Phuket Police: Aussie Arrest No Laughing Matter

[pete66]

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.

This is the fourth or fifth post about her "Earning big" from press. Are you all morons? Do you think the press pays for interviews? They don't have the money to and no self-respecting newspaper pays to interview ANYBODY.

Shows you what kind of idiots post on this site.

Did you honestly say no self-respecting newspaper pays to interview ANYBODY? Which country (or more likely planet) are you from?

[mrbp]

Som Nam Na...

I have been to Thailand countless times, and each of those times - without fail, I have seen a bunch of Australians and/or other nationalities behaving badly and treating the Thai community with the lowest of respect. The Thai people work hard for their money and obviously don't appreciate theft as a 'practical joke'. These people need to use more common sense. You are leaving Australia to VISIT a very different country with different morals, culture, people and traits. While we might think it's a big "ha-ha" stealing a bar mat, The locals obviously do not.

The hospitality portrayed by the Thai people cannot be faulted, They are friendly, talkative, welcoming and very caring. You would not find such hospitality many other places around the world. When drunken hooligans come crashing into their town expecting them to bend over backwards, I am not surprised the Thai Police have little or no tolerance for foreigners.

Totaly agree... We are VISITERS. Visiters should always respect their Hosts.

Agreed, Thailand is a wonderful place, one of the best in the world and that is why we are here but it has it's problems and the police force is one of em. As we all know the old bill out here are about as far as you can get from Dixon Of Dock Green.

Edited May 20, 2009 by mrbp

[Junglejumbo]

Things I see wrong--Bar owner of Aussie bar appears to be a prat

1. The owner of management of Aussie bar should be more understanding. Their business is selling the poison alcohol and that's what enables them to have a profit. When people drink that stuff they get stupid...that's the deal.

2. The bar owner currently shrugs it off saying she should have signed a statement admitting to her guilt and paid a fine....No, we can't be sure of that this would been the end of it.. First of all she NEVER took the hand bag or towel out of the bar....it was left in the handbag and bag was given to her friends but she was still arrested....there are also CCTV cameras to prove she didn't put the towel in the bag. And a confession by her friend the next morning that was ignored. Bad advise from stupid bar owner....

Why did the bar manager insist that she be arrested and charges pressed but then says if she admitted to the guilt she could have got off with a small fine???? That's generally NOT what happens when people admit to guilt and someone wants to press charges......And if it was true Who's getting the fine? The police surely...why does the bar owner want to help the police get a "small fine"...Is his bar for the police or for tourists?

3. Bar owner initially says she verbally abused police chief and ran along the beach....This is likely NOT correct. He has absolutely no evidence that she did this and appears to be defending the police with lies. Even the police have never mentioned she was abusive. She also didn't run along the beach. The police say she was caught across the road, and so to did the lady say. She also ran because it was bucketing down with rain arguably.

4. We now find the bar owner wasn't even in the vicinity at the time despite making comments to the media so soon afterward.

5. Off duty or undercover police in his bar. They likely come every Saturday to watch the football and get served with some free refreshments....this is pretty common and happens a lot in Bangkok also.

6. Conclusion is to AVOID the Aussie Bar, Phuket.

Edited May 20, 2009 by Junglejumbo

[webfact]

simple question:

Does a story like this have a DIRECT effect on tourism?

Does the Thai government care if it affects tourism? etc, etc, etc,,

Ofcourse it has.

This example is local government.

Sure, hundreds of thousands of tourists will immediately cancel their planned visits to Thailand...

Australia will issue a "travel warning"...

what's it all about?

this story alone does not have a huge effect!!

we are talking about the compound effect of so many stories in the last year or so...

do I need to remind you? military coup, swiss guy that faced 10 years for drawing on a picture of a royal family member, PAD closing the airport for a week, phuket airport closed a few days, red shirt riots, etc etc...

its all these things TOGETHER that put people off thailand..

I doubt many will cancell their tickets over this,, (as they loose a percentage of their ticket price!! but we are talking about the people who are planning a holiday in the next year. its THESE people that are influenced.

With my post I voiced MHO tourists will not cancel a trip to Thailand over this case. This case is so minor that nobody will even think about it in a few weeks time!

Edited May 20, 2009 by webfact

[gatorhead333]

simple question:

Does a story like this have a DIRECT effect on tourism?

