Thai Government Accuses Foreigners In Bangkok Arson

[Jimmu]

The guy Savage was not just passing through and saying something stupid. He was dressed as a Black guard and was behaving as one as well! He took part in illegal activities whether or not he burned down the Mall. He threatened all sorts of stuff. Goodbye Mr Savage, I hope it is a long long time before you emerge from the hel_l that is the Bangkok Hilton.

[Fishman1967]

Their mouth and action will come back to hunt these idiots and rightly so.

They made their bed, now it's time to sleep in them.

[CIHUAHUA]

Its those brits again. Gotta blame someone when you are not accountable.

[toptuan]

Thai Government Accuses Foreigners In Bangkok Arson:

[CHdiver]

This is the kind of "proof" that will never stand up in any court, not even in Burma, but in Thailand it does, because the judges are sitting on any given chair. A youtube video? What a joke, it could have been cut fifteen times and taken out of context.

I could make a Youtube video in which it appears that Suthep or Abhisit told the people to set fire to it. It is just a matter of cutting and pasting.

Besides if I tell the yellow shirts to occupy the airports and they do it, am I to blame?

1. Propoganda. The proof of the matter is that a crime has been committed. The crime is not necessarily burning something down, but incitement is a crime in most civilised countries.

2. Really? I don't imagine it would be very compelling evidence.

3. I think that comes under 'incitement'.

EDIT: Sorry 1/2 post.

He told a British Newspaper "yes it was me I raise my hands. It was stupid and I am terribly sorry.... or something along this line. There is a link somewhere on TV to that article, cant be <deleted> to look it up.

[chuppachops]

I think the British guy heard someone else talk about setting fire and then repeated the words, as heard in the video. Now he's going to be used as a scapegoat. I've seen some video footage on Thai channels showing a Thai guy setting fire to CentralWorld, but haven't been able to find the video anywhere online. I'm sure others saw it as well. Not sure though if that's one of the fires they extinguished or if it's the one that then made the entire building go up in flames.

But yeah, good job. Blame the farangs for the problems. That will bring the tourists back.

How can you stick up for this plum? i hope he rots in jail.. scumbag.

[charmonman]

This is the kind of "proof" that will never stand up in any court, not even in Burma, but in Thailand it does, because the judges are sitting on any given chair. A youtube video? What a joke, it could have been cut fifteen times and taken out of context.

I could make a Youtube video in which it appears that Suthep or Abhisit told the people to set fire to it. It is just a matter of cutting and pasting.

Besides if I tell the yellow shirts to occupy the airports and they do it, am I to blame?

I understand the guy who took the video has provided the police with the original. So much for your "youtube is not proof" defense. By the way, have you actually watched the video? There is absolutely no reason for you to accuse the guy who posted it of somehow trying to edit something to make the Jeff Savage character look bad. You are really grasping at straws with that one.

My own opinion is that Jeff Savage is just a stupid yob, probably was a football hooligan back in England, but you don't go around a foreign country or your own country making threats of arson or looting without expecting consequences. His idiotic rant does suggest that there was some sort of plan within the red camp to burn down Central world beforehand, that it was not just a spontaneous act. I don't think that the government pointing out that there were two foreign nationals involved with the mayhem, constitutes a campaign by them to blame foreigners in general for what happened. Mr. Savage should be deported and declared personal non grata when he is found. End of story. That is unless they can find evidence of him actually participating in the arson and looting.

[William Osborne]

Warning: Beware of naughty words

Oh dear.... that does look quiet bad... what a bell-end.. he must be number 2ing in pants right now ...although he comes across as stupid enough not to appreciate the fact that he's in serious trouble

Edited May 22, 2010 by William Osborne

[bridge]

Mmmmmm, now if only we can pin him with the Santika fire too, it will be game, set and match.

Case closed boys.

[Zebo]

I wonder how many of the red-shirts said exactly the same sort of thing... my guess is thousands.

This guy is obviously a total moron, but to pick him out because he is white is just plain racist.

[DeepSea]

I think the British guy heard someone else talk about setting fire and then repeated the words, as heard in the video. Now he's going to be used as a scapegoat. I've seen some video footage on Thai channels showing a Thai guy setting fire to CentralWorld, but haven't been able to find the video anywhere online. I'm sure others saw it as well. Not sure though if that's one of the fires they extinguished or if it's the one that then made the entire building go up in flames.

