A New Crime

[screamingeagle]

On Sunday, a very good friend of mine was attacked by 3 Thai gentlemen in Bangrak. They beat him to the ground and gave him a good kicking, breaking 3 ribs. Then they bundled him into a car, forcing his head down on the seat so he couldn't see where he was going. He thinks he was driven somewhere near the airport. When the car stopped, they dragged him out and beat him again with sticks on the back and forced him to withdraw the maximum his ATM card would give (20,000 Baht). The oldest Thai was about 50 years old and the other 2 were in their thirties. One of them had a gun. They told him if he reported this to the police (car reisration plate, description etc.) , they would be out in a week and kill him. They drove back to Bangrak and threw him out if the car near to where he lives.

My friend has not reported this crime and is so frightened they know where he lives and might come calling again, he has left Samui and gone to Kanchanaburi for a few weeks.

So what to do? Only take yor ATM card with you when you need to withraw cash. This new violent type of crime is very worrying.

[Rooo]

I would still reported SE. The ATM camera should also have footage . I don't think they will be out in a week, kidnapping is a serious crime, even in Thailand.Running away does not fix the problem IMHO.

[Boater]

this is happening all over the place, esp pattaya !

you need to report to the police or they will do it again to someone else ! , they wont be out in a week , as the police take this very serious ( plus if they are only robbing for 20 K they would not afford the tea money )

[Jingthing]

I don't recall even one such a case being reported in Pattaya. Pretty much every crime involving foreigners makes the news here. Why the relentless Pattaya bashing at every unlikely opportunity?

Edited July 28, 2010 by Jingthing

[Vertigotogo]

He must report this to the Police immediately. They are scared that he might do that; that's why they warned him not to.

They are also guilty of threatening to kill him.

He might also want to ask his Consul to get involved.

Good luck with it all.

[Boater]

my apoligizes Jingthing, i was more refering to robberies in general in pattaya, IE violent bag / necklace snatches ect which is still very uncommon here in samui , and is something i dont want to see here

[ESB7]

Its a daily occurance in Mexico City and many other South American cities, desperate times make people do desperate things, watch out for more, I am just suprised the Thais havnt cottoned on to kidnapping and ransoms yet.

[JUDAS]

IMO your friend really has to report this. If they know he hasn't, they'll see him as easy prey and may well target him again!!

[Jingthing]

my apoligizes Jingthing, i was more refering to robberies in general in pattaya, IE violent bag / necklace snatches ect which is still very uncommon here in samui , and is something i dont want to see here

No worries. On reflection I do recall reading about an occasional ATM kidnapping type of crime here over the years (and also Bangkok). It's just not that common here or anywhere in Thailand to my knowledge. Also true this kind of crime is associated with some countries in Latin America. Lets hope it doesn't become popular here.

[mattcodes]

You should report it to police (and soon before its disregarded), most of Thais that come up with such crap are full of shit (more so than dumb westerns that think they know "their police" etc...). They wouldn't have to worry if they were that well connected..

Edited July 28, 2010 by mattcodes

[Samuian]

guess this happened at nighttime - if so - there is a lesson somewhere....

[Klaasvaak]

This happens all over the world, even in Holland.

Be wise with you're bankcards and only use the atm at daytime. ( Best is to use atm at an bankoffice )

I do think you're friend should go to the police! I can understand he is scared but what if they see him in a couple of weeks and do it again? There will be no end to this.

[samuibeachcomber]

To SE,the answer is yes,do not carry ATM card or any cards,just the cash you reckon you'll need.It can happen to anyone just have to be vigilent and sober helps.

[itishothere]

What happened is awful! In my time here I have never heard of anything quite like this.

Whatever I/we/he/you think of the police, unless they are told, then there is no way anything will get done. This is exactly the type of news that Samui would like to keep quiet, so as not to scare the fragile tourists off even more - the more that hear about it the better in my view.

Maybe the police can do something? It is a small island. They might not be too fussed about the odd rip-off or scam, but violence like this ... well surely they will pay attention?

[frankman]

If he's got local ISLAND family,

tell them,

they know what to do.

Here, ,,, we do NOT call the cops!

If not... get friends together,

and start hunting,

or leave.

I am very sad to hear of such a brutal crime.

A question for the money with the gun in the hand would have done the trick much more gentleman-like...

Edited July 28, 2010 by frankman

[crusty]

If he's got local ISLAND family,

tell them,

they know what to do.

Here, ,,, we do NOT call the cops!

If not... get friends together,

and start hunting,

or leave.

I am very sad to hear of such a brutal crime.

A question for the money with the gun in the hand would have done the trick much more gentleman-like...

