Thai Girl Involved In Tragic Tollway Accident Says That She Is Sorry

[webfact]

HORROR TOLLWAY ACCIDENT

Girl involved in tragic tollway accident says that she is sorry

By The Nation

The underage driver of a sedan involved in a fatal tollway accident last week, which killed nine passengers, acknowledged the two criminal charges filed against her yesterday before saying: "I am sorry for what happened. It was an accident."

It is not known whether the girl, whose age is now confirmed as 16 and a half, pleaded guilty or innocent to causing deaths and injuries through carelessness and driving without a licence.

Police Maj-General Amnuay Nimmano, who is supervising the case, in response to questions about the girl's plea, said: "I ask for your permission to not go into details about that. She has acknowledged two offences and given information useful to the investigation."

The girl showed up with her parents at 9.20am at the Metropolitan Police Bureau building, only to face an army of reporters. However, she and her parents did not utter a word before entering the room.

After a two-and-half-hour session with police, she asked to "speak later at the Department of Juvenile Observation and Protection".

When asked if she had anything to be sorry for, she replied: "I apologise. I am sorry for what happened. It was an accident."

The girl later went to the juvenile centre, where she was briefly questioned before being sent home. The centre's director Thassanawalai Krai-nara said the fact the girl turned herself in was enough reason to let her go, adding she might be summoned for further questioning later.

Amnuay said settlement between the girl's family and relatives of those killed and injured would likely be reached in the future. "The whole issue should be finalised in a reconciliatory way. But if not, the lawyers' team from Thammasat University would take civilian action for compensation," he added.

The girl's mother told reporters her daughter relied on medication for a chronic disease, and would not be going overseas as stated by an injured passenger, who claims she told him that during a recent visit to the hospital.

"The [family] was slow in taking responsibility after the accident because my daughter was still in shock and had sustained injuries," the mother said.

An uncle and widowed wife of dead victim Pinya Jinanthuya showed up at the Metropolitan Police Bureau to observe the questioning process, and said they were not ready for any talks with the girl or her family.

-- The Nation 2011-01-06

[Colabamumbai]

This girl should be in jail awaiting trial. Last week after the accident she said she wanted to study the way of Buddah. Solitary confinement may be a good place to do that.

[Carib]

In some countries 16 is the legal age to drive, do they lock up 15 year old`s in solitary confinement there too after they did drive without a license an an accident occurred?

[gregb]

This is utterly disgusting. What a repugnant display of the lack of justice in this society.

No, little miss sunshine, it wasn't an "accident". It may have been unintentional, but it was a crime caused by your extreme negligence. Trying to shrug off responsibility for the deaths of 9 people as an "accident" is truly an insult to their memories.

So much for Nisa's theories that this girl is suffering. This girl needs to do hard time. She clearly has no remorse.

[jonclark]

This is utterly disgusting. What a repugnant display of the lack of justice in this society.

No, little miss sunshine, it wasn't an "accident". It may have been unintentional, but it was a crime caused by your extreme negligence. Trying to shrug off responsibility for the deaths of 9 people as an "accident" is truly an insult to their memories.

So much for Nisa's theories that this girl is suffering. This girl needs to do hard time. She clearly has no remorse.

Agree with you 100% on this one. I can bet my bottom dollar if it was a farang or a piss poor issan farmer in an accident like this, and the victims were from a 'higher class' you'd see a completely different spin on the whole story.

Her actions killed nine people, Don't defend her. End of story

[spiderleghead]

would like to say nice things about her and defend her, but really cannot find anything nice to say.

"the fact the girl turned herself in was enough reason to let her go"

pile of horse s***

[laurentbkk]

Amnuay said settlement between the girl's family and relatives of those killed and injured would likely be reached in the future.

That's what I said before ... Money will resolve everything and charges will be dropped ... Want to bet ?

[RedNIvar]

When asked if she had anything to be sorry for, she replied: "I apologise. I am sorry for what happened. It was an accident."

Well let Thai justice take it's course and lets hope the money that comes out goes only to the victims and not the corrupt judicial and police system.

[LuckyLew]

Put the teenage girl, her parents and the owner of the car behind bars and throw away the keys

This case will continue to show what is wrong with Thailand and it's less than useful legal system

Read lots of stories about this teenage girl but have not read much about those she helped

send to early grave.

Who are her parents? what do they do and what is their position in society?

[tigerbalm]

This is utterly disgusting. What a repugnant display of the lack of justice in this society.

