Phuket Police: Aussie Arrest No Laughing Matter

[george]

Phuket Police: Aussie arrest no laughing matter

Kathu Police Superintendent Grissak Songmoonnark

to the Phuket Gazette: "This is not a joke."

PATONG, PHUKET: -- Kathu Police Superintendent Grissak Songmoonnark has defended the actions of his men in detaining Aussie holidaymaker Annice Smoel for stealing a branded bar towel from the Aussie Bar in Patong earlier this month.

Col Grissak told the Gazette today that the matter was a clear case of theft and that his officers had sufficient evidence to prove her guilt.

Ms Smoel has been widely quoted in the Australian press as saying she was the victim of a practical joke played on her by friends, who secretly placed one of the bar’s trademark bar towels into her handbag as they were preparing to leave.

As far as Col Grissak is concerned the case in no laughing matter, however.

“The officers checked Annice’s handbag and found the towel inside. The towel is a symbol of this bar. It cannot be bought anywhere else,” he said.

“The police brought her to Kathu Police Station for questioning, but she refused to admit her guilt and continued to insist that she was joking with her friends,” said Col Grissak, who has extensive experience in the ways of foreigners from his work as head of the Tourist Police in Bangkok.

“This is not a joke. The police do not make allegations without facts to back them up,” he said.

The owner of the Aussie Bar insisted [at the time of the arrest] that the police press charges and bring the case to court, he said.

“The police must uphold the law. We kept her in custody for 48 hours before releasing her on bail,” Col Grissak said.

However, it has been widely reported that Ms Smoel actually spent four nights behind bars.

Ms Smoel’s case isn’t the first time the Aussie sense of humor has backfired on the streets of Patong, he revealed.

“We once had a case of an Australian man who stole a shirt from a deaf-mute [street vendor]. He ran away, but was later caught. After he was apprehended, he said he was just playing a joke on the vendor. This is not a joke. If we don’t catch this bad guy, the deaf guy loses his shirt,” he said.

Due to a lack of English language skills among the general population of Thailand, deaf-mute people are commonly employed as retail salespeople on the streets of popular tourist destinations in Thailand – possibly because they are good at using hand gestures.

Col Grissak admitted that the Australian Embassy in Bangkok was concerned with Annice’s case and had asked for details and updates.

“I replied with the facts, saying that we were only enforcing the law,” he said.

Ms Smoel was well looked after during her stay at the Kathu Police Station, where male and female suspects are kept in separate cells and given two meals a day, he continued.

Her case has already been forwarded to the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office, he said.

“I do not know when her court hearing will be,” he added.

Locally, some people have joked that Ms Smoel is now facing an extended “Burrowes vacation” and will now be at the mercy of the slow-moving Thai legal system before she will be able to return down under to see her four children. Her passport has been confiscated by the police.

Aussie Bar owner Steve Wood said Ms Smoel’s problems were largely of her own making and that it was his understanding that all she had to do was file a police report and she would have been fined and released.

The Gazette tried to contact Ms Smoel at the Graceland Hotel in Patong but was told by her husband Darren that she was unwilling to say anything unless her solicitor was present.

The Gazette was then told to contact her solicitor, Bernard Murphy of Morris Blackburn, in Melbourne.

Why she would choose to be represented by a solicitor in Australia for a fairly straightforward case in Thailand remains open to conjecture.

Mr Wood, who has made it clear that he now has no interest in pressing charges, has his own explanation.

“I think they are holding out for some money from the media in Australia. Everyone tells me that all she had to do was file a report at the police station, and I can’t think why else she hasn’t already done so,” he said.

Once the case does go to court it is likely Ms Smoel will escape with a small fine.

-- Phuket Gazette 2009-05-20

[george]

I put bar mat in bag: friend

A woman who placed a bar mat in a friend's handbag in a Thai bar says it is ridiculous and appalling that the Melbourne mother of four is facing up to five years' jail over the prank.

Annice Smoel, 36, has made an emotional plea for help from the Federal Government after she was charged with theft and spent four nights in jail over the practical joke that backfired in the Phuket club.

A woman, identified only as Kate, said this morning she was one of the friends who confessed to police and staff at the Aussie Bar that she had put the mat in Ms Smoel's bag while Ms Smoel was elsewhere in the club.

"It was just a prank," Kate told radio 3AW.

"She did not [know about it]. She was at the other side of the bar at another table with a group of people."

Kate said Ms Smoel was crying in the bar and at the police station after she was confronted over the incident, but denied she had abused police as alleged by the bar's owner.

She said one of the other women in the group had told police that Ms Smoel had not been responsible for putting the bar mat in her bag, but the police were not interested in her confession.