C'mon this happens all the time. Two years ago, a gang of three walked in to my friend's house on the ringroad in Chaweng, tied him to a chair and with a box knife, forced him to reveal the password number, then sent one of them to a Lamai ATM which they knew did not have a CCTV and began withdrawing his funds. As they are limited to so much a day, they decided to keep him alive until the account was cleaned out. They were stymied by neighbours and beat a hasty retreat leaving him with his throat cut and sitting in a pool of blood. Now the police who acted on this case were excellent, all plain clothes and all looked like the average Thai yobbo and they persued this case until the gang was caught. Moral; Conceal your ATM card at all times ( "sorry it's in my office") and never underestimate the Thai police, most of them are not in uniform.

[bifftastic]

presumably your friend is a resident and not just a visitor, in which case he'll need to come home sooner or later?

So he'll need to do something about it or he'll spend his time in fear of a repeat of this awful and distressing event. If he has no confidence in the local police he can get 'other' help, but that comes with it's own problems and can escalate things rather than solve them, depending on your existing relationship with whoever is enlisted.

I'd go to the police with a Thai friend if I were him.

I agree, running away, if you have to come back, won't help.

[crusty]

presumably your friend is a resident and not just a visitor, in which case he'll need to come home sooner or later?

So he'll need to do something about it or he'll spend his time in fear of a repeat of this awful and distressing event. If he has no confidence in the local police he can get 'other' help, but that comes with it's own problems and can escalate things rather than solve them, depending on your existing relationship with whoever is enlisted.

I'd go to the police with a Thai friend if I were him.

I agree, running away, if you have to come back, won't help.

No these police were not concerned he had to know someone, they went and chased this case doen. But wouldn't their job be made so much easier if CCTV cameras had been installed on the ringroad say every 5 kms ? We will do this when Crusty is Governor !

[nod]

Absolutely disgusted and angry as hel_l to hear about this incident.

[concerned]

How disgusting that that your friend was put through this ordeal by these cowardly little shits!

GRRRRRRRRRH !

[neverdie]

Agreed. This is a bad situation and yes it does happen elsewhere. Hopefully it wont become a 'trend' crime here in LOS.

I think some people have read this and think the victim was at the atm when it happened, but from my understanding of the way the story was told he was not at the ATM but elsewhere and so that rules out the comments about only going to the ATM during daylight hours.

Years ago, a friend of mine had his house robbed a few times back home. On one of the occassions he was also driven to an ATM and made to withdraw funds. He was disabled and an easy target. After that he stopped carrying his ATM/Credit Cards unless absolutely necessary. He also started to wear a cheap decoy watch and fake gold neclace. He also replaced his good mobile with a cheap $49 job. By his way of thinking, next time he gets robbed, they might make off with a tidy sum of a few dollars and a heap of cheap <deleted> worth virtually nothing. Sad times indeed.

[BigC]

I would still reported SE. The ATM camera should also have footage . I don't think they will be out in a week, kidnapping is a serious crime, even in Thailand.Running away does not fix the problem IMHO.

they report to police they would make bail. best thing is to contact a lawyer then go to police with a lawyer. make sure they cannot maake bail

[game4shame]

C'mon this happens all the time. Two years ago, a gang of three walked in to my friend's house on the ringroad in Chaweng, tied him to a chair and with a box knife, forced him to reveal the password number, then sent one of them to a Lamai ATM which they knew did not have a CCTV and began withdrawing his funds. As they are limited to so much a day, they decided to keep him alive until the account was cleaned out. They were stymied by neighbours and beat a hasty retreat leaving him with his throat cut and sitting in a pool of blood. Now the police who acted on this case were excellent, all plain clothes and all looked like the average Thai yobbo and they persued this case until the gang was caught. Moral; Conceal your ATM card at all times ( "sorry it's in my office") and never underestimate the Thai police, most of them are not in uniform.

maybe I need to re-think my cynicism re the thai police. reasonably good ending (under the circumstances) to a tragic story.

to OP - story sounds horrendous. the mugging is bad enough but the beating is totally uncalled for.

I note it happened in bangrak which is obviously much quieter than lamai/chaweng so easier to target a lone farang late at night.

I assume your friend is also a resident. the yobs might've known him or seen him around and thought he might have a THB or 2 lying around.

it's a tough one if he lives there - he could report it (via the tourist police) to the police whilst he's in kanchanaburi.

guess this happened at nighttime - if so - there is a lesson somewhere....

what's that then? don't go outside in the dark?

[Vertigotogo]

Absolutely disgusted and angry as hel_l to hear about this incident.

It is a very dark crime to hear about in LOS.

[carmine]

guess this happened at nighttime - if so - there is a lesson somewhere....

Whats the lesson? Don't go out after dark....stay in like a prisoner every night watching tv?

If there is a lesson to be learnt it is that this is what happens and will become far more commonplace on an island that has no effective law and order. This is what happens when the perpetators of such acts are that confident the corrupt system will let them go free.

