Australian Women Arrested In Phuket Over Bar Mat

[johna]

The UK press have picked up this story;

http://www.independent.co.uk

Stolen bar mat lands tourist in Thai jail

Associated Press

An Australian woman arrested for stealing a bar mat from a Thai nightspot appealed today for government intervention to allow her to return home, saying the theft was a practical joke.

[cobra]

This over the top arrest has all the makings for an episode of that Locked Up Abroad series.

Of course it will be resolved but I'm sure a lot of $$ is going to change hands first.

Unfortunate indeed as this is no time for more negative publicity impacting tourism.

[moe666]

As many posters keep repeating the reframe that this will put Thai Tourism in a coffin all I can say is, I hope so. When I come to visit later this year I will not have to put up with lager louts and thiving Aussies.

And I might say Good Ridance

[wamberal]

Lets take a break folks. The lady, and I use that word lightly, in question is typical of most tourist the world over. No real consideration of were she is going, no research about local customs, and laws. Maybe a bit of time spent reading about Thailand and she would not find herself in the fine mess she has placed herself in.

This is probably the silliest post on the whole thread. Whether or not the woman is a "lady" is a moot point - however, she is an ordinary suburban mother of four young kids who went for a holiday to Thailand for a few days with ten girlfriends. Are you seriously suggesting that countries like Thailand, that depend on tourism for a large part of their export income, should require inbound visitors coming for a few days to somehow be cultural experts? Great idea. That would reduce tourism by about 95%.

Also why all of this crying and howling about how the government should be helping her. When you travel you are now subject to the laws of the country you are visiting and your home country really has no authority and maybe very little influence.

The Thai Government should act quickly to resolve this mess - because it is a mess, and is being headlined on all the media in Australia, and other countries on whom Thailand relies for inbound tourism. As for the Australian Government, they are involved, naturally enough - how could they not be? This is a fine example of third-world justice, and must be fixed quickly. And will be.

[egg]

As many posters keep repeating the reframe that this will put Thai Tourism in a coffin all I can say is, I hope so. When I come to visit later this year I will not have to put up with lager louts and thiving Aussies.

And I might say Good Ridance

l think you should be more worried about thieving Thai's than thieving Aussies ,,, but thats only my opinion ,,,,,,,,, just saw the ABC news and they portray her as the victim ,,, had an interview with the bar owner who more or less said she is a thief she got ( or will get ) what she deserved ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, far enuff

cheers

egg

[carvets]

As many posters keep repeating the reframe that this will put Thai Tourism in a coffin all I can say is, I hope so. When I come to visit later this year I will not have to put up with lager louts and thiving Aussies.

And I might say Good Ridance

As an Aussie, i have read your comment and decided it would be best to cancel my June trip. I was planning a wonderful time shoplifting and breaking and entering hotel rooms along with a little recreational pickpocketing. Good luck and enjoy your holiday and watch out for blokes with corks hanging off their hats and stay well clear of anyone named Johnno , Macka or Bluey.

[pagallim]

And another one from the UK, this time the highly respected (and widely read) Daily Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/...ng-bar-mat.html

[wamberal]

As many posters keep repeating the reframe that this will put Thai Tourism in a coffin all I can say is, I hope so. When I come to visit later this year I will not have to put up with lager louts and thiving Aussies.

And I might say Good Ridance

"Reframe"? "Riddance"? "Thiving"?

Could we have a translation, please?

[egg]

As many posters keep repeating the reframe that this will put Thai Tourism in a coffin all I can say is, I hope so. When I come to visit later this year I will not have to put up with lager louts and thiving Aussies.

And I might say Good Ridance

As an Aussie, i have read your comment and decided it would be best to cancel my June trip. I was planning a wonderful time shoplifting and breaking and entering hotel rooms along with a little recreational pickpocketing. Good luck and enjoy your holiday and watch out for blokes with corks hanging off their hats and stay well clear of anyone named Johnno , Macka or Bluey.

at least we can be reasonably confident he (or she ) wont go to Australia

[mackayae]

apparently the bar is full of video cams so I dont see what the point of speculating is, the truth should come out

What's truth got to do with it? TIT.

[aussiestyle1983]

As many posters keep repeating the reframe that this will put Thai Tourism in a coffin all I can say is, I hope so. When I come to visit later this year I will not have to put up with lager louts and thiving Aussies.

And I might say Good Ridance

As an Aussie, i have read your comment and decided it would be best to cancel my June trip. I was planning a wonderful time shoplifting and breaking and entering hotel rooms along with a little recreational pickpocketing. Good luck and enjoy your holiday and watch out for blokes with corks hanging off their hats and stay well clear of anyone named Johnno , Macka or Bluey.

at least we can be reasonably confident he (or she ) wont go to Australia

Thank god for that!