"I was standing back watching from the other side of the glass [at the police station] ... [Ms Smoel] was not being abusive to anybody," Kate said.

"She was very upset, she was crying, she was very confused and emotional as to what had just happened. It was very full-on, there was a lot of bar staff and police and everyone was in our faces.

"It is absolutely ridiculous, it is just appalling."

Ms Smoel's lawyer Bernard Murphy also denied his client was abusive to police.

Her passport confiscated, Ms Smoel was released on bail after four days in jail but might have to wait in Thailand for 14 weeks before she appears in court.

Mr Murphy told the Nine Network that the behaviour of the Thai police has been ridiculous.

"We're hopeful that the Thai authorities will listen and understand that their behaviour to date has been completely ridiculous," Mr Murphy said.

"To lock up this Melbourne mother for what's effectively 18 days for the theft of a bar mat, which other people have admitted doing, seems simply crazy."

He said Ms Smoel had told him that she was not abusive to police.

"I have spoken to her and I've spoken to her friends and they all deny it," he said.

"She was tearful, she was very upset but, I must say: who cares?

"This is a woman who was arrested wrongly, she was a charged with a crime she didn't commit.

"She had had plenty to drink and if she did get upset that would be entirely understandable."

Since her arrest early this month, Ms Smoel has missed being with her eldest daughter, who had emergency surgery for appendicitis, and the 11th birthday of her second-eldest.

Her brother-in-law Gary Smoel, who with his wife is caring for the children while Ms Smoel's husband supports her in Thailand, said the 12-year-old was too upset to go to school.

Two other friends, who were travelling with her to celebrate her mother's birthday, have apologised in a sworn statement for hiding the bar mat in what they called a "silly" joke.

The women, named Samantha and Jodie, said in the statement that police were told Ms Smoel was unaware when they placed the mat in her bag.

They said police initially let her go, but she was stopped later by bar staff and sent to a police booth.

"What started off as a very silly joke has turned into a very serious matter and for that we are sincerely apologetic," the women said.

Yesterday, Ms Smoel described her horror at her time in jail. She said she believed she and her friends had been targeted because they were women "on our own" without a man to talk to police about a bribe.

"If there had ... been a man with us to do that for us, then that would have been done and that would have been the end of it."

She said she was not made aware that her husband, Darren, and mother were negotiating for her release.

"I just felt scared and hopeless and alone," she said. "If they wanted to teach me a lesson, they have well and truly done it."

But Aussie Bar owner Steve Wood told 3AW that he was told police had chased Ms Smoel to the beach, and that she had been disrespectful to a senior policeman.

"I think it's more an attitude problem than a crime problem," he said.

Mr Wood said the bar had not pressed charges over the missing mat, which he said was worth $50 or $60.

Darren Smoel said he would not return home without his wife.

Late yesterday, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Australian authorities were providing consular support and had contacted the Thai Government.

Premier John Brumby said the State Government was doing all it could to bring Ms Smoel home.

"She's a Victorian and we want to get her back," Mr Brumby said.

-- smh.com.au 2009-05-20

[george]

Latest on Nine MSN

The Australian woman arrested in Thailand for allegedly stealing a bar mat denies reports she was abusive towards police.

Annice Smoel's lawyer Bernard Murphy said his 36-year-old client was upset when police took her into custody but she was not abusive.

The mother of four, who spent four nights in a four-by-four metre cell, has been detained in Thailand for 15 days after having her passport confiscated.

She faces five years' jail for what Mr Murphy said was a joke, with two friends putting the bar mat in her handbag as a prank.

Steve Wood, the owner of the Aussie Bar in Phuket where it's alleged the bar mat theft occurred, said on Tuesday that Smoel had been abusive to police who had spoken to her at the bar.

But Mr Murphy told the Nine Network that the behaviour of the Thai police has been ridiculous.

"We're hopeful that the Thai authorities will listen and understand that their behaviour to date has been completely ridiculous," Mr Murphy said.

"To lock up this Melbourne mother for what's effectively 18 days for theft of a bar mat which other people have admitted doing seems simply crazy."

He said Smoel has told him that she was not abusive to police.

"I have spoken to her and I've spoken to her friends and they all deny it," he said.

"She was tearful, she was very upset but, I must say, who cares.

"This is a woman who was arrested wrongly, she was a charged with a crime she didn't commit.

"She had had plenty to drink and if she did get upset that would be entirely understandable."

Smoel, from Montrose in eastern Melbourne, was released on bail after four days in jail but might have to wait 14 weeks in Thailand before she appears in court.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says the federal government will spare no efforts or resources to bring a satisfactory conclusion to Smoel's case.

