Swedish Couple Sentenced To 15 Month In Jail.

[monkfish]

Did they even steel the T Shirts? I doubt it!

Originally accused by the shop keeper for steeling 40 000Bt worth of shirts and then sentenced for 2???

They should have just given the nice policeman 200Bt and that would have been case closed, but probably they didn't know that.

In my opinion every tourist arriving in Thailand should be informed!

[oceano]

Did they even steel the T Shirts? I doubt it!

Originally accused by the shop keeper for steeling 40 000Bt worth of shirts and then sentenced for 2???

They should have just given the nice policeman 200Bt and that would have been case closed, but probably they didn't know that.

In my opinion every tourist arriving in Thailand should be informed!

at this time tourist arriving in Thailand should be informed to take the next fly for go back their country.( after a couple of hour in eden bar of course).

But at the end is a paradise if you look only the book in the travel agency.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Thailand-Vot...on-t235578.html

Edited January 14, 2009 by oceano

[AussieFarang]

Obviously forgot to pay the bill. Must have had plenty of chances but still decided to chance the Thai justice system. Good call. Fair, Equal and Impartial justice for all. Just look around.

[BeerBarBoy]

Some more info from swedish media:

www.ut.se/nyheter/ulricehamn/ulricehamnsparet-stal-250-trojor(1085791).gm

www.dt.se/brottsplats/article390047.ece

In short:

They have confessed to stealing 250 t-shirts.

The male has earlier convictions of assault, narcotics an drunk driving.

[ClaytonSeymour]

Jail time for stealing a couple of t-shirts? Stupid. Why not just hit them with a large fine then chuck them out of the country.

I almost agree with you, however, prior to being thrown out of the country, I'd prefer to see them hit with something much more solid & painful than a fine.

[tartempion]

Good, they also should be horsewhipped for good measure.

What a bunch of tools.

In Western Europe they would walk free the day after being caught.

[Crushdepth]

Moral of the story - crime doesnt pay!! wink.gif

Or if you're going to steal, take something worth having!!

[bunnaag]

Good, they also should be horsewhipped for good measure.

What a bunch of tools.

In Western Europe they would walk free the day after being caught.

Yes.But this is Thailand as everybody knows.

[Kharzi]

What happened?

Touched a nerve have I ?

[Master Chief]

Here are some simple ideas about this case:

- They stole several items, but only few items could be directly related.

- Got caught red-handed and took an aggressive stand-off.

- Police arrived and the thieves resisted arrest.

- Bail was denied, as the couple resisted arrest even at the police station.

- Foul language was used consistently by the thieves.

- They refused to contact the Swedish embassy and relatives prior to court ruling.

- They thought they could handle this by themselves.

- Foul language was used at the court.

- Hash punishment was ruled by the court.

All these parts, should give this kind of court ruling anywhere in the western world.

MC

[Kharzi]

Jeddah west enough for you?

[UncleFrank]

You know what the fine is for scamming a tourist?

1,000thb.

[jayjayjayjay]

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 of the above, but I don't see your point, I agree with mrtoad!

[jayjayjayjay]

sorry wrong reply Mods, delete pls

Edited January 15, 2009 by jayjayjayjay

[jayjayjayjay]

we all have our opinions. .

frankly, I would like to know EXACTLY where in patong these 2 swiss stole the t-shirts.

WHY would I want to know where they stole the shirts, you ask?

simple, I would not want to EVER take the chance of buying something from their shop.

could someone please post a photo of the shop? location? address?

you would be doing us foreigners a truly good deed by letting us know which shop to avoid. thank you.

BETTER yet. pass the word around to avoid buying any t-shirts in patong.

nice troll post

[Hawkup2000]

http://www.ut.se/nyheter/ulricehamn/ulrice...jor(1085791).gm

The couple from Ulricehamn stole 250 T-shirts.

On Tuesday www.ut.se could report that a young couple form Ulricehamn was sentenced to 15 months in jail in Thailand. New information shows that their crime was not only about 2 stolen T/shirts, which first were reported.

Information for the Swedish foreign ministry shows that the couple admitted to have stolen 250 T-shirts during a burglary. They are also involved in an assault on English tourist. The last information hasn’t been confirmed yet.

It was the 2 December last year that the young couple, 24 and 21 years old, were arrested since they stolen the clothes from a shop in Patong Beach, Thailand

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 15, 2009 by Hawkup2000

[imaneggspurt]

Definatly something not right here, this would never have got this far unless these 2 didnt want any part of "the pay off" and insisted they were dealt with in court,normally the police would be called and the owner offered payment and compensation, end of story, offenses much more serious than this dont usually get out of the police station,.i personally think we arent getting all the details here,.its got an awful smell to it,.