I think he should report it for the benefit of everyone, but i doubt he will get anything more than a token response which ofcourse will result in nothing being done.

[parallaxtech]

Contact Sergeant Pop (1155) at the Tourist Police. I worked with him for six months and he is the only honest copper I have ever met on Samui plus he speaks perfect english. With a police report I would then go down to the prosecutor's office near the new courthouse south of Lamai. These thugs are all bark and no bite.

This exact same thing happened to a friend of mine six months ago and he decided to leave the island. It's more common than you know.

[Samuian]

guess this happened at nighttime - if so - there is a lesson somewhere....

Whats the lesson? Don't go out after dark....stay in like a prisoner every night watching tv?

If there is a lesson to be learnt it is that this is what happens and will become far more commonplace on an island that has no effective law and order. This is what happens when the perpetators of such acts are that confident the corrupt system will let them go free.

I think he should report it for the benefit of everyone, but i doubt he will get anything more than a token response which ofcourse will result in nothing being done.

Seems you know it all.... in ANY "third world Country" certain safety measures have to be in place as many others in this thread are pointing to!

Good friend of mine got stabbed in Copacabana in bright daylight, just because of his golden watch and gold necklace, there is a lesson somewhere too!

"Law and order" is working HERE in mysterious ways, as someone pointed out that there a many undercover BiB's around...but how can hey prevent such a crime, no one can, except one self being really cautious - after all don't forget TiT!

[Tracer Round]

This happened to a farang semi-resident about a year-and-a-half ago. He was hit in one eye so hard he lost most if not all of his sight in that eye. So this is not new, as other posters have indicated.

These suggestions of not carrying your ATM card are ludicrous. If people are willing to terrorize you with weapons while being kidnapped, somehow I think that, "I left it at the office," just wouldn't wash. I think the operative phrasing would be something like, "Fine, take us to your office/home/wherever and get it!"

If these people only got 20K out and then called it a day, they were amateurs (or the victim didn't have much money in the bank). The single amount in one transaction that the machines can dispense is 20,000 baht, but you can then repeat the process. I am pretty sure the minimum for each day is more than 20K, but it may vary from bank to bank.

What I am wondering is, why did these fellows target this particular foreigner? This somehow doesn't seem random to me. Did he have some problems with the locals? Not that he was "asking for it," but just wondering if these Thais knew him from somewhere beforehand.

[crusty]

This happened to a farang semi-resident about a year-and-a-half ago. He was hit in one eye so hard he lost most if not all of his sight in that eye. So this is not new, as other posters have indicated.

These suggestions of not carrying your ATM card are ludicrous. If people are willing to terrorize you with weapons while being kidnapped, somehow I think that, "I left it at the office," just wouldn't wash. I think the operative phrasing would be something like, "Fine, take us to your office/home/wherever and get it!"

If these people only got 20K out and then called it a day, they were amateurs (or the victim didn't have much money in the bank). The single amount in one transaction that the machines can dispense is 20,000 baht, but you can then repeat the process. I am pretty sure the minimum for each day is more than 20K, but it may vary from bank to bank.

What I am wondering is, why did these fellows target this particular foreigner? This somehow doesn't seem random to me. Did he have some problems with the locals? Not that he was "asking for it," but just wondering if these Thais knew him from somewhere beforehand.

So I take them to my office or house, lock the doors and begin phoning my buddies and the cops while they are waiting outside in their car ? Gimmee a break !!!

[game4shame]

These suggestions of not carrying your ATM card are ludicrous. If people are willing to terrorize you with weapons while being kidnapped, somehow I think that, "I left it at the office," just wouldn't wash. I think the operative phrasing would be something like, "Fine, take us to your office/home/wherever and get it!"

agreed.

'sorry mr mugger I don't have my card with me'

'no problem, mr farang - off you go, have a nice holiday.'

can't really see it.........

+ thai 'face' <deleted> would mean they'd look ridiculous if they came away empty handed from an attempted mugging.

I think better advice would be to avoid quiet areas (eg bangrak) when you're alone at night, especially when drunk.

it's terrible what happened but we shouldn't run scared for these f*ckers. just be careful.

If these people only got 20K out and then called it a day, they were amateurs (or the victim didn't have much money in the bank). The single amount in one transaction that the machines can dispense is 20,000 baht, but you can then repeat the process. I am pretty sure the minimum for each day is more than 20K, but it may vary from bank to bank.

20k is about £400 these days - I'm sure my bank limit is £350 per day ATM withdrawals although my credit cards are more.

What I am wondering is, why did these fellows target this particular foreigner? This somehow doesn't seem random to me. Did he have some problems with the locals? Not that he was "asking for it," but just wondering if these Thais knew him from somewhere beforehand.

I thought this too - possibly knew where he drinks, knew he would be alone, knew he'd have a few THB. Im in no way condoning it but there is a chance the mugging was planned and not just random