There are allready enough lager louts and thiving foreigners in Australia. We don't need another...

[Dakhar]

Again folks, lets assume she is guilty, and lets assume she also spoke the truth and pointed out that asian men are challenged in a few certain areas....

Does the punishment fit the crime?

Apparently something is a little strange when I guy can go into a police office waving an M16 around, and never have an ounce of trouble, or an air port can be shut down without a single arrest...

but 2-5 years for a 10 baht towel?

Strange to me

[steveyinasia]

Interesting on the Thai news channel this morning, all the reporters information was rehashed stuff from the Australian newspapers....no new information. They even showed the pictures from the Sydney Morning Herald. Investigative Thai reporting at it's best again. Has not made the Bangkok Post yet and probably will not until this incident can somehow be linked to Thaksin

[katasyd]

This case has had coverage all over Australia, even came up at the MUA meeting and seafarers are calling for a boycott of the Aussie bar.

No one likes a dog and won't drink at a bar when it's owned by a dog.

Steve should know better.

[Carmine6]

Lets take a break folks. The lady, and I use that word lightly, in question is typical of most tourist the world over. No real consideration of were she is going, no research about local customs, and laws. Maybe a bit of time spent reading about Thailand and she would not find herself in the fine mess she has placed herself in.

This is probably the silliest post on the whole thread. Whether or not the woman is a "lady" is a moot point - however, she is an ordinary suburban mother of four young kids who went for a holiday to Thailand for a few days with ten girlfriends. Are you seriously suggesting that countries like Thailand, that depend on tourism for a large part of their export income, should require inbound visitors coming for a few days to somehow be cultural experts? Great idea. That would reduce tourism by about 95%.

Also why all of this crying and howling about how the government should be helping her. When you travel you are now subject to the laws of the country you are visiting and your home country really has no authority and maybe very little influence.

The Thai Government should act quickly to resolve this mess - because it is a mess, and is being headlined on all the media in Australia, and other countries on whom Thailand relies for inbound tourism. As for the Australian Government, they are involved, naturally enough - how could they not be? This is a fine example of third-world justice, and must be fixed quickly. And will be.

Third world justice? After being held 2 days, she's been released on bail pending trial. Sounds pretty routine for the first world. Should they just drop charges over the objection of the owner? Perhaps if the owner wasn't supporting the charges, but he is. I assume by now if there's video he's seen it.

[thaiwanderer]

offensive comment there - some might describe her.....nevermind

not entirely clear that the bar owner can do anything about it anyway and doesn't seem to have been involved initially

she made her bed and should try not to make the same mistakes as simon burrowes

but from reported comments from her i have read suggesting a bribe would have helped she is likely to carry on whingeing about her fate but not her own role in it and eventually will understand its not about the mat at all

as to 'nail in tourism coffin' - yawn! only 6 per cent and if it puts low renters off alls the better

[mackayae]

I think everybody is missing the point here. I live in Phuket and drink, with the owners, in the Aussie Bar. They do have Thai police that drink in the bar and also Thai security. I have been in there a couple of times before when the same situation has occured, the customer has been requested to pay for the item, told he/she not welcome to drink in the bar that evening, all forgotten.

The woman ran from the police, supposedly down the seafront. As we all know, Thai police don't like to exert themselves, so a run down the beach probably P#$#ed them off even more.

The owners of the bar have spent good money improving all the facilities in the bar, i don't care what anyone says, if it was your property, whether in Thailand, Aussie, UK etc stealing from the place is still and always will be common theft, whether it be a bar mat or a TV. Ok, saying the woman will be jailed is maybe a bit over the top, 24 hours in a police cell would have maybe done the trick.

Like a previous poster has put, a little studying on the country you are visiting, a bit of common respect for people living and working in the area, whether Thai or Farang.

As a mother of 4 children, she should have been hehaving slightly better. If one of her children had been caught shoplifting in the local supermarket, said it was a joke, i am sure as the mother she would have accepted that, think not. Probably a good beating for the Kid. So, why should she be any different.

You might be right, but the Aussie Bar, Phuket and Thailand are loosing the PR battle.

[aussiestyle1983]

Lets take a break folks. The lady, and I use that word lightly, in question is typical of most tourist the world over. No real consideration of were she is going, no research about local customs, and laws. Maybe a bit of time spent reading about Thailand and she would not find herself in the fine mess she has placed herself in.

This is probably the silliest post on the whole thread. Whether or not the woman is a "lady" is a moot point - however, she is an ordinary suburban mother of four young kids who went for a holiday to Thailand for a few days with ten girlfriends. Are you seriously suggesting that countries like Thailand, that depend on tourism for a large part of their export income, should require inbound visitors coming for a few days to somehow be cultural experts? Great idea. That would reduce tourism by about 95%.