[Hawkup2000]

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Swedish-Coup...html&st=125

----

The couple hails from western Sweden, but the man is registered as a citizen of Falun since the summer of 2008 (note; middle Sweden). The man has earlier convictions. Among the convictions there are cases of assault, DUI and narcoticscrime.

Edited January 15, 2009 by Hawkup2000

[brahmburgers]

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.

Did the stall owner initially accuse the kids of taking; "a big bag with shirts to a value of 40 000 baht"?

wholesale T-shirts cost about 50 baht each. that would be 800 t-shirts, a p.u. truck load - ...one heavy bag to sneak away with.

I was walking behind a tourist couple in the Chiang Mai night market one night, about 3 years ago. It was crammed with people - shoulder to shoulder. A Thai stall owner grabbed the forearm of the woman and immediately started yelling "she stole a watch, she stole a watch!" - in Thai and in English. The woman looked horrified, as did her husband. I was less than 2 feet behind the couple, and didn't see anything untoward beforehand. The vendor kept yelling loud. The re-faced tourist man was shaking visibly as he reached for his wallet, and started spinning out 1,000 baht bills. The vendor yelled a few more times, until he saw the wallet emptied, then took the money and shut up.

[varun]

Ironically, the wholesale value of the two T-shirts together would not have been more than 150 baht (200 tops).

Spending a year-and-a-half in prison over that...ah well, reap what you sow.

[jim4pim]

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.

Gee this Walmart sell everthing WOW

[mrtoad]

Where are the liberals today defending the poor couple?

As mentioned yesterday, there was more to this than met the eye, and as it seems from several other reports posted today, they are not exactly law abiding citizens.

I said in jest about the horsewhipping, but with further reflection they do need a dam_n good thrashing.

[snowflake]

I think that the time they have to spend in Jail is a bit too harsh... Give them a few months, then kick them out after they pay a fine...

In a previous post someone claimed that they had used foul languge in court, well they are lucky that they got "only 1 year and 3 months" if that is the case...

I think that there are things we do not know about this case.

PS, for all of you that claims that Thais are treated better than foreigners, that might be true, but they also pay more to the BIB than we do, over a longer period of time. As for any person living in Thailand for a period of time we know that it is all about who you know, nothing more...

[G54]

Considering the life they are likely to have in a Thai jail the sentence does seem very harsh.

I am a great believer of using the 'Stocks' or a similar punishment for people like this - as the one who was caned for vandalism. The humiliation of public punishment with photos in the local press and maybe tv coverage as well would be sentence enough for most people and a deterrent to others.

A shame too that the shopkeeper was not punished for the allegations over 1 bag of shirts at 40,000 Baht. Must have been one hel_l of a size bag to 'shoplift'.

[spacefruit]

To me this whole story and discussion highlights one thing: Lack of information, and the inability of the Thai press to mount an investigation leading to an accurate well balanced and presented story, backed up by interviews and observation.

[elnagtegaal]

Sentence is maybe to high,

But keep your hands of other stuff than there is happening nothing with you.

I wish they had a law like this in Europe, would save the shop owners lots of time, and there would be less of crime.

In Holland if you burgal a house, than you go to the police station and you will send home untill you will come for court.

Big laugh.

If you steel something you will have a small fine and you can start again.

Crazy.

So yes the sentences are to high, but if you have a shop here outside you put plastic over it in the evening and go home.

Next day you remove the plastic and nothing gone.

In Holland and other European countrys you put plastic over it and next day even plastic is gone.

Lived in Spain for many years, if you have trouble with your car and park it beside the street than the next 2 days your wheels are gone, radio gone etc. Who cares if the sentence is so low.

[samgrowth]

I wonder what color T-shirt did they stole? Red or Yellow? If yellow, they could also be charged under LM law, which is 15 years in jail.

[PoorSucker]

The poor, misunderstood, little Swiss tourists

"Ulysses G", they are "Swedish"

Kan Win

Same same.

and in the capital city Copenhagen they have polar bears on the streets.

[ballpoint]

-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.

I'm surprised that no one else has picked up on the real reason for all this. Concerned at the low numer of tourists visiting Thailand the authorities have started locking up those that actually come here in the hope of attracting family members. What a novel way of increasing foreign arrivals.

[ballpoint]

The poor, misunderstood, little Swiss tourists

"Ulysses G", they are "Swedish"

Kan Win

Same same.

and in the capital city Copenhagen they have polar bears on the streets.

I believe the correct term is "they are Swedes", although in this case they appear to be turnips.