But yeah, good job. Blame the farangs for the problems. That will bring the tourists back.

They have a video of a farang shouting "We are gonna burn the F#cker down and steal it all" and you think its a "Get the farang" conspiracy

I think the problem here is not a question of whether this guy should receive whats coming to him for his ridiculous comments and that he actively sought (to whatever degree) to engage in riotous behaviour; he quite obviously should. But rather whether his presence (and evidence of his words on camera) will be used as a point of focus for those looking for an opportunity to engage in political sleight of hand...

If you read Wattanayagorns remaks below (if reported verbatim and, notwithstanding the standard of reporting in Thailand by numerous rags), the troubling aspect of his comment is that he seems to be suggesting that HE (Savage) was convincing THEM (the hardcore redshirts) to set fire to Central World, when to anyone with a brain out there, it's quite obvious that this guy was very much a 'wannabe' trouble causer rather than a man of any influence.

"A white Westerner was involved in the arson attack on Central World, convincing them to set fire to it. And an Asian was also involved in the arson attacks on the banks," said government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn.

One idiot farang (Brit, Aussie, Yank... they're all out there guys, despite the desire of some on this forum to tag only the brits with this label), alone on the street, with zero followers and looking for an opportunity to ham it up to anyone with a handycam, does not suggest he is/was a man of any influence at all during this riot, but I guess the opportunity to suggest otherwise will be far too tempting for many with an agenda out there...

DeepSea.

[NovaBlue05]

Could the actions of one drunken Pattaya lager lout possibly provide the Govt with a target of opportunity to redirect some of the anger and resentment of the people to foreigners in general?

Too bad he didn't stay on his Pattaya barstool to shoot his mouth off instead of bringing his sorry ass into a critical situation in BKK

[marc11864]

I think the British guy heard someone else talk about setting fire and then repeated the words, as heard in the video. Now he's going to be used as a scapegoat. I've seen some video footage on Thai channels showing a Thai guy setting fire to CentralWorld, but haven't been able to find the video anywhere online. I'm sure others saw it as well. Not sure though if that's one of the fires they extinguished or if it's the one that then made the entire building go up in flames.

But yeah, good job. Blame the farangs for the problems. That will bring the tourists back.

But yeah, good job. Be the usual apologist to try to deflect suspicion.

Don't be a jack@ss. While Savage may or may not have been the CentralWorld arsonist, he is involved. You do a disservice to Thais and Farangs in the country by denying that.

[MrOzark]

Saying "we're going to burn down..." "trust me" This is conspiracy to commit a crime and is illegal in itself. It doesn't matter whether he was involved or not. And since when does being 'just a football hooligan' excuse anyone of anything? I've met plenty in Pattaya. They should be on leashes.

[bluesmith]

This has got to be BS is it the first of april or some thing yes I saw the video and i thought he was out of order.

I wonder if it is like every thing else in Thailand when he gets convicted say Thai gets 20 years and the frang gets 100 years the same as it is when we go as a tourist double double the price. and thanks MR PM in fixing the situsation and putting this to ground (under ground)

[mmaggi]

They have a video of a farang shouting "We are gonna burn the F#cker down and steal it all" and you think its a "Get the farang" conspiracy

There is more than one low-life expat holed up in Pattaya. Foreigners should stay out of the situation, even if married to a Thai like I am, and hope the Thais can work through this problem. If Jeff participated with the quote that is above, he deserves to burn for it. We don't need that kind of farang in Thailand. Does anybody have a link to that youTube video?

[wasabi]

I wouldn't even get involved over a quibble about Som Tam prices and sure as hel_l not run with rioting red shirts screaming we're gonna burn it down. The guy is an idiot yob, the kind that seem to be drawn to Thailand and make life difficult for everyone. I also think he probably had virtually nothing to do with the whole thing but he did set himself up as an easy scapegoat. Som nam nah.

[moto77]

There is more than one low-life expat holed up in Pattaya. Foreigners should stay out of the situation, even if married to a Thai like I am, and hope the Thais can work through this problem. If Jeff participated with the quote that is above, he deserves to burn for it. We don't need that kind of farang in Thailand. Does anybody have a link to that youTube video?