Does the Thai government care if it affects tourism? etc, etc, etc,,

Ofcourse it has.

This example is local government.

Sure, hundreds of thousands of tourists will immediately cancel their planned visits to Thailand...

Australia will issue a "travel warning"...

what's it all about?

this story alone does not have a huge effect!!

we are talking about the compound effect of so many stories in the last year or so...

do I need to remind you? military coup, swiss guy that faced 10 years for drawing on a picture of a royal family member, PAD closing the airport for a week, phuket airport closed a few days, red shirt riots, etc etc...

its all these things TOGETHER that put people off thailand..

I doubt many will cancell their tickets over this,, (as they loose a percentage of their ticket price!! but we are talking about the people who are planning a holiday in the next year. its THESE people that are influenced.

jeez... are you kidding?? where on earth can the working class aussie male find a woman that is not 1/2 the sizes of aussie land?? 99% of males come to t-land where it is cheap withon their budget with all the flesh they can eat... get a grip....! the lonely boys have no where else to go with their weeks pay!!!!

Edited May 20, 2009 by gatorhead333

[fred2007]

Sara: How was your visit to Thailand?

Jane: Great! Look what I stole, a bar mat from the Aussie Pub in Phuket.

S: That's so cool? Are you allowed to take things that don't belong to you?

J: If you're a foreigner, you can do anything!

S: Really?

J: Yah! If you get caught, you simply complain that you're being persecuted because you're a foreigner.

S: That's so cool.

J: It is cool! Why should we follow laws in a foreign country?

S: What about the people who say what you did was wrong?

J: They're just a bunch of moralistic haters. They don't know me - they shouldn't judge me!

S: You go, girlfriend! Stinking' A!

J: STINKIN' A! I am so cool. Besides, Australia was stolen by the English, and they put all of their criminals here. So, I'm just getting back to my cultural roots.

S: That's so true, and it is so cool!

J: Stinkin' A, it is cool.

S: You are so cool to think that I'm cool.

J: You're cool, just being you

Good one but unfortunately true

[animatic]

Have a look at the beer mat, they are nice and on sale in the Aussie Bar:

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm????????????????

I was thinking that this famous bar would not have Bar Girls and now I see 3 of them holding up a towel.

Stevie, are they freelancers?

How about 'Waitresses"?

[Tony121]

It was a 60 dollar bar mat maybe a weeks wages for the average thai, maybe a petty crime in OZ but not in thailand.

Would you be happy if someone stole your phone and the police said don't worry its only worth 60 dollars ?

What state do you think this country would be in if they said steal what you want as long as its under 60 dollars ?

She is a thief or her friend is a thief I am truly shocked at the people on here who think its ok for people to visit a foreign country and steal,

[Insight]

I worked in a pub in Bristol a long time ago, and someone tried to steal an ornate ash tray from near the fireplace in the main seating area. The manager saw it and confronted the guy who denied it and wouldnt let his pockets be searched, and got abusive/defensive in a loud voice when the bouncer came over to ask what was going on. Police were called, the guy yelled at the police. Police took him to the station. No idea how long he had to stay there, but he wasnt even drunk.

And I would agree that in the above example calling the police and escorting the miscreant down to the station was the correct response. What I don't agree with is seizing Ms Smoel's pass port and detaining her since May 2. Why not just deport her?

(Not arguing with you and you posted a good example of poor behaviour and the correct response)

And there's the problem; even if there was "assault" of a police officer involved, the punishment still doesn't seem to fit the crime.

[aussiejosh]

Getting a lot of bad press in Australia. If we could measure the popularity in Thailand from an international perspective its just going down further and further to the rest of the world.... Depressing really..

As for the police, wouldn't be surprised if its the usual case, small minded big ego ed.

[ThaiEye]

It was a 60 dollar bar mat maybe a weeks wages for the average thai, maybe a petty crime in OZ but not in thailand.

Would you be happy if someone stole your phone and the police said don't worry its only worth 60 dollars ?

What state do you think this country would be in if they said steal what you want as long as its under 60 dollars ?

She is a thief or her friend is a thief I am truly shocked at the people on here who think its ok for people to visit a foreign country and steal,

Not just a week, 2,000 baht is about equivalent to two weeks salary for a working class Thai.

[ohdearohdearohdear]

It was a 60 dollar bar mat maybe a weeks wages for the average thai, maybe a petty crime in OZ but not in thailand.

