Legal Problem

[hlfourie]

Hi all, I have quite a big problem and your advice and help will be appreciated. Three evenings ago I heard a noice outside my house in Pattaya, after investigating I found a drunk Thai man infront of my gate trying to get in. I picked up a stick and beat the man over the head and he fled into the darkness. A few minutes later another man came to my gate and asked if I new who hit the first man and I said that I had because he was trying to get into the gate. He spent three days in the hospital and now his familly are demanding I pay them 100,000 Baht. Should I pay or take the situation to court.

[stickman]

You assaulted someone and on the face of it, you're guilty of assault. Settle it out of court. See how much the hospital bills were, cover that, and put 10,000 baht on top. That should be enough. You should be able to settle this for less than 100,000 baht.

[saintofsilence]

Hi all, I have quite a big problem and your advice and help will be appreciated. Three evenings ago I heard a noice outside my house in Pattaya, after investigating I found a drunk Thai man infront of my gate trying to get in. I picked up a stick and beat the man over the head and he fled into the darkness. A few minutes later another man came to my gate and asked if I new who hit the first man and I said that I had because he was trying to get into the gate. He spent three days in the hospital and now his familly are demanding I pay them 100,000 Baht. Should I pay or take the situation to court.

You should take it to court but also you have to be aware some of these people are crazy when it comes to wanting money and will use other means, both of you have done the wrong thing not an easy situation but try and stay calm.

[patklang]

This drunken thai guy could have been confused and thought he was at his house or his friends.You said he was in front of your gate,so you opened the gate and twatted him,very wrong unless you were in usa/uk,and was smacking your own skin colour.

[kimincm]

Hi all, I have quite a big problem and your advice and help will be appreciated. Three evenings ago I heard a noice outside my house in Pattaya, after investigating I found a drunk Thai man infront of my gate trying to get in. I picked up a stick and beat the man over the head and he fled into the darkness. A few minutes later another man came to my gate and asked if I new who hit the first man and I said that I had because he was trying to get into the gate. He spent three days in the hospital and now his familly are demanding I pay them 100,000 Baht. Should I pay or take the situation to court.

Three days in hospital,must have been a real good shot,a bit heavy handed maybe,did you try a few loud p_ss offs first? Maybe you should get a bigger stick for the return bout.

[ThaiEye]

The hospital bill was probably 30baht (or is it free now) courtesy of the government health program.

If he was trying to get in (breaking in) then you have right to defend your property.

100,000 to a drunkard local in Pattaya, his family will be having a massive celebration party. Let them take the matter to court - police and judges have no sympathy for drunkards. Or, 3 days in hospital? 10,000baht is max compensation.

PS:

If this OP had been vice-versa, ie.... written by a farang in Pattaya saying he was drunk and spent three days in hospital after a Thai house owner hit him over the head, flaming comments of the opposite nature would be written ie... drunk farang deserved it.

[jackdanielsesq]

Setup!!

BR>Jack

[justanothercybertosser]

The Thai way in a situation such as this is to get a Thai friend with some influence and respect in the community, and let him act as an intermediary in the in such cases usual negotiations.

And negotiations are advisable to avoid lengthy and often more expensive legal issues. It's not a big deal as long as it is approached the Thai way, and not according to western sensibilities.

[aussiejosh]

Take it to court and tie them up with paper work which they will never be able to find a lawyer willing to go through for a petty amount of money. Get a decent lawyer to do this for you.

[justanothercybertosser]

Take it to court and tie them up with paper work which they will never be able to find a lawyer willing to go through for a petty amount of money. Get a decent lawyer to do this for you.

This would cost maybe more in lawyer fees, and will cause so much bad blood that the other side might want to solve it out of court at a later date, meaning that the poster who might win a legal battle might have to move somewhere else or be hurt.

It's simply not worth it. Finding a to both sides tolerable compromise will solve it fast and easy, no faces lost.

[loong]

Obviously, this happened more than 3 days ago. Have you had a visit from the police?

He ran away....Are you sure that he spent 3 days in hospital or is this just what they have told you?

Most I would do is offer to pay the hospital bill after the proper receipts had been sent to your lawyer.

[barky]

The Thai way in a situation such as this is to get a Thai friend with some influence and respect in the community, and let him act as an intermediary in the in such cases usual negotiations.

And negotiations are advisable to avoid lengthy and often more expensive legal issues. It's not a big deal as long as it is approached the Thai way, and not according to western sensibilities.

This seems like a sensible way to handle it now.

I agree with another post. Why didn't you first just tell him to p**s off?

And then you seemed to compound the problem by not finishing the job and then secondly admitting it to a third person who miraculously knew exactly which house to go to to ask if you had done it.

[kennkate]

Obviously, this happened more than 3 days ago. Have you had a visit from the police?

He ran away....Are you sure that he spent 3 days in hospital or is this just what they have told you?

Most I would do is offer to pay the hospital bill after the proper receipts had been sent to your lawyer.

Exactly sonds like a Scam to me. Mate just happend to be round the corner.

Forget it. and wait untill you have proof he was in Hospital.

[TexasRanger]

Trying to get into your place, sounds like self defense to me. Pay him nothing.

[LongThaimer]

two of my thai workers got into a fight ......... both ends up at police station

the guy found taking the first blows, fined 2000 baht for assault .......

