a bunch of tools.

[ukrules]

<deleted> - something is wrong here. I have read of people getting about one month for the same offence.

[canadianmonkey]

they kind of deserved it, i wish they had gotten 2 years. they are from sweden, they have great education system and im fairly certain they've seen one of the millioon movies where young kids goto south east asian countries and end up in jail for life for some stupid crap like that.

Idiots cant teach themselves, but they can learn from a good old slap

And what the heck is wrong with people, stealing from third worlders?

[geriatrickid]

Something just aint right with this. Did they refuse to pay "compensation", the local "police fine" or were they smug little snots? Considering the importance of the Swedish tourist volume and the clout the Swedish embassy has, they must have done something to piss the authorities off as well.

[Moonrakers]

These two must have really p*ssed of the wrong person/people.

[bonobo]

They were stupid and should be punsihed, but that is a rather heavy sentence, especially when others doing far worse things get off much lighter.

[southerndown]

Good, they also should be horsewhipped for good measure.

What a bunch of tools.

You assume they are guilty

Do you actually live in Thailand? Do you integrate with Thais? Can you discuss things with Thais in their own language? Your response indicates not

[southerndown]

Move to News clippings, I can´t post there...

http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/artikel_2316645.svd

Translation:

"A couple, 21 and 24 years old, from Uriceham were on Tuesday sentenced to 1 year and three months in prison in Thailand. They were convicted of stealing two T-shirts in a store in Patong Beach.

They were arrested in November and have since then been sitting in remand prison together with hundreds of other criminals. According to the Swedish foreign ministry have staff from the Swedish consulate in Phuket visited the couple.

At first the couple were sentenced to 2 year and 6 months but that were later changed because the couple confessed the crime and gave up the right to appeal the sentence.

"gave up the right to appeal"

I think that says it all. If the justice system were robust enough it could judge an appeal. What was so worrying that the lower courts were frightemed of an appeal. I think I know and so do most people reading this.

[ukrules]

Something just aint right with this. Did they refuse to pay "compensation", the local "police fine" or were they smug little snots? Considering the importance of the Swedish tourist volume and the clout the Swedish embassy has, they must have done something to piss the authorities off as well.

This stinks of injustice and is exactly the kind of thing that puts me off going to a country.

[PhilHarries]

Good, they also should be horsewhipped for good measure.

What a bunch of tools.

You assume they are guilty

Do you actually live in Thailand? Do you integrate with Thais? Can you discuss things with Thais in their own language? Your response indicates not

You are obviously not very good at spotting humour. Anyway, what difference does it make if he lives in Thailand, integrates with Thais or can discuss things with Thais? Two people have been very stupid and have received somewhat disproportionate sentences indicating the imbalance of what goes down as the judicial system in Thailand.

The comment was aimed as much at the courts as at the offenders who were a pair of tools

Do you in your "life" in Thailand fully integrated with Thais discussing major events like this have any opinion yourself?

You response indicates a lack of life. I suggest you go get one, your local Walmart should be able to help.

[taxexile]

"A couple, 21 and 24 years old, from Uriceham were on Tuesday sentenced to 1 year and three months in prison in Thailand. They were convicted of stealing two T-shirts in a store in Patong Beach.

what this sentence will do , if it is publicised widely enough , is act as a strong deterrent to others tempted to steal and pilfer.

which is exactly the purpose of harsh sentencing.

[Ulysses G.]

They got caught for two shirts.

A good number of farangs come to Thailand and shoplift every day in order to make ends meet. I'm sorry, but anyone this stupid deserves to reap what they have sewn.

Edited January 14, 2009 by Ulysses G.

[Fore Man]

Anyone who shoplifts in Thailand is a total idiot...this is the country of a thousand eyes and no secrets. Everything we do is seen by someone.

[Crossy]

Good, they also should be horsewhipped for good measure.

Whilst said in jest, I would actually suggest that this (or the local equivalent) would be more of a deterrent, ergo that kid who got the cane for spraying cars in Singapore.

Cheaper for the authorities too

[britmaveric]

Right/Wrong - they were made an example of - this is blatantly obvious.

[mrtoad]

Good, they also should be horsewhipped for good measure.

What a bunch of tools.

You assume they are guilty

Do you actually live in Thailand? Do you integrate with Thais? Can you discuss things with Thais in their own language? Your response indicates not

Yes to all your questions, and yes I do assume that hey are guilty.

As for the "horsewhipped statement", have you heard of irony?

There is, however no excuse for theft, but you are welcome to go and visit them in Phuket and take them some t-shirts and other goodies if you so wish.

[PoorSucker]

They caught another falang shoplifter today in Patong.

phuketgazette

[hanno]

Whilst I have no time for thieves, the sentence does indeed seem very harsh. Probably more than the people that issued a license to the Santika Nightclub will receive.

[cmsally]

How can 2 people get convicted of stealing 2 Tshirts. I don't understand!

Either they stole one T shirt each, in which case they stole a Tshirt each or one person stole 2, in which case the other person wasn't stealing, but maybe looking out. Difficult to prove etc.

15 months for stealing a presumably cheap T shirt seems ridiculous.