Also why all of this crying and howling about how the government should be helping her. When you travel you are now subject to the laws of the country you are visiting and your home country really has no authority and maybe very little influence.

The Thai Government should act quickly to resolve this mess - because it is a mess, and is being headlined on all the media in Australia, and other countries on whom Thailand relies for inbound tourism. As for the Australian Government, they are involved, naturally enough - how could they not be? This is a fine example of third-world justice, and must be fixed quickly. And will be.

Third world justice? After being held 2 days, she's been released on bail pending trial. Sounds pretty routine for the first world. Should they just drop charges over the objection of the owner? Perhaps if the owner wasn't supporting the charges, but he is. I assume by now if there's video he's seen it.

Or possibly even deleted it...

[marsteele]

This case has had coverage all over Australia, even came up at the MUA meeting and seafarers are calling for a boycott of the Aussie bar.

No one likes a dog and won't drink at a bar when it's owned by a dog.

Steve should know better.

Just listened to this steve guy's interview on a Melbourne radio station. He stated that he had not even pressed any charges against the woman. He also stated that the whole thing had harmed his business and he is now losing money and because he is losing money he will now press charges against her.

If he didn't make any complaint of theft or press any charges then where is the crime no offence. Since when can the police arrest someone for an alleged offence if no offence has occured. I guess only Thailand need a few extra baht for the tea club this woman/guy will do arrest them sort out the offence in the next few weeks.

Yep this Steve is a dog alright and eats his own kind true aussie mateship..

Edited May 20, 2009 by Mario2008
political action/lobying is not allowed. Comment deleted.

[aussiestyle1983]

Allthought this is a different issue, it seems as if the Aussie media is on a warpath...

As I was uploading this, the story this thread is on is the Second headline on Sky News.

According to Sky news, she is facing a minimum of 1-3 years, maximum of 3-5 years. The problem was she refused to sign a declaration right after the incident in the cop shop because it was written in Thai and during that time of night, no translator was available at the cop shop so she refused to sign. She refused to sign the declaration because she did not understand it and no one could translate it. Because she did not sign the declaration at that time, on the spot, it is apparently too late. If she signed it, she would have been released. I can't blame her for not signing something she could not read.. Only a fool would sign such a declaration in a foreign language without understanding it. The story lasted 5 mins on Sky news. She is out of jail but her passport has been confiscated and she is on bail.

Updated on msn:

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/815780...r-theft-charges

This sums it up: "To lock up this Melbourne mother for ... 18 days for the theft of a bar mat which other people have admitted doing is simply crazy."

IMG.pdf

Edited May 20, 2009 by aussiestyle1983

[marsteele]

Allthought this is a different issue, it seems as if the Aussie media is on a warpath...

As I was uploading this, the story this thread is on is the Second headline on Sky News.

That would be because the aussie prime minister is now involved in the case.

[sibeymai]

I can see it already....spend 1,000bt and get a free bar mat at the Aussie Bar, Phuket.

[Farma]

They say the Best Job in the World campaign generated $100 million in free advertising.

I wonder how much negative free advertising this affair has generated for the bar concerned.

[marsteele]

They say the Best Job in the World campaign generated $100 million in free advertising.

I wonder how much negative free advertising this affair has generated for the bar concerned.

I hear that it is going to be free beers 24/7 for the next month

[imaneggspurt]

Well as we all know it wasnt just the theft of a bar mat, thats a typical non researched headline that sells newspapers,.these people that come to thailand and cant control their temper tantrums will learn the hard way, this is not a nanny state that will ignore you or just put up with insults,and in my eyes rightly so,.we are all some mothers child, its just that some were spoilt and never grow up,.i find it actually typical of a whinging child that that is kept in for misbehaving then having a tantrum,.the thais dont take to this spoilt brat behavior, i dont agree with much in thailand but i do agree that no ne should throw insults in this situation,.to blame thailand is a blinkered view,.thailand is far from perfect, but so are a lot of the people that visit,.look closer to home to see thailands faults,.they may be you,.

[loong]

Just out of complete curiosity how did you relate the story to them? In other words was it from one angle or another (regardless of whether it was intentional)? I am curious to learn about the response of Thai's to a situation where a farang was abusive to the police and tried to flee from the police. Furthermore, I am curious to learn how Thais would feel about a farang being detained for being abusive.........

Fair question.

I think I was somewhat impartial, although I did say that I would guess she did in fact get abusive to the police. We actually spent so little time on the whole barmat theft or no theft itself that I am not sure anyone made a speculation as to her guilt or innocence of that.

Our conversation was centered on the police not playing this incident in the best manner, and how this opened Thailand up to the hysteria of the foreign press. Each one of them opined that the police should have kept her overnight for the abuse we figured she might have committed, then slapped her with a fine and either sent her on her way or put her on a plane back to Australia. They pretty much agreed that the police put their own sense of pride above the best interests of the nation.