No, little miss sunshine, it wasn't an "accident". It may have been unintentional, but it was a crime caused by your extreme negligence. Trying to shrug off responsibility for the deaths of 9 people as an "accident" is truly an insult to their memories.

So much for Nisa's theories that this girl is suffering. This girl needs to do hard time. She clearly has no remorse.

Agree with you 100% on this one. I can bet my bottom dollar if it was a farang or a piss poor issan farmer in an accident like this, and the victims were from a 'higher class' you'd see a completely different spin on the whole story.

Her actions killed nine people, Don't defend her. End of story

Agree with both of these comments, But why does the word accident keep cropping up, a previous poster hit the nail on the head in a recent thread when he said (and i agree) that a accident implies no one was to blame, it should read road traffic collision (in this case) caused 9 deaths by a under aged driver arguably driving recklessly. Edited January 6, 2011 by tigerbalm

[marquess]

When asked if she had anything to be sorry for, she replied: "I apologise. I am sorry for what happened. It was an accident."

Well let Thai justice take it's course and lets hope the money that comes out goes only to the victims and not the corrupt judicial and police system.

'Thai Justice'! After 11 years here I am still waiting to see it, and I doubt that I will be seeing it in this case.

[Kernow86]

Put the teenage girl, her parents and the owner of the car behind bars and throw away the keys

This case will continue to show what is wrong with Thailand and it's less than useful legal system

Read lots of stories about this teenage girl but have not read much about those she helped

send to early grave.

Who are her parents? what do they do and what is their position in society?

Good questions, I would guess that they're not poor and have many friends?

[Totster]

You lot are a sad bunch. You all cry for justice, but are ready to pass your own judgement on this girl before she has been properly convicted.

And before you all get on your high horses about me defending her, I'm not..I'm quite happy for a court to decide whether she is guilty or not after reviewing all the facts and evidence (and not from reading newspaper reports like the wannabe judges on this forum)

Listen to yourselves almost baying for blood.. "lock her up, throw away the key" you say.. thank god you are not part of the legal system in any country.

This whole thing is a tradgedy.. for all involved.

totster

[Mario2008]

You lot are a sad bunch. You all cry for justice, but are ready to pass your own judgement on this girl before she has been properly convicted.

And before you all get on your high horses about me defending her, I'm not..I'm quite happy for a court to decide whether she is guilty or not after reviewing all the facts and evidence (and not from reading newspaper reports like the wannabe judges on this forum)

Listen to yourselves almost baying for blood.. "lock her up, throw away the key" you say.. thank god you are not part of the legal system in any country.

This whole thing is a tradgedy.. for all involved.

totster

:clap2:

[DocHolliday]

You lot are a sad bunch. You all cry for justice, but are ready to pass your own judgement on this girl before she has been properly convicted.

And before you all get on your high horses about me defending her, I'm not..I'm quite happy for a court to decide whether she is guilty or not after reviewing all the facts and evidence (and not from reading newspaper reports like the wannabe judges on this forum)

Listen to yourselves almost baying for blood.. "lock her up, throw away the key" you say.. thank god you are not part of the legal system in any country.

This whole thing is a tradgedy.. for all involved.

totster

Bravo! My respect!

[Carib]

Wait till you have got a 16 year old who does stupid things like 16 year teens do. An accident happened and that is what it is, an accident. Some accidents are worse than others.

Think of all the stupid things you did yourself at that age, maybe you were lucky, she wasn't.

[jaltsc]

"Thai Justice" Makes as much sense as "Virgin Bar Girl"

'Thai Justice'! After 11 years here I am still waiting to see it, and I doubt that I will be seeing it in this case.

[daveyravey]

You lot are a sad bunch. You all cry for justice, but are ready to pass your own judgement on this girl before she has been properly convicted.

And before you all get on your high horses about me defending her, I'm not..I'm quite happy for a court to decide whether she is guilty or not after reviewing all the facts and evidence (and not from reading newspaper reports like the wannabe judges on this forum)

Listen to yourselves almost baying for blood.. "lock her up, throw away the key" you say.. thank god you are not part of the legal system in any country.

This whole thing is a tradgedy.. for all involved.

totster

Absoloutley correct sir!

The best post that i ever did have the pleasure to read on this subject.

You sir should be an ambassador for your country whilst abroad.

Give the girl the chance to defend herself without a witch hunt from people

who are ill-informed.