Open air stall or proper shop. If an open air stall, does wandering over to another stall with it in your possession mean you are stealing; when are you deemed to have taken it out of the shops premises without paying.

Are they actually giving proper receipts when items purchased - many places don't. So if you pay cash and take your item away without receipt, can they still charge you with stealing if they don't like the look of you.

Lots and lots of questions, but don't speak the language and given up your chance of appeal, don't really have a leg to stand on.

Wouldn't want people to get away with stealing but seems a ridiculous sentence, just stick them on a plane to go and shoplift in Sweden.

[mrtoad]

Good, they also should be horsewhipped for good measure.

Whilst said in jest, I would actually suggest that this (or the local equivalent) would be more of a deterrent, ergo that kid who got the cane for spraying cars in Singapore.

Cheaper for the authorities too

Well, I did say it in jest, but you make a very good point. I was in Singapore at the time of the American car vandal, and the message was pretty clear," there are laws in place, and we will enforce them fully". What a lot of people fail to remeber is that even in places like the UK, there are some stiff penalties for certain crimes, the problem is the enforcement by the courts, who are often guided by politics and jail numbers.

I say good on the authorities in Phuket for makng an example of these idiots, and let the tree hugging liberals bleat as much as they want about the "injustice".

Edited January 14, 2009 by mrtoad

[mrbojangles]

Good, they also should be horsewhipped for good measure.

What a bunch of tools.

You assume they are guilty

Do you actually live in Thailand? Do you integrate with Thais? Can you discuss things with Thais in their own language? Your response indicates not

You are obviously not very good at spotting humour. Anyway, what difference does it make if he lives in Thailand, integrates with Thais or can discuss things with Thais? Two people have been very stupid and have received somewhat disproportionate sentences indicating the imbalance of what goes down as the judicial system in Thailand.

The comment was aimed as much at the courts as at the offenders who were a pair of tools

Do you in your "life" in Thailand fully integrated with Thais discussing major events like this have any opinion yourself?

You response indicates a lack of life. I suggest you go get one, your local Walmart should be able to help.

Absolutely Phil.

And for the benefit of southerndown and i hope Toady doesn't mind me answering for him but yes, Toady does live and work in Thailand

[Fore Man]

They caught another falang shoplifter today in Patong.

phuketgazette

This is worth reading...compared to stealing two cheap tee shirts, this couple should be going down for a very long count. This chap obviously lost his brains somewhere between Australia and Thailand. Amazing. But I have to concur with <hanno> that all this pales in comparison to the Santika malfeasance. It will truly be illuminating to learn what sentences will be handed down to those greed-filled owners who did nothing to eliminate the safety deficiencies of that ill-fated establishment.

[Alpinist]

Sounds like there must have been abit more to this. but they were probably drunk, took some shit t-shirts because they thought it would be fun and now they are screwed. what's the saying, don't play with fire if you don't want to be burnt.... by the way i am new, not that it matters or you guys probably give a shit but still, hi.

[Hawkup2000]

http://www.ut.se/nyheter/har-sitter-ulrice...ret(1083141).gm

Translation:

The dream became a nightmare - sentenced for stealing two T-shirts.

A young couple form Ulricehamn was today sentenced to 1 year and 3 month in jail. Their crime- stole two T-shirts.

The couple, 21 and 24 years old, were arrested the 2 December last year. They were accused of stealing two T-shirts from a shop in Patong Beach in Thailand.

The couple were charged and arrested since the shop owner claimed that the couple had stolen a big bag with shirts to a value of 40 000 baht.

Since the arrest the woman has been sharing cell in Phuket with 150 criminal women. The man had a similar situation.

-They have a rough time said Lars Göran Dikander, Swedish photographer who have been in contact with the couple.

Both of them were today sentenced to 15 months in jail. They got a short sentence since they had written a confession. They would have gotten a sentence double that time if they hadn’t written a confession.

- It have been awful, we don’t know what to do, says the mom of the 24-year old man.

- We have been in contact with the foreign ministry but it seems that they can’t do anything in this case.

The couple didn’t receive any legal assistance at the trial. The accusations were read then the came verdict. The couple did´t have any legal assistance since they confessed the crime. They were sentenced for stealing two T-shirts, the accusation of stealing a bag showed to be false.

The couple has also renounced their right to have their case tried in a higher court.

-To have the case tried in a higher court may take up to a year and may result in a longer sentence, explains Lars-Göran Dikander.

The 21-year old woman claimed that she didn’t know that her boyfriend stole the shirts and claims to be innocent.

- It was the worst moment in my life when the handcuffs were locked, said the woman.

-The situation here at home is chaotic, says the mother of the 24-year old man. We feel completely helpless. We have been in touch with the (Swedish) foreign ministry several times this week and we just heard the verdict. It feels totally unreal, says the mother.

-All we can do is to wait and let situation get clearer. Then we will fly to Thailand as soon as possible so we can have direct contact with our son. So far the only contact we had is by mail. We haven´t any contact by phone.

The couple traveled to Thailand in the middle of November and had planed to stay there until the beginning of January.

Edited January 14, 2009 by Hawkup2000

[southerndown]

Good, they also should be horsewhipped for good measure.