Would you be happy if someone stole your phone and the police said don't worry its only worth 60 dollars ?

What state do you think this country would be in if they said steal what you want as long as its under 60 dollars ?

She is a thief or her friend is a thief I am truly shocked at the people on here who think its ok for people to visit a foreign country and steal,

^{SHE IS A THIEF AND WHAT ARE YOU ALL SO UPSET ABOUT ?????????????}

OH YES THE EFFECT THAT ONE THIEF CAN HAVE ON THE NAME OF THAILAND

Thieves never prosper (except when silly people feel sorry for them)

[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?

NO, the creation and the existence of the foreign tourist police is for show and publicity purposes only.

Hmmm... That's not what I have been led to believe by the umpteen threads on Thai Visa in which such volunteers extol the virtues of their work. My perception was that the foreign police volunteers were there to act as liaisons during misunderstandings/miscommunications between the Thai police and foreign visitors. So again I ask... where were they during all of this?

[animatic]

Definitely one more MASSIVE nail in Thailand's income from Australia...

This COULD have been handled smoothly as a minor incident,

but the BIB clearly have a hair across their ass about her.

Having a confession from another SHOULD in most place make some difference.

But cultural differences clearly have trumped common sense in this case.

When Phuket starts laying off BiB, from a major market of Phulet drying up,

then MAYBE this guy will wake up....

But aa we all have learned...

looking ahead to the CONSEQUENCES of actions now,

is not a Thai trait bred into the culture....

Not bashing, just the way it is.

[Junglejumbo]

By-the -way, the alleged Aussie stealing from the mute vendor IS TOTALLY UNRELATED TO THIS CASE.....And should not be mentioned by the police man here....We don't even know if it's correct or conjecture.

[vanalli]

Some publications do pay for interviews. Hence the phrase "selling a story".

Regardless, people seem to be missing that she allegedly ran away when confronted and then was allegedly verbally abusive towards a number of police officers. I also read that she tried to pay the police off. The Gazette story doesn't address these issues, but it did come up in the AAP stories. It doesn't sound as if she's done anything to really help her cause. Talking to the Aussie media has inflamed the situation. If she did, in fact, commit theft, resist arrest and become verbally abusive towards officers of the law, she only has herself to blame.

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.

This is the fourth or fifth post about her "Earning big" from press. Are you all morons? Do you think the press pays for interviews? They don't have the money to and no self-respecting newspaper pays to interview ANYBODY.

Shows you what kind of idiots post on this site.

[aussiejosh]

Sara: How was your visit to Thailand?

Jane: Great! Look what I stole, a bar mat from the Aussie Pub in Phuket.

S: That's so cool? Are you allowed to take things that don't belong to you?

J: If you're a foreigner, you can do anything!

S: Really?

J: Yah! If you get caught, you simply complain that you're being persecuted because you're a foreigner.

S: That's so cool.

J: It is cool! Why should we follow laws in a foreign country?

S: What about the people who say what you did was wrong?

J: They're just a bunch of moralistic haters. They don't know me - they shouldn't judge me!

S: You go, girlfriend! Stinking' A!

J: STINKIN' A! I am so cool. Besides, Australia was stolen by the English, and they put all of their criminals here. So, I'm just getting back to my cultural roots.

S: That's so true, and it is so cool!

J: Stinkin' A, it is cool.

S: You are so cool to think that I'm cool.

J: You're cool, just being you

Good one but unfortunately true

You two should seriously go suck on the end of a pistol. Your ignorance is astounding...

How about this, if we locked up everyone who did something silly at this EXACT same level, the minor little pranks and stupid things that people do to each other from time to time how many people would be locked up in prison... and then how much of a detriment to society would that be due to the loss of labor and skills in the workforce and community?

Are the two of you so narrow minded and short sighted that you can't see in this case the police here have stepped over the line in order to gain in the short term to be met with someone ignorant of the corrupt legal system here, ended up detaining them and want to drag it out because now they have been found out for the douche bags they are they want to save face.

The funny thing is its getting more press and more convictions than actual crimes and problems in this country. Complete and utter joke, of course no one will be held accountable for anything now. Police are probably hoping the media coverage dies down so they don't have to back down publicly. I wonder what Abhisit thinks about this.

EPIC FAIL THAILAND, epic fail.

