Shooting At Thong Lor On April 24th, 2005

[DualCitizen]

I would just like to write this information as it seems it was not newsworthy enough to make it to any sort of media, but she was someone I knew.

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According to many Bangkokians these days, the area of Thong Lor is one of the hippest streets in all of the city. With its vast array of bars, clubs, and chic shopping venues, Thong Lor is one of the hotspots where young people love to be seen.

Thong Lor is also the street where a young girl named Cartoon was shot to death. On Sunday, April 24, 2005, after a night of partying at the club Escudo at Thong Lor Soi 13, Cartoon was waiting at the curb for her boyfriend to bring the car. A car pulled up to the front of the club and one of the passengers opened fire with a firearm. Cartoon was hit by one of the bullets and died a short while later. Whether Cartoon was the intended victim or merely caught in the crossfire was undetermined.

No witnesses came forward that could identify the shooters, the license plate, nor the make of the car that was used in the shooting. Police have no leads as to who shot the girl, nor why she was shot. This is despite the fact that the car would have to pass in front of the police station as it sped away from the scene of the shooting.

As for the poor girl, no one at the scene tried to rush her to the hospital which was a mere 200 meters away. If someone had taken her, she might still be alive today.

This is not the first time I have seen the police at the Thong Lor station being direlict in their duty. About six months ago, while accompanying my friend to the police station at 4am in the morning to make a report of a traffic accident, a motorcyclist was lying dead in the street not 10 feet away from the station. When we informed the police, they gave an apathetic look at us and eventually sent someone to take a look.

One would think that for such a busy street, both during the day and especially at night, the police at Thong Lor would be more alert. The street is lined with a high concentration of clubs and bars and its popularity among the Bankok youth can not be argued with. With such a large amount of drunken revellers on the streets after all the clubs close, one should expect the police to be patrolling around and making sure nothing is amiss. Sadly this is not the case.

The most tragic part of this tale, though, is that if this girl came from a rich family, a huge ruckus would have ensued and probably a large showing by the police would be put into place to show how good they are with a possible shutting down of the venues on the street for a short time. If any of you remember when RCA was shut down after a politician's son got into a fight and was beaten up, this is exactly what happened.

However, Thong Lor is still the same, and the police continue to do what they usually do, which is not much. Maybe if they did their duty and made sure that Thong Lor remained a safe place, Cartoon would not be dead today. I will miss her.

PS - As a side note, I am rather ashamed of my fellow countrymen for at least not trying to get the girl to the hospital. I guess you can't expect much from drunk, apathetic Thais, can you?

[ThaiPauly]

A sad story indeed.

Thong Lo Police have always had shall we say "a less than energetic approach to policing"

Thats what found when I lived there

My condolances.

[siamesekitty]

So saddening.. my condolences as well...

(god I hope this isn't a "Cartoon" that I know too )

[Heng]

I would just like to write this information as it seems it was not newsworthy enough to make it to any sort of media, but she was someone I knew.

It didn't make any of the Thai papers today?