Your friends have some common sense, unlike so many others

Lol at this whole post tbh. But ahh no, I'm not saying she is innocent. I'm saying you (and I) don't know until the facts become clear. How do you know she's guilty again? Were YOU in the bar?

There are differing version of events and if you believe her and her friends then she wasn't stealing at all.

edit: yeah you beat me to it bonobo, but he just left himself so open didn't he....

No, I was not at the bar however, I live in Patong and I frequent the Aussie bar a lot. Steve is a personal friend of mine and I also know the managers very well, both expat and Thai managers. What I can say is that there is not one single indication from anyone (including the regulars who live in Patong and drink there) that suggests she did not steal the beer mat. All say the same thing in relation to her running away, being aggressive and abusing the police etc.

So who am I going to believe ? My friends who were there when it happened, or a load of dimwits who say shes not guilty just because ABC news says so ?

What the Aussies should be worried about is the image that this low life, disrespectful thief has cast on the good folk of Australia, not about what might happen to them if they come here.

What sickens me is the fact that this petty crook will probably get a hero's welcome when she gets back. When in reality they should take her passport off her and put her in jail for giving the nation a bad name ! Shame on her !!!

As you are such good friends with the people that work in this bar, perhaps you could add more details instead of being so vague.

Your friends were where exactly when it happened? Inside the bar? So did they see this women steal the bar mat or not? If not, did they see the womans friend put the towel in the bag? Did your friends actually witness the woman being agressive and abusive to the police, they went to the police station - right?

"What I can say is that there is not one single indication from anyone (including the regulars who live in Patong and drink there) that suggests she did not steal the beer mat."

Have you actually had one single indication from anyone that she took the towel put it in her bag and tried to leave? Is there any indication at all that her friend didn't steal the mat.

You probably also have had no indication that Mickey Mouse didn't steal the mat either, so Mickey must have done it.

"this petty crook will probably get a hero's welcome"

So you agree that this is a petty crime, yet you seem to think that she deserves to be incarcerated for 2 or 4 days and then stranded for months to await the outcome.

[aussiestyle1983]

This case has had coverage all over Australia, even came up at the MUA meeting and seafarers are calling for a boycott of the Aussie bar.

No one likes a dog and won't drink at a bar when it's owned by a dog.

Steve should know better.

Just listened to this steve guy's interview on a Melbourne radio station. He stated that he had not even pressed any charges against the woman. He also stated that the whole thing had harmed his business and he is now losing money and because he is losing money he will now press charges against her.

If he didn't make any complaint of theft or press any charges then where is the crime no offence. Since when can the police arrest someone for an alleged offence if no offence has occured. I guess only Thailand need a few extra baht for the tea club this woman/guy will do arrest them sort out the offence in the next few weeks.

Yep this Steve is a dog alright and eats his own kind true aussie mateship..

Perhaps her family back home, who claims to be suffering as a result of this incident, will sue or press charges against someone in LOS... Too bad nothing would come of it...

Anway, I don't expect much truth to come out of Thailand. Lying to save face is there culture. Who know how this event will be twisted and how it will end. We really need reciprocal punsihemnt for foreign nationals here in Oz because it is insame what foreigners get away with here but yet would face in there own nation.

Edited May 20, 2009 by aussiestyle1983

[imaneggspurt]

Something happened beteween here, /Her bag was searched on her way out of the bar and when staff found the mat they called the police.and here /

She was arrested, charged with theft and locked up for two nights before being granted bail.

[ozzydom]

AMAZING !!! 18 pages of Aussie bashing ,Thai and Thailand bashing etc all because a 60 year old mother of 4 from OZ, ALLEGEDLY filched a second hand beer mat whilst on a hens trip to a foreign country where serious crime rules supreme.

What fertile imaginations roam this forum , the conspiracy theories posted here are mind blowing.

The facts seem to be that the woman is charged with night time stealing ,nothing more ,nothing less.

Whether guilty of this" heinous" crime or not ,the fact remains that what would be regarded as a petty crime in most civilised societies has been turned into an international incident which can only have detrimental impact on Thailand.

[carvets]

This case has had coverage all over Australia, even came up at the MUA meeting and seafarers are calling for a boycott of the Aussie bar.

No one likes a dog and won't drink at a bar when it's owned by a dog.

Steve should know better.

Ha ha ha ha ha ,....your funny . And of course, your right. I will now amend my previously held opinion of said " Dog " , which was that he was a good bloke, generous, easy going , a good host , friendly , helpful and did i say a good bloke, .....based on time spent and actual coversations with this " Dog " , and use the term ," Dog " when referring to him based on the more substantial opinions of other people who have never met him.