Vagabond electrocuted near Internet cafe neon sign

BANGKOK: -- A vagabond was electrocuted in Bangkok Saturday night while he was answering his call of nature, Thong Lor police said.

Police said a man appearing to be around 55 to 60 years old was found electrocuted near a neon sign of @Thonglor internet cafe at 21:30 pm.

Police said the man apparently sat down to urinate near the sign and wet the power socket of the sign. He did not carry any ID card.

-- The Nation 2009-08-30

There you are carry your ID card. It may save your life. Seriously RIP.

The electric socket shouldn't be exposed like that. You may laugh at this incident given the way the news article is written but this is still a man's life, as equal as any other.

What if it was raining and you walked past the socket? Perhaps it was raining. Who sits down to take a piss? A man would usually stand up.

Just the process of 'natural selection' I guess - but it will catch us all out at one time or another !

Vagabond or vagrant??

Somebody needs to learn to be careful when using a dictionary.

vagabond

noun

1 a vagrant.

2 archaic a rogue or rascal.

adjective having no settled home.

verb archaic wander about as or like a vagabond.

Concise Oxforf Dictionary 11th Edition.

I stand semi-corrected.

According to my Oxford dictionary, this is a disapproving noun. No need to use such a term when the neutral term vagrant was more appropriate.

This is a non-native speaker usage error and the Nation is littered with them to the extent that the contents of the story become opaque to the reader. This is a serious quality control issue and should be addressed. Time for a new thread.

I stand semi-corrected.

According to my Oxford dictionary, this is a disapproving noun. No need to use such a term when the neutral term vagrant was more appropriate.

This is a non-native speaker usage error and the Nation is littered with them to the extent that the contents of the story become opaque to the reader. This is a serious quality control issue and should be addressed. Time for a new thread.

I had the same reaction to the title. At minimum it is an unusual term and more familiar to me as kind of a wanderer. There's even a Vagabond Inn chain in the US. I'm sure they don't think of it as akin to Vagrant Inn.

I saw this guy many times over here and I happened to be eating across the street when this happened. I had no idea what had killed him, but he was laying flat, covered in newspaper and everyone was staring. He was a real sad case, always eating out of trash bags and sleeping on the bench in front of the 7-11 between soi 36 and soi 38. Never bothered anyone or anything. Quite a sad situation all around.

I had wondered about all the exposed electrical stuff here over the years, but after a while you stop giving it a second thought. Still, it makes sense that there would be cases like this. When I was in San Diego a few years ago a cable underground arced up through the sidewalk and electrocuted a couple sitting on a metal bus bench. Crazy things happen sometimes I suppose, that this guy was unfortunate and that safety isn't priority #1 make them seem more likely here, but I suppose pissing on an electric sign could electrocute you anywhere.