Edited January 6, 2011 by daveyravey

[shunima]

You lot are a sad bunch. You all cry for justice, but are ready to pass your own judgement on this girl before she has been properly convicted.

And before you all get on your high horses about me defending her, I'm not..I'm quite happy for a court to decide whether she is guilty or not after reviewing all the facts and evidence (and not from reading newspaper reports like the wannabe judges on this forum)

Listen to yourselves almost baying for blood.. "lock her up, throw away the key" you say.. thank god you are not part of the legal system in any country.

This whole thing is a tradgedy.. for all involved.

totster

Thank you for making a stand here. May I join you?

[SantiSuk]

I would not run this argument in any normal country, but 'baying for blood' has its uses in a country where legal justice appears to be a trade-able commodity for those with money or influence.

[jfchandler]

I know it's on a slightly different tack...but relating still to Thai justice...

Yesterday on Channel 9 TV, there was a horribly disfigured and burned woman on a news interview show who was one of the victims of the Santika fire.... Of course, the entire quite long interview was in Thai, so I couldn't follow it all.

But my wife said the woman, who has already undergone multiple surgeries and still faces more in the future, has received only 100,000 baht compensation from the club or its representatives...now more than two years later.

I must say, the disfigurement of this woman was among the worst I've ever seen for someone who actually survived.... Terrible to see.... Obviously much worse to be the victim of... And no justice, at least thus far, in that case either.

[MikeyIdea]

This is utterly disgusting. What a repugnant display of the lack of justice in this society.

No, little miss sunshine, it wasn't an "accident". It may have been unintentional, but it was a crime caused by your extreme negligence. Trying to shrug off responsibility for the deaths of 9 people as an "accident" is truly an insult to their memories.

So much for Nisa's theories that this girl is suffering. This girl needs to do hard time. She clearly has no remorse.

I agree and I don't

The girl is guilty as hell, she should do hard time in jail on rice soup sleeping on a floor mat IMO.

The question of bail is a different matter though. She has strong connections to Thailand and is unlikely to flee, she is cooperating with the investigation. I see no reason to not grant her bail. Justice can be served when issue goes up in criminal court later this year, I am sure that she will come. Now, if full justice is going to be handed out or not is a different matter, it's unlikely actually but we must also consider this...

We must also take into consideration that the poorer with no famous surname do what the girl did more often than the rich and the standard that is set must be suitable for the poor too or the most significant change coming out of all this will be enforcement of the double morale that caused the uproar in the first place.

I was back in the village over New Year, a neighbour further down the (dirt) road had bought a Honda Scoopy for her 15 year old daughters birthday that she will use to drive the 17 kilometers (on main inter-city road) from the village to her school in amphur muang and back again every school day for 3 years without a licence. This is so common among the poor that if it were to stop suddenly, then it would put a visible dent in the GDP... I'm not saying that it shouldn't be stopped of course, but punishment must be suitable for the poor as well as the rich

I see an enormous improvement in traffic safety in Thailand the last 20 years. This unfortunate issue will help to improve it even further

[jfchandler]

Ok, there are other media reports this morning saying that Thai authorities have decided they will not seek any criminal charges against the parents of the teenage driver in this case.

The other day, in a related thread, I posed the question of whether Thailand actually has a parental responsibility law with criminal enforcement. No one here was able to provide any answer to that question.

Now today, in the other media reports, the Thai authorities are claiming they don't have any legal basis to file criminal charges against the parents, and that the only legal recourse against them by the victims and their families is civil litigation.

The discussion centered on a Thai law that apparently is written to protect juveniles from abuse. But apparently the law doesn't conversely have adequate provisions to criminally punish parents who allow their children to engage in criminal conduct.

There also was a reference by one of the Thai juvenile authorities as saying the teenage driver girl faces a potential jail sentence of 7 years in the case based on the charges that have been filed.

I'm not seeing any of that information in The Nation news reports cited here, thus far. Of course, I'm also still not seeing any naming of the teenage driver in the case in any of The Nation's news reports.

[MikeyIdea]

<snip>

Now today, in the other media reports, the Thai authorities are claiming they don't have any legal basis to file criminal charges against the parents, and that the only legal recourse against them by the victims and their families is civil litigation.

The discussion centered on a Thai law that apparently is written to protect juveniles from abuse. But apparently the law doesn't conversely have adequate provisions to criminally punish parents who allow their children to engage in criminal conduct.

