Missing Arms 'Not Stolen'

[Lite Beer]

Missing arms 'not stolen'

By The Nation on Sunday

A fact-finding panel investigating the disappearance of weapons from an Army depot in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Thanarat camp has initially found that the "missing" arms were not stolen.

The panel said corruption and shortcomings on the part of officials responsible for taking care of the weapons was the cause, Army spokesperson Col Sirichan Ngathong said yesterday.

Sirichan said General Pichet Wisaichorn, the assistant army chief who heads the fact-finding panel, revealed that the panel had made significance progress in its probe after interrogating key officials and inspecting the camp.

The panel found that officials did not follow the Army's directives on inspection of weaponry and other equipment, he said.

The directives, endorsed in 1954, strictly stipulate that heads of military units must carry out weekly and monthly checks to ensure weapons get scheduled maintenance and check for missing items and for others that need repairs.

The panel found that the weapons went missing lot by lot. The Army had been able to retrieve some missing weapons and would try to get the rest back, she said.

The panel would take another 15 days to further investigate before handing in the results of its inquiry. Commanders had vowed to identify those responsible for causing the weapons to go missing and to take drastic action against them, she said.

-- The Nation 2011-03-13

[slapout]

Another master no speak man. Not stolen, but those responsible for the arms being missing will be caught.Inspection directions not followed???

How can you inspect what is not stolen but not their? Send him back to the jungle war games.

[asiawatcher]

How did they identify they were not stolen? And if they are still missing then why can't they find them? What a ridiculous article of back peddling and excuses.

[Daailo]

Bit disappointed - I thought this story was going to be about amputees!!!!!!!!

[givenall]

Another master no speak man. Not stolen, but those responsible for the arms being missing will be caught.Inspection directions not followed???

How can you inspect what is not stolen but not their? Send him back to the jungle war games.

Thai style of taking the blame. there is nothing to take the blame for and everything is always rosy

[culicine]

I initially mis-read it as a "face-saving panel"....but it seems that is what it was.

[jimbeam1]

Wow I now feel that I can sleep safe in my bed tonight. As long as I keep one eye open. Do they really think they are fooling anyone with these statements. Having said that the Colonel, or is it the General, doesn't look like such a bright spark himself? Nice piece of gold around his neck though.

[londonthai]

this article should be credited to NotTheNation, the best thai daily

"the "missing" arms were not stolen. ... The panel found that the weapons went missing lot by lot."

[chainarong]

That's what I like to see , a well oiled machine, the mind boggls at what can be achieved, with out any effort at all , well done.

[AleG]

"The arms were not stolen, we deny that on the strongest terms; and what's more we are going to find who stole them and throw the book at them."

If they were not stolen and they are missing from the armory what happened? borrowed without permission? fell in between the couch cushions? the M16 pixie swung her wand and a bunch disappeared in a blink?

[janverbeem]

So the weapons were not stolen.......................they were gone,missing,disappeared,lost,vanished,not accounted for,vapoured,misplaced but definitely not stolen.

Edited March 13, 2011 by janverbeem

[Tatsujin]

Do they really think they are fooling anyone with these statements.

Quite simply, yes . . . the vast majority of Thai's will accept the statement at face value and think on it no more. You've seen how it works here, no one questions anything, and face-saving is THE most important aspect of any investigation or allegation.

Dorothy . . . you're not in Kansas any more . . .

[Valentine]

ybe the reporter could not find the correct English wording to describe something that is missing but not stolen. The mind boggles that public figures get away with such statements & I don't believe the Thai public are that gullible, they are just indoctrinated to accept & not question even though they know it to be wrong.

[sirchai]

Wow I now feel that I can sleep safe in my bed tonight. As long as I keep one eye open. Do they really think they are fooling anyone with these statements. Having said that the Colonel, or is it the General, doesn't look like such a bright spark himself? Nice piece of gold around his neck though.

The panel found that the weapons went missing lot by lot. The Army had been able to retrieve some missing weapons and would try to get the rest back, she said.

<deleted>?

[jimbeam1]

Wow I now feel that I can sleep safe in my bed tonight. As long as I keep one eye open. Do they really think they are fooling anyone with these statements. Having said that the Colonel, or is it the General, doesn't look like such a bright spark himself? Nice piece of gold around his neck though.

The panel found that the weapons went missing lot by lot. The Army had been able to retrieve some missing weapons and would try to get the rest back, she said.

<deleted>?

TRY to get the rest back, she said. What is she going to do? Ask pretty please, may I have my weapons back. Now comes the tricky part. Who the <deleted>> is she going to ask?

jb1

[transam]

As it reads like an episode of Black Adder, What the officer really said was,

''I have a cunning plan sire''

reply,

'' Oh god Baldrick, what delight of wisdom do we have today ''

[smedly]

"The arms were not stolen, we deny that on the strongest terms; and what's more we are going to find who stole them and throw the book at them."