[mallyrd]

The guy made a very stupid comment. He's obviously very confused if he thinks he's part of their protest. I can only imagine these remarks where made in an effort to be taken seriously by his (perceived) Red Shirt comrades.

IF these assertions are based on the youtube video surely the Thai intelligence services (assuming they have them) would dismiss this moron from their inquiries immediately.

Saying he is to blame for what happened is ridiculous. Unless they have more evidence than just the video.

Please dispense with all the "lock him in jail and throw away the key" comments every time a foreigner is suspected of anything. Its really boring to have to keep scrolling through.

Hey, don't srcoll or better still don't follow the topic. I for one am enjoying immensely some of the nonsense being posted here, far better light entertainment than anything you can find on the tele.

[mmaggi]

I wonder how many of the red-shirts said exactly the same sort of thing... my guess is thousands.

This guy is obviously a total moron, but to pick him out because he is white is just plain racist.

Fry him! We don't need farang like that in Thailand. He deserves what he gets.

[Rainmon]

A Red classic -

Fascinating Video well done...

[souvenirdeparis]

The guy made a very stupid comment. He's obviously very confused if he thinks he's part of their protest. I can only imagine these remarks where made in an effort to be taken seriously by his (perceived) Red Shirt comrades.

IF these assertions are based on the youtube video surely the Thai intelligence services (assuming they have them) would dismiss this moron from their inquiries immediately.

Saying he is to blame for what happened is ridiculous. Unless they have more evidence than just the video.

Please dispense with all the "lock him in jail and throw away the key" comments every time a foreigner is suspected of anything. Its really boring to have to keep scrolling through.

Don't scroll then, don't follow the topic. I for one enjoy reading some of the nonsense being posted, better than any cartoon show.

this one for your eyes only :

" His wife had a bad influence on him"

[TheWalkingMan]

Time to close the investigation. The farang devil is the one who incited people to burn down the mall.

TheWalkingMan

[jonclark]

I read on many previous threads over the last couple of weeks, that if some of the more extreme posters had their way, the red protesters should be shot, maimed, blow up etc. etc for their actions. Before we all jump on the band wagon and vilify this idiot, maybe we should take a look in the mirror and see if we maybe in a fit of rage posted something inciting violence etc. over the past few weeks. We all say [and type] stupid things when the red mist descends, he was stupid enough to be caught in camera.

[Ulysses G.]

They caught another idiot farang in Chiang Mai and there is video footage of him actually destroying property - no use this one lying about it.

[lovelomsak]

We don't need British tourists. We have had enough of British pedophiles and vagabonds. And now add an illiterate who repeats what he does not understand.

800,000 Brits visited Thailand last year and I have no doubt that we have the same small percentage of idiots as every other western country. In my experience of Thailand. I have encountered lowlife scumbags from just about every country in the western world, but they are hugely outnumbered by their decent compatriots.

I have been in Thailand since 1992 and to be honest have met only one brit I would ever care to share time with. In my home country I had many british friends of good character and it hurts me to see thailand seemly only to get the scum of Brits

[AsiaCheese]

I wonder how many of the red-shirts said exactly the same sort of thing... my guess is thousands.

This guy is obviously a total moron, but to pick him out because he is white is just plain racist.

No, not racist. There are some things one shouldn't really meddle with 1) as a farang and 2) under a State of Emergency. Whatever Thai people do in their own country is one thing, but farangs are guests here and as such supposed to behave at least halfway properly. Turn it around and think of this happening in your own country -- wouldn't the press (and everyone else) go 100% bonkers over an "outsider" enticing "locals"?

[shadiadi]

Well there was a retaded British guy videoed threatening to do that and he spoke to the press afterwards admitting it unless he has 1.3 billion baht to pay for it I guess he will never see the light of day again, no more steriods for him I guess good ridance I doubt the embassy will even go and visit him

[amnat]

There are at least 4 different videos of him out there on the web. I did a Google search and found them.

In one of them he is throwing rocks at the army and shouting "kill the army".

[jitenshaman]

That explains things then. Its all the Fault of that Idoit Brit. Surely there was Cambodians involved too. Everythings good.

How dare you accuse the Cambodians. It was a Burmese.