There also was a reference by one of the Thai juvenile authorities as saying the teenage driver girl faces a potential jail sentence of 7 years in the case based on the charges that have been filed.

I'm not seeing any of that information in The Nation news reports cited here, thus far. Of course, I'm also still not seeing any naming of the teenage driver in the case in any of The Nation's news reports.

Thai Juvenile law is mainly written centered around the child of course. It states rights and responsibilities for both child and parents. Criminal law does have clauses that specifically handles the case where juveniles commit criminal offences. If the parents can't be prosecuted according to criminal law, then that is a limitation of the criminal law, not the juvenile law.

I understand it as Thai juvenile law contain enough to prosecute parents according to civil law. What Civil law says in this matter I don't know, haven't read that part

[jayboy]

You lot are a sad bunch. You all cry for justice, but are ready to pass your own judgement on this girl before she has been properly convicted.

And before you all get on your high horses about me defending her, I'm not..I'm quite happy for a court to decide whether she is guilty or not after reviewing all the facts and evidence (and not from reading newspaper reports like the wannabe judges on this forum)

Listen to yourselves almost baying for blood.. "lock her up, throw away the key" you say.. thank god you are not part of the legal system in any country.

This whole thing is a tradgedy.. for all involved.

totster

Admirable sentiments with which one would agree.The problem is not however the people baying for blood for they are obviously wrong.

The general issue is whether the rich and privileged should continue to evade justice in Thailand.In this particular case we must await the outcome though all sadly the signs are that the traditional patterns will apply.

It is also interesting why this case has raised so much heat among ordinary Thais at this particular time.

So your comment about those who bay for blood is well made, but the truth is you have also missed the main point as the dead victims families would tell you.

[jfchandler]

MI, your post above makes no sense...

If Thailand had a parental responsibility law, it wouldn't be a juvenile law... Parents aren't juveniles and aren't covered by the juvenile justice system.

If Thailand had a parental responsibility law, it would be part of the regular criminal code with criminal enforcement.

In the civil justice system, the parents as legally responsible for their underage daughter would automatically already bear the responsibility for any civil liability against her in the case.

I never talked about "limitations" of Thai juvenile law. It was the Thai authorities in the other media report who were talking about their lack of recourse against the parents under that law.

I simply said, apparently, Thailand doesn't have a parental responsibility law to hold parents criminally responsible when they contribute to criminal wrongdoing by their children.

Edited January 6, 2011 by jfchandler

[ginjag]

I would not run this argument in any normal country, but 'baying for blood' has its uses in a country where legal justice appears to be a trade-able commodity for those with money or influence.

All the readers will want to see the outcome of this. The hostility / want for blood, as some speak, is NOT ALL about -quote "MINOR" - it is the thought of the antcipated outcome, Most readers and myself fear no justice will be there. Fear they will, because of most of the verdicts here in Thailand, are a joke, and nearly always favour greatly the wealthy, (because of reasons unknown) . People WANT justice-plain and simple....The want blood thing is not what is meant for real, (a few maybe) The outrage re comments, from family/MINOR, are justified, When you do fear the easy escape route for this family, then most of anger gets shown-as in the forum. REMORSE CAN AND WANTS TO BE SEEN, NOT JUST HEARD/or just attending.

[11nuttiyaw]

My goodness. Only two charges? How about her driving without a seatbelt? Such lies when on the news she told the hospitalized victims that she had a US drivers license and "drove in her little town. She never experienced highways before." her twitter said she lived in LA.

[Colabamumbai]

You lot are a sad bunch. You all cry for justice, but are ready to pass your own judgement on this girl before she has been properly convicted.

And before you all get on your high horses about me defending her, I'm not..I'm quite happy for a court to decide whether she is guilty or not after reviewing all the facts and evidence (and not from reading newspaper reports like the wannabe judges on this forum)

Listen to yourselves almost baying for blood.. "lock her up, throw away the key" you say.. thank god you are not part of the legal system in any country.

This whole thing is a tradgedy.. for all involved.

totster

No one said lock her up and throw away the key. I suggested that she be denied bail as anyone else should be, or would be for the manslaughter of 9 people. I understand that this is Thailand, but should we have to make excuses.

[pipo1000]

Police Maj-General Amnuay Nimmano, who is supervising the case, in response to questions about the girl's plea, said: "I ask for your permission to not go into details about that. She has acknowledged two offences and given information useful to the investigation."<BR sab="376"><BR sab="377">

Says it all doesn't it.