What a bunch of tools.

You assume they are guilty

Do you actually live in Thailand? Do you integrate with Thais? Can you discuss things with Thais in their own language? Your response indicates not

You are obviously not very good at spotting humour. Anyway, what difference does it make if he lives in Thailand, integrates with Thais or can discuss things with Thais? Two people have been very stupid and have received somewhat disproportionate sentences indicating the imbalance of what goes down as the judicial system in Thailand.

The comment was aimed as much at the courts as at the offenders who were a pair of tools

Do you in your "life" in Thailand fully integrated with Thais discussing major events like this have any opinion yourself?

You response indicates a lack of life. I suggest you go get one, your local Walmart should be able to help.

firstly, i do not think it was intended as humour - just a stupid tv remark typical of many but not all on here -

second, i can't see how a couple being in jail is humourous, but againn this is tv

third, yes i have an opinion. i said - though you missed it - "you assume they are guilty" and you could have gathered from that what my opinion was. other posters have commented in a similar vein but then their brain was in gear before moving off the starting blocks of flaming replies.

fourth, i grinned at your final sentence but i could have made it much funnier. your comic talent is not that great isn it?

[Shotime]

they kind of deserved it, i wish they had gotten 2 years. they are from sweden, they have great education system and im fairly certain they've seen one of the millioon movies where young kids goto south east asian countries and end up in jail for life for some stupid crap like that.

Idiots cant teach themselves, but they can learn from a good old slap

And what the heck is wrong with people, stealing from third worlders?

I really have nothing against Canadians. They have always been very nice to me, and have helped me out of a couple jams. Very decent people, but something is different about them. I mean all Canadians.

Who hasn't done something stupid like this before? Especially someone in their 20's. Probably not Canadians. It seems a little harsh for what they did, much less two years. I can't believe the Swedes would allow this to happen. Two 20 year olds sitting in a Thai prison for over a year for lifting T-shirts. That's a crime in itself.

A short edit cause I just read the shop owner claimed they stole 40,000 baht worth of T-shirts. He should be going to jail for two years.

Edited January 14, 2009 by Shotime

[southerndown]

Good, they also should be horsewhipped for good measure.

What a bunch of tools.

You assume they are guilty

Do you actually live in Thailand? Do you integrate with Thais? Can you discuss things with Thais in their own language? Your response indicates not

Yes to all your questions, and yes I do assume that hey are guilty.

As for the "horsewhipped statement", have you heard of irony?

There is, however no excuse for theft, but you are welcome to go and visit them in Phuket and take them some t-shirts and other goodies if you so wish.

you are entitled to your opinion re their guilt, as i am to mine. and read the other posts. you happen to be in the minority ( but that is not to say you are wrong. they may be guilty)

i thought you may be outside the kingdom or do not integrate fully here because of your assumption of guilt. again read the other posts. my point about integrating with thais and speaking the language is that you will then find out a lot more about how things work here and appreciate how the majority of thais think about such matters. i say the majority as everyone is entitled to his own opinion.

you rather lose your argument and support by making a closing sarcastic comment - usually a sign of being in possession of a poor argument.

in summary you may be right and you are entitled to your point of viewn and on tv you are entitled, nay encouraged, to indulge in sarcasm or flaming

ps and for your information and enlightenment the horsewhipping remark is not an example of irony. check out a good english grammar which includes a good section on figures of speech.

[mrtoad]

firstly, i do not think it was intended as humour - just a stupid tv remark typical of many but not all on here -

second, i can't see how a couple being in jail is humourous, but againn this is tv

third, yes i have an opinion. i said - though you missed it - "you assume they are guilty" and you could have gathered from that what my opinion was. other posters have commented in a similar vein but then their brain was in gear before moving off the starting blocks of flaming replies.

fourth, i grinned at your final sentence but i could have made it much funnier. your comic talent is not that great isn it?

Yes, Phil was clearly spot on with what he said and you have reinforced it.

[Huey]

they kind of deserved it, i wish they had gotten 2 years. they are from sweden, they have great education system and im fairly certain they've seen one of the millioon movies where young kids goto south east asian countries and end up in jail for life for some stupid crap like that.

Idiots cant teach themselves, but they can learn from a good old slap

And what the heck is wrong with people, stealing from third worlders?

I really have nothing against Canadians. They have always been very nice to me, and have helped me out of a couple jams. Very decent people, but something is different about them. I mean all Canadians.

Who hasn't done something stupid like this before? Especially someone in their 20's. Probably not Canadians. It seems a little harsh for what they did, much less two years. I can't believe the Swedes would allow this to happen. Two 20 year olds sitting in a Thai prison for over a year for lifting T-shirts. That's a crime in itself.

A short edit cause I just read the shop owner claimed they stole 40,000 baht worth of T-shirts. He should be going to jail for two years.

Agreed the shop onwer should do falsely accusing people.

However the Swedish couple need to do a 1 or 2 months. Not enough to fuc_k up their lives but enough to teach some respect. Just because the crime was SO F'ing Stupid....heh almost as stupid as being a un married 20 something year old man and BRINGING a woman to Thailand LOL!