[IngKJ]

A situation resulting from closing ones ears and dug in positions, nothing new sadly.

[ohdearohdearohdear]

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?

NO, the creation and the existence of the foreign tourist police is for show and publicity purposes only.

Hmmm... That's not what I have been led to believe by the umpteen threads on Thai Visa in which such volunteers extol the virtues of their work. My perception was that the foreign police volunteers were there to act as liaisons during misunderstandings/miscommunications between the Thai police and foreign visitors. So again I ask... where were they during all of this?

Probebly trying to help someone who was inocent!!!

[Tony121]

Getting a lot of bad press in OZ

What are the headlines?

Increase in exports of aussie thiefs to asian countries has grown 3% this year

Stealing is now a crime in thailand.

Thailand has issued a travel warning to all its nationals that people are now being arrested for stealing and is not a laughing matter like in oz.

[johna]

The bar owner Steve Wood said in a radio interview that he was thinking of suing Annice, for slanderous remarks he alleges she made against him.

Every thing Steve Wood says amounts to hearsay and should be treated with suspicion, Steve is not in a position to say anything against the Phuket chief of police!!

3AW Breakfast spoke to the owner of Phuket's Aussie Bar before he boarded a plane to Bangkok this morning.

Australian Steve Wood says: "I think she just rubbed the wrong people the wrong way,” when asked what happened the night police arrested Annice Smoel.

Wood says he wasn't at the bar when police arrested Smoel.

He says bar employees told him police saw Smoel's friends roll up the bar mat and place it in a bag. He says when police confronted Smoel 'she did a runner'.

Police later caught up with Smoel on the beach and walked the Montrose woman to the Patong Police station near the Aussie Bar.

Wood says he has been told the Patong Police Chief was in the station when police brought Smoel in and he has been told she 'verbally abused him'.

Wood says bar patrons try to steal the mats 'all the time'. He says bar staff usually catch would-be thieves and 'talk' to them about the attempted theft.

In Smoel's situation, he says it's different because police

[skooldaze]

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.

This is the fourth or fifth post about her "Earning big" from press. Are you all morons? Do you think the press pays for interviews? They don't have the money to and no self-respecting newspaper pays to interview ANYBODY.

Shows you what kind of idiots post on this site.

Did you honestly say no self-respecting newspaper pays to interview ANYBODY? Which country (or more likely planet) are you from?

Buddy I've worked for four large daily papers in the U.S. and NEVER, I repeat NEVER did we or would we pay to interview anybody.

And do you really think any media outlet would pay for a pathetic story like this? Maybe Australian papers are hard up for news, but they're in the same boat as the rest of the sinking industry.

[carlthailand]

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

Well, let's see.

He'll make more money from Tourism and I bet the Bar mats for sale price will go up even more now.

She'll sell the story to New Idea.

Sorry, ignorance is no excuse. No defense in Australia.

Having lived in Thailand you would have to be pretty drunk (steal the taxi Aussie bloke couple of months ago) or just plain dumb to pull a stunt like this in a country that is not your own.

PLAIN STUPID.

Sky News today with husband pleading for the PM to step in to help the "working Australian family" <deleted> what a joke.

[Junglejumbo]

It was a 60 dollar bar mat maybe a weeks wages for the average thai, maybe a petty crime in OZ but not in thailand.

Would you be happy if someone stole your phone and the police said don't worry its only worth 60 dollars ?

What state do you think this country would be in if they said steal what you want as long as its under 60 dollars ?

She is a thief or her friend is a thief I am truly shocked at the people on here who think its ok for people to visit a foreign country and steal,

I don't understand all the references to Thai salaries.....This was an Aussie Bar run by shareholders most of whom are Aussie, and with an Aussie manager.....It was also a Bar mat or towel......Like the guy who took an ashtray in the UK, this is something that is fairly commonly taken for souvenirs....And she was DRUNK...The bar gave her the alchol that made her and her friends silly. That's what happens when you drink......She also didn't take the towel out of the bar which in the UK wouldn't be considered as theft.

[aussiejosh]

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?

NO, the creation and the existence of the foreign tourist police is for show and publicity purposes only.

Hmmm... That's not what I have been led to believe by the umpteen threads on Thai Visa in which such volunteers extol the virtues of their work. My perception was that the foreign police volunteers were there to act as liaisons during misunderstandings/miscommunications between the Thai police and foreign visitors. So again I ask... where were they during all of this?

