Japanese Tourist Shot Dead In Chiang Rai By Thai Tour Guide

[atyclb]

So the moral of the story is don't complain to your tour guide just smile and act like you are enjoying yourself. Complaint resolution Thai style.

No the moral sounds more like, don't draw and shot at a tour guide, regardless of words, remember sticks and stones might brake ones bones and guns could sure do some damage or something like that. If that's what happened.

The Japanese guys got off easy, it could have been a jet ski operator.....

[RaoulDuke]

Its funny how just about everyone on here chooses to be in Thailand, and most of them could easily go back to their own country or a number of other countries. But all they want to do is complain and moan and jump all over everything and everyone in Thailand. Geez, if you hate it so much...LEAVE! It is an entirely different culture, with different values, and the corruption is out in the open (as opposed to the countries where you come from, where the corruption is probably worse, but since it behind closed doors, no one seems to notice or care).

It would seem fairly obvious to anyone paying attention in the world that two high level drug gang members trekking through a remote area of the golden triangle are probably not after a picture of a temple or a monkey. And a 'tour guide' who is not only armed, but capable to taking down an armed Yakuza member is probably not the kind of guy who hangs around the airport in a tuk tuk. Sorry, but I have a hard time believing the 'tourist' was a really a victim of a psychotic tour guide with no patience and an itchy trigger finger. Regardless of if it was a hit, or just a reaction to a very heated situation with someone who was also armed, and may well have killed numerous people in his life for no good reason. Gang/mafia leaders are not well regarded for their patience and understanding when things don't go their way.

[wlcart]

So many experts, so little time.

No one knows what happen and probably never will. TiT. But, despite all the silly things that go on in Thailand overall I do not feel in danger here.

Something crazy went on in this story. However, I can think of a long list of countries where one is more likely to get shot than in Thailand. Usually an argument with a Thai guy just ends in a Leo bottle being smashed over your head or his brother in law the cop arresting you.

[Johpa]

One word comes to mind... opium. Lots of it.

Still listening to Journey, the Go Gos, Depeche Mode, and other stalwarts of the 1980s are we?

[prvtdetdave]

I also believe the guide,

but I believe he knows more than what has been written here.

He takes tourists into jungles for treks,

He will knows there could be a chance encounter with small groups or a single trafficker (Meaning the person or people who may have been comming to meet the 2 Japanese men), hence the firearm.

He knows these encounters do not always end in violence.

An once of prevention is worth a pound of cure. A gun could save your life if things go bad.

Traffickers don't want to kill a bunch of inoccent tourist and bring more heat onto themselves.

Both guide and trafficker would like to conduct their business without incident.

If there was about to be a transaction, do you think a Yakuza is going to leave a witness

after the transaction? Especially if this guide was not known or used before by the Yakuza?

I am a retired Criminal Investigator and this is all very plausible.

Remember we do not have all the facts; nor any statements to draw any theory from.

He (The Guide) also knows what the truth is and the Royal Thai Police will get the answers.

As far as knowing if the alledged victim was a "Yakuza" leader or member?

Those are facts easily obtained or known.

I'll keep an open mind as good investigators should.

[XXpate48USA]

Nice one...he sure picked the wrong guy to murder.

Was the guide registered? probably not and there are plenty more like him who buy an "official guide" badge and ID and set off on their merry ways to cause mayhem.

What often amazes me with serious crime in Thailand is that the perpetrators don't give a thought to the years they will spend in a hell hole. Seems this is no deterrent for them.

I suspect that the tour guide was starting to feel "loss of face" and bam bam. Japanese people are not so mai pai ren as Thai people. There is a good possibility this tour guide(legal or not) will not spend any jail time or very little . I am sure this was self delfense or suicide. Yes, that's it.,,...it was suicide. Hari kari!!......those japanese do that you know!

[1219patrickm]

Amazing that the Japanese tourist's gun was still in the bag. Pretty cool how it go back there. Will ballistics show his gun was recently fired? Will he have gsr on his hands?

Never ever argue too much with a Thai. Most frequent travelers to the Kingdom have learned this quickly.

End result the police will determine it was a dual suicide attempt and the one that lived will try to kill himself when he has another chance.

[Suradit]

What often amazes me with serious crime in Thailand is that the perpetrators don't give a thought to the years they will spend in a hell hole. Seems this is no deterrent for them.

Whereas in other countries all the perpetrators weigh the consequences of their planned or impulsive crimes in a mature and thoughtful manner and logically reach the conclusion that life in prison or a death sentence is well worth the trouble??

What amazes me is that when anything happens in Thailand some people seem to think that the behaviour reported is unique to Thailand and found nowhere else on earth. No matter what the topic, posters at TV will manage to generalize some inexplicable failing of the entire Thai population. Apparently even hardened criminals or average people who allow themselves to be governed by their emotions are different in Thailand. If only serious criminals here could be like their splendid counterparts in Europe or America! But alas, TIT, hmmm?