[Maizefarmer]

Do nothing - its going nowhere from a criminal proceedings point of view, that you can be sure of, and as for civil proceedings from the drunk or his family - just keep your mouth shut and admit to nothing - its their job to demonstrate that you are the assailant, not your job to demonstrate you are not.

If you do get another visit, just for the record, ask which hospital the treatment took place at and a copy of the bill (chances are it was a state hospital) - I think you'll find the 100K claim will quickly start to unravel.

[scorecard]

Was he violent or seriosuly threatening before you "beat him up".

You said he was trying to get into your place. What does that mean? At the front gate / at the front door, did he use something to break down the gate / door?

As already said - three days in hospital, you obviously gave him a good beating.

If your brother was seriously beaten up and the situation was not that threatening, but your brother ended up in hospital for 3 days, would you be a bit angry and saying didn't deserve such a severe beating.

Maybe you should do some serious thinking about your own self control.

[robbiecia]

If a Thai local had hit you in front of his gate...........he would deny everything.

I suggest if there were no witnesses, you consider the same.

Anything you have said about it was just a mis-communication.

[loong]

two of my thai workers got into a fight ......... both ends up at police station

the guy found taking the first blows, fined 2000 baht for assault .......

Exactly, the person who struck the first blow has to pay up.

The OP forgot to mention that the drunk man attacked him before he was forced to defend himself, damaging his valuable stick in the process.

[cymruambyth1]

Hi all, I have quite a big problem and your advice and help will be appreciated. Three evenings ago I heard a noice outside my house in Pattaya, after investigating I found a drunk Thai man infront of my gate trying to get in. I picked up a stick and beat the man over the head and he fled into the darkness. A few minutes later another man came to my gate and asked if I new who hit the first man and I said that I had because he was trying to get into the gate. He spent three days in the hospital and now his familly are demanding I pay them 100,000 Baht. Should I pay or take the situation to court.

Whoops...schoolboy error my friend!

[longstebe]

Must admit seems a bit harsh.

Saying that though if he was in the U.S he would be lucky not to get shot.

Anyway I would deny everything.

[slapout]

Until the police come to visit you, just let it ride, all farang look alike, what guy? you do not speak or understand Thai. Dummy up dummy.

[H2oDunc]

The guy trying to force his way into your house OK! the guy outside your property then you are in the wrong and it is going to cost you big time. You must be a real big man to take a weapon to a drunken man ? I once spent ten minutes trying to open my door only to find I was on the third floor instead of the second.

OTT in my book!

[dave111223]

Seem to me that you are in the wrong.

If he had already broken through your gate and was on your property it would be a different story.

And you can't very well claim self defense, when you opened the gate yourself in order to beat him. You're lucky you didn't kill him (beating him in the head what were you thinking?) If he died you could well be looking at a manslaughter charge.

However 100,000 seems very expensive

And to all those are saying it was a setup.... come on, this guy intentionally got beaten in the head with a stick in order to sue the OP??

I'm guessing the drunk guy staggered back to the correct house, head bleeding everywhere, told his family/neighbor what had happened and they went back to investigate, at which point the OP proudly admitted he had beaten the guy in the head.

[pattaya_girl]

Meet the guy you hit, face to face, (and get a friend to video record the meeting) offer him a few thousand Baht (about 5), and hopefully he will accept it, to finish the problem.

Make sure he sees the cash, i bet he wont refuse !!!!!!

If he accepts it, make sure he clearly agrees that it is to finish the matter, and get it recorded for proof.

(You need some proof else he might say he never took any money from you)

Good luck with this, and please dont forget to let us know the outcome.

[Geekfreaklover]

Meet the guy you hit, face to face, (and get a friend to video record the meeting) offer him a few thousand Baht (about 5), and hopefully he will accept it, to finish the problem.

Make sure he sees the cash, i bet he wont refuse !!!!!!

If he accepts it, make sure he clearly agrees that it is to finish the matter, and get it recorded for proof.

(You need some proof else he might say he never took any money from you)

Good luck with this, and please dont forget to let us know the outcome.

Agree with the above post. Have a Thai you trust help with the settlement negoiations. Do you have any friends in the police, or government officals you could use?

This way nobody losses face. about 5-7k should do it. Then put it down to expereince.

[Scott]

Or 1,000 baht and a bottle of whiskey. He sounds like someone who has more trouble refusing a drink than money. But both would undoubtedly work!

Next time, I suggest you call the police.

[Heng]

He got away lucky. At some homes, the guy would have wound up dead with kitchen knife in hand (nevermind that he didn't show up with one).

[thirdeyedmt]

Hi all, I have quite a big problem and your advice and help will be appreciated. Three evenings ago I heard a noice outside my house in Pattaya, after investigating I found a drunk Thai man infront of my gate trying to get in. I picked up a stick and beat the man over the head and he fled into the darkness. A few minutes later another man came to my gate and asked if I new who hit the first man and I said that I had because he was trying to get into the gate. He spent three days in the hospital and now his familly are demanding I pay them 100,000 Baht. Should I pay or take the situation to court.

Good job, Tell them to sling it. next time chase after him and give him a volley up the A@#

[astral]

You assaulted someone and on the face of it, you're guilty of assault. Settle it out of court. See how much the hospital bills were, cover that, and put 10,000 baht on top. That should be enough. You should be able to settle this for less than 100,000 baht.

Sensible advice.