He said he did not want to underestimate the degree of difficulty involved in the case.

Mr Rudd said he did not intend to comment on the specifics of the allegations against her.

"People will draw their own conclusions about that and the nature of the alleged offence," he told ABC Radio on Wednesday.

"What we're concerned about is that we provide maximum help and support to this individual and to her family in order to bring this to a swift conclusion."

Mr Rudd said staff at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok were working directly with Smoel and her family and with the Thai authorities on the case.

"We will spare no resources and no effort to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion," he said.

-- ninemsn AU 2009-05-20

[Insight]

These clowns have missed the point. It's not the crime which is the joke any more. As to what is, the clue is in the first sentence.

[Tyke]

The silly cow deserves everything she gets except the cash handouts from the Australian media.

[ovenman]

Once again I ask, where were the oft-mentioned Foreign Tourist Police Volunteers when all of this chaos was occurring? Isn't providing assistance to foreigners during this the very sort of incident the reason usually given for why that they exist?

[rysamui]

Police act on facts! What a crock of shit! Cash cow and silly cow agreed. Easy pickings for the toothless wanke_rs of a police force.

[BigBikeBKK]

Add one more to the long list of reasons why tourists will avoid Thailand. As if Phuket wasn't already in bad enough shape- what in the world were the coppers thinking?!

[Sunny Valentine]

One of the most pathetic statements I ever heard, made by a Thai Police officer!

“This is not a joke. The police do not make allegations without facts to back them up,”

Yeah, sure. And pigs fly.

The actions of the lady involved were not the brightest, but in comparison to the Police Actions she looks like a rocket scientist.

[grantbkk]

The silly cow deserves everything she gets except the cash handouts from the Australian media.

You are a very compassionate sole. It's too bad she wasn't Black she would get more sympathy. I take it someone stole your bar mat and you haven't gotten over it yet.

Could someone post a picture of a bar mat or bar towel, the object of affection in this case. The owner of the Australian Bar says it was worth $50 to $60. I suspect that is Australian money and what the whole bar is worth now.

Kudos to the Thai police colonel for standing by his men. Thank God he had experience fleecing tourists in Bangkok before ascending to his supreme position in another tourist destination. This is the way the police chief rolls when balancing Thailand's position on the world stage with fair and honest enforcement of the criminal code?

Cheers!

[jbsears]

The silly cow deserves everything she gets except the cash handouts from the Australian media.

Why?

Also, why is she a cow?

It seems the police don't understand the concept of discretion. The crime of stealing a towel worth no more than a couple hundred baht should be punished with only a ticket. Also, once the friend confesses the ticket should go to the friend and not the lady arrested. Just b/c she is the walking out with the stolen merchandise does not mean she is the one stealing it.

[Capealava]

Surely there is more to this than meets the eye. It sounds as if there was or is some antagonism between her and the bar owner. He obviously is not being very helpful. They are both Australians. Maybe she was just mouthing off and then the bar mat was the pivotable point and it got out of hand she ended up in the 'hands of the police". Which is place you do not want to be in Thailand.

[BlackJack]

Mr Rudd said staff at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok were working directly with Smoel and her family and with the Thai authorities on the case.

Now this statement is strange indeed as the Embassy does not get involved in these issues (i was told in writing before)

They always suggest you get your own lawyer

now we have the PM of OZ directing resources to the bar mat stealer of Phuket

GIVE ME A BREAK

[Lozfranco]

One of the most pathetic statements I ever heard, made by a Thai Police officer!

"This is not a joke. The police do not make allegations without facts to back them up,"

Yeah, sure. And pigs fly.

The actions of the lady involved were not the brightest, but in comparison to the Police Actions she looks like a rocket scientist.

How do you work that one out? Rocket Scientist get pissed in Ozzy pubs, steal bar mats, resist arrest and abuse the police do they?

[jfchandler]

Speaking as a longtime professional journalist, the original article above from the Phuket Gazette is a pure piece of C**P.....

I have no idea what the lady really did or didn't do. But.....

--the article totally fails to have the police even minutely address the key issue in the case: that friends of the woman claimed then and are reinforcing now that she knew nothing about it and it was a joke they played on her. True or not, the police commander doesn't even touch that subject in the article.

--the article quotes the police commander as saying his men did what they did originally because the owner of the bar insisted on pursuing the case. Then later, the article directly quotes the owner of the bar as saying he doesn't want to pursue the case. So which is true? The owner originally wanted to prosecute and then changed his mind later? Or the police commander is misrepresenting the original position of the owner. The article doesn't give you a clue.