If they were not stolen and they are missing from the armory what happened? borrowed without permission? fell in between the couch cushions? the M16 pixie swung her wand and a bunch disappeared in a blink?

the missing weapons are out on hire they just forgot to give them a ticket of return

these are the people that want to run nuclear power plants ???????? now where did I leave those rods - ahem they're not stolen we just forgot where we left them.

[Cnxforever]

How did they identify they were not stolen? And if they are still missing then why can't they find them? What a ridiculous article of back peddling and excuses.

it's nothing but a face saving exercise!

Of course they where not stolen - other excuses would be they are missing, have been borrowed, have been misplaced, miss counted , decommissioned. An inquiry like most of them here - is not carried out to find the truth but to cover up and save face - what is to expected ???

Surely they where sold - didn't the army chief himself recently say that he thinks they where sold because some soldiers need to subsidize their income? (How understanding of him!)

In true Thai style it will just be dragged out a few more weeks and then it is forgotten about. Or somebody comes up with a "cunning plan" they will be replaced with other weapons and now they have been found having been sent for maintainance - of course it was all just a big misunderstanding!.

Some little guy will be "punished" with a transfer - but nobody in charge will be held accountable.

[yellow1red1]

here is a Thai Col, publically admitting the weapons were embezzled by his soldiers, not stolen by outsiders;;

and everybody is decrying his honesty???

<deleted>!

thanks for verifying our first suspicions Khuin Sirichan ,,, need more like you

[anterian]

I have the same problem, my screwdrivers and spanners often hide, then when I buy new ones they reappear.

This is the obvious solution, get a new lot of guns and the old ones will come out of hiding.

[jimbeam1]

As it reads like an episode of Black Adder, What the officer really said was,

''I have a cunning plan sire''

reply,

'' Oh god Baldrick, what delight of wisdom do we have today ''

As much as I like Ben Elton. I think he would struggle to match anything like this?

jb1

[chuang]

Not stolen but......MIA...

[Nisa]

You guys act as though you never have read a Thai to English translated story before this.

What is so difficult to comprehend ... nobody broke in and stole the weapons. As usual they are not clear on what corruption and/or lack of following procedures had to do with where the weapons ended up ... possibly in an arms distributer or simply assigned to troops in an unauthorized and accountable way. But as with most stories without all the facts or written/translated poorly there is likely to be some updates or one can checkout the other newspapers in the coming days.

[Steely Dan]

Ah, An accounting error, I knew it!

[transam]

You guys act as though you never have read a Thai to English translated story before this.

What is so difficult to comprehend ... nobody broke in and stole the weapons. As usual they are not clear on what corruption and/or lack of following procedures had to do with where the weapons ended up ... possibly in an arms distributer or simply assigned to troops in an unauthorized and accountable way. But as with most stories without all the facts or written/translated poorly there is likely to be some updates or one can checkout the other newspapers in the coming days.

So, why wasn't it kept in house ? Why did the media have to be involved ?

[tim armstrong]

"The arms were not stolen, we deny that on the strongest terms; and what's more we are going to find who stole them and throw the book at them."

If they were not stolen and they are missing from the armory what happened? borrowed without permission? fell in between the couch cushions? the M16 pixie swung her wand and a bunch disappeared in a blink?

You've got it the pixie strikes again. You can almost hear the colonel saying " Ah well, there are weapons missing, but missing is not the same as stolen. If they were stolen they wouldn't be missing would they, they would be stolen. And anyway they went missing lot by lot, and weapons that are stolen don't do that, they just disappear, or go missing. But we're on to it, you can be sure of that !" Monty Python couldn't have done better.

[Bagwan]

Scene from Beyond the Fringe all those years ago. Alan Bennett is playing a TV interviewer and he is grilling the head honcho of Scotland Yard, played by the excellent and deadpan Peter Cook.

Bennett: I want to ask you Superintendent about the Great Train Robbery.

Cook Ah yes. Well I want to make one thing clear . This is a misnomer. There has been no loss of train.

Bennett Who do you think was responsible for this theft?

Cook Well we have now come to the conclusion that this was the work of thieves.

Search YouTube for the whole sketch. Comic as the Thai arms theft situation is, Cook and Bennett are funnier.

Edited March 13, 2011 by Bagwan

[Raesum]

As it reads like an episode of Black Adder, What the officer really said was,

''I have a cunning plan sire''

reply,

'' Oh god Baldrick, what delight of wisdom do we have today ''

Transam was it really a cunning plan or just a cunning stunt??

[transam]

As it reads like an episode of Black Adder, What the officer really said was,

''I have a cunning plan sire''

reply,

'' Oh god Baldrick, what delight of wisdom do we have today ''

Transam was it really a cunning plan or just a cunning stunt??

'' Hmmmmm my Lord, must think another cunning plan ''

[ginjag]

As it reads like an episode of Black Adder, What the officer really said was,

''I have a cunning plan sire''

reply,

'' Oh god Baldrick, what delight of wisdom do we have today ''

Transam was it really a cunning plan or just a cunning stunt??

'' Hmmmmm my Lord, must think another cunning plan ''

I must comment now as posts are being removed because of anti Thai comments--that this thread INVITES posters to slag off the system.