Probebly trying to help someone who was inocent!!!

Not trying to argue innocence or guilt here, but look how FKN petty this is. <deleted> is wrong with you, if everyone was locked up for petty crap like this 50% of the population would goto jail at some point in their lives. YOUR AN IDIOT. Even stupid people 2,000 years ago had that idea ingrained into them. Who was it that once said "let he who is without sin cast the first stone?", if this was the sin you are talking about i can guarantee 100% of us are sinners in this metaphoric example.

[Junglejumbo]

It was a 60 dollar bar mat maybe a weeks wages for the average thai, maybe a petty crime in OZ but not in thailand.

Would you be happy if someone stole your phone and the police said don't worry its only worth 60 dollars ?

What state do you think this country would be in if they said steal what you want as long as its under 60 dollars ?

She is a thief or her friend is a thief I am truly shocked at the people on here who think its ok for people to visit a foreign country and steal,

I don't understand all the references to Thai salaries.....This was an Aussie Bar run by shareholders most of whom are Aussie, and with an Aussie manager.....It was also a Bar mat or towel......Like the guy who took an ashtray in the UK, this is something that is fairly commonly taken for souvenirs....And she was DRUNK...The bar gave her the alchol that made her and her friends silly. That's what happens when you drink......She also didn't take the towel out of the bar which in the UK wouldn't be considered as theft.

[aussiejosh]

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

Well, let's see.

He'll make more money from Tourism and I bet the Bar mats for sale price will go up even more now.

She'll sell the story to New Idea.

Sorry, ignorance is no excuse. No defense in Australia.

Having lived in Thailand you would have to be pretty drunk (steal the taxi Aussie bloke couple of months ago) or just plain dumb to pull a stunt like this in a country that is not your own.

PLAIN STUPID.

Sky News today with husband pleading for the PM to step in to help the "working Australian family" <deleted> what a joke.

WHO CARES IF SHE MAKES MONEY, THINK ABOUT THIS LOGICALLY THE THAI POLICE MADE THE STORY WITH THEIR ACTION, NOT HER.

Didn't make her sleep it off in a drunk bin which would happen anywhere else in Thailand (I'd know I've had it happen in Khao Sarn, and was abusive, beers the devil!!! sweet tastey delicious devil), anywhere else in the world, what country wants to spend resources on this. Oh and 500 baht fine for them having to look after me lol.

[george]

Why is this handled by the regular police? Wasn't this a clear case for the Tourist police instead?

And as mentioned, where was the Foreign Police Volunteers?

[ohdearohdearohdear]

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.

This is the fourth or fifth post about her "Earning big" from press. Are you all morons? Do you think the press pays for interviews? They don't have the money to and no self-respecting newspaper pays to interview ANYBODY.

Shows you what kind of idiots post on this site.

Did you honestly say no self-respecting newspaper pays to interview ANYBODY? Which country (or more likely planet) are you from?

Buddy I've worked for four large daily papers in the U.S. and NEVER, I repeat NEVER did we or would we pay to interview anybody.

And do you really think any media outlet would pay for a pathetic story like this? Maybe Australian papers are hard up for news, but they're in the same boat as the rest of the sinking industry.

And can anyone believe what is printed in newspapers anyway??

SHE IS A THIEF IN THAILAND, EUROPE, AFRICA, ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, WALES AND EVEN IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!!!

SHE IS DOING SO MUCH HARM WITH HER DISRESPECT TO THIS COUNTRY AND TO HER OWN COUNTRY !!

[ThaiEye]

Getting a lot of bad press in OZ

What are the headlines?

Increase in exports of aussie thiefs to asian countries has grown 3% this year

Stealing is now a crime in thailand.

Thailand has issued a travel warning to all its nationals that people are now being arrested for stealing and is not a laughing matter like in oz.

Some more kangaroo tabloid headlines:

*The Australian government applauds the Thai police for not enforcing the law

*Local woman makes precendence. Swearing at law enforcers in Thailand is now legal

*Innocent Sheila didn't say F*** You, she did instead say Frog Who? (Mr Kob was the arresting officer)

*"I was fleeing that rabid dog outside the bar, not the cops!" pleads Sheila

*"I thought the price of the bar rug was 60baht, not $60" weeps Sheila (Her bill was 620B, so so what)

Edited May 20, 2009 by ThaiEye