--the first paragraphs of the article says the police detained the woman for stealing the bar rag... Gee, I don't believe she's admitted guilt or been found guilty in any court. So how about, for ALLEGEDLY stealing at least.... unless innocent until proven guilty got lost somewhere along the way.

Any way you cut it, all of this over a bar mat is a ridiculous overreaction -- unless the woman involved really did something to hack off the local BIB.... There were some hints of that originally, but the latest accounts seem to suggest that wasn't the case.

My verdict is... Phuket Gazette.... crappy journalism, if you can even call it that.

[sedeflonga]

Once again I ask, where were the oft-mentioned Foreign Tourist Police Volunteers when all of this chaos was occurring? Isn't providing assistance to foreigners during this the very sort of incident the reason usually given for why that they exist?

I wonder that myself. Especially in Phuket Some more bad news for Thailand...

"Another one bites the dust..."

[Trickcyclist]

Quote: "The owner of the Aussie Bar insisted [at the time of the arrest] that the police press charges and bring the case to court, he said."

If the above is true, why blame the police???

More questions than answers!

[marsteele]

The owner of the Aussie Bar insisted [at the time of the arrest] that the police press charges and bring the case to court, he said.

The owner was not even in the country at the time. listen to his interview on 3aw.com.au. <deleted> who is lying the bar owner or thai police

[pattaya_girl]

Its an absolute disgrace, and I feel very sorry for this Woman.

[thaibkk]

robbers, muggers, rapists, politicians get all away with a million time worse than a towel theft or joke...

shame on the bar owner,

he could have asked 500 baht damages, but preferes to go to court over this ?

sick world we live in

[Asianatic]

Yes, indeed another reason to stay away from this third-world country. I'll be heading to more civilized nations in the immediate neighbourhood.

[Jewelz]

I thought it was a door mat at first. Now it's a hand towel? What else is going to be changed in this story? This is beyond any comprehensible borders.

[njpski]

She is not a cow! In fact, some of her happy snaps show her to be quite a pleasant & buxom wench.

She is using a well-known law firm to extract as much (1) publicity & (2) cash out of a tawdry little event.

She is, with good make-up and clothing, quite photogenic - read all about it in the women's magazines.

Her recalcitrance has set up her beautifully to have a big earn from press and Television - so no sympathy for her, she is just earning income.

[Grey11]

Add one more to the long list of reasons why tourists will avoid Thailand. As if Phuket wasn't already in bad enough shape- what in the world were the coppers thinking?!

It appears as though stealing is a crime in Thailand. Do the crime, pay the fine, or serve the time.

[Lancelot]

Not a good situation with a "war of words" and both sides digging in to their positions. The Thai police colonel defending his men's actions and the Australian press making the story front page news (which I am in favor of.)

What ever went down, it looks like the Phuket authorities are not backing down on this one.

[arnoldjr]

this is just one of the many steps to "Stamp out Tourism". Maybe Taksin should tell them he meant "Stamp out Corruption".

[TVmonitor]

sounds like a case of local, rather low-brow police trying to save face - unfortunately it won't work - eventually someone will be "moved" to another job.

[coalminer]

Phuket Police: Aussie arrest no laughing matter

“The police brought her to Kathu Police Station for questioning, but she refused to admit her guilt[/color]

[/b][/color]"

ROTFLMAO

Is this police officer for real?

He should have stand "with his man" when they were firing tear gas at the yellow rats.

The main culprit in this whole history has been the owner of the Aussie bar Peter Brown who pressed charges.

I hope he will get a good "haircut" if he sets ever again a foot on Aussie soil.

Unbelieveable that this country does not hesitate to make public statements about the Burmese Junta, but acts themselves as the worst in Asia.

I live here already for many years, but I since the yellows have taken over the government it has gone from bad to worse.

[thelegend]

Stupid! Stupid!! Stupid!!! The Police, The Thai government, and that abomination of a bar owner. I am sure that someone so unaustralian could not possibly be an Australian .This moron should have "Dick Head" Tatooed on his forhead. Surely he will be auctioning all his bloody precious bar mats soon. To say nothing of common sense, good manners, and plain good business sense . I am embarassed to be Aussie when I see this wanke_r perform. He should also take note that as the woman hadn't left the premises with his precious bar mat she certainly hadn't stolen it , and may well have great cause for a massive damages action against Dopey! But she should get in quick. because I can hear the value of his bar crashing from here in Aus..... the noise must be bloody deafening in Thailand .

[Hanzkneez]

Its an absolute disgrace, and I feel very sorry for this Woman.

why - she is a thief