[XXpate48USA]

"The suspect said he had to carry a gun to protect tourists."

Love that one.

Yes, that was good! I see the police have already started this thai man's defense stating that those darn japanese were bad underwold men.hah....There is no doubt in my mind what happened. The Tourist's were po-ed that the Japanese men were angry and giving him a hard time since they paid the man to be there are a certain time and the job was sloppy. Then loss of Face, then loss of lead! Some Thai people can be fiery expecially when confronted with lack of knowledge or lack of skills or lack of "truth" !

I know when I hire a tour guide I always quote to them my afiliations with Al capone from Chicago before we leave.!!...duhhhh....what a crock of noodles.....gangsters my butt....This guy will get off for sure.....heck, he lost face!....whatdya want anyway for defense?.....the toursits indusries is already dying a slow death with this kind of thing. The Japanese people are not too happy with Thailand anyway since that Japanese photographer newsman was gunned don last year during the red shirt "rally" riot...That gun "to protect the tourist's" didn't do too good of job this time. Those hill tribe people can be very muderous

[TGM]

Its funny how just about everyone on here chooses to be in Thailand, and most of them could easily go back to their own country or a number of other countries. But all they want to do is complain and moan and jump all over everything and everyone in Thailand. Geez, if you hate it so much...LEAVE! It is an entirely different culture, with different values, and the corruption is out in the open (as opposed to the countries where you come from, where the corruption is probably worse, but since it behind closed doors, no one seems to notice or care).

It would seem fairly obvious to anyone paying attention in the world that two high level drug gang members trekking through a remote area of the golden triangle are probably not after a picture of a temple or a monkey. And a 'tour guide' who is not only armed, but capable to taking down an armed Yakuza member is probably not the kind of guy who hangs around the airport in a tuk tuk. Sorry, but I have a hard time believing the 'tourist' was a really a victim of a psychotic tour guide with no patience and an itchy trigger finger. Regardless of if it was a hit, or just a reaction to a very heated situation with someone who was also armed, and may well have killed numerous people in his life for no good reason. Gang/mafia leaders are not well regarded for their patience and understanding when things don't go their way.

THANK YOU!!! I rarely log in to put my few cents to the story because after reading some non-sense comments from farangs (or should I say foreigners?) I just don't see a point in trying anymore. I agree with you 100% and the funniest thing is you can bet on every news bit to have at least 2 comments saying "oh well here's a toast to thai tourism" or "another blow to thailands tourist sector" bla bla bla....you forget that crime in the kingdom has been going on for more than just the past few years or decades and you still see tourists coming and even yourselves!

IF these people could only reflect and see what happens in their (respective?) country whether it be political backdoor dealings, "lobbying" or the downright criminal crap some teenagers today in Europe can produce, is worry-some but same as here, we live with it and then there are people brave enough trying to make a change for the better. Bitching about the country you happen to reside isn't going to get you any friends nor will it gain you any benefits for the most part at least....as for the "Guide" if seeking police custody as a safe refuge from the Jakuza, then his boss better get him out soon or it's on!!

Whatever the kill might be, Im guessing it's drug related and if you remember the Thaksin days when he started the drug wars because his son was a cokehead with bunch of pictures to prove it. It was all over the news. So by gunning down thousands of slum dealers who are just tying to feed their families Thaksin successfully became a hero for it. When Amnesty Intl and UN human rights were on him for the 1000's of executions of untried dealers Thaksin simply said "UN is not my father" ...well anyone above this drug ladder was unharmed of course. Consequently the drug price went up on ya ba and other pills. Making some nice extra cash along the way for all but the dead. I'm sure Thaksin himself had made a sweet deal cashing in from the drug labs along the thai burmese border.

[exbelg]

wow, thailand has one sharpshooter to be able to shoot 2 people in the head... and one got also a bullet in the back ? how did that happen ?

smells seriously fishy...

tour guide saw Jap tourist with money ...

tried to kill both of them and rob them, would be more appropriate

[EyesWideOpen]

Its funny how just about everyone on here chooses to be in Thailand, and most of them could easily go back to their own country or a number of other countries. But all they want to do is complain and moan and jump all over everything and everyone in Thailand. Geez, if you hate it so much...LEAVE! It is an entirely different culture, with different values, and the corruption is out in the open (as opposed to the countries where you come from, where the corruption is probably worse, but since it behind closed doors, no one seems to notice or care).

It would seem fairly obvious to anyone paying attention in the world that two high level drug gang members trekking through a remote area of the golden triangle are probably not after a picture of a temple or a monkey. And a 'tour guide' who is not only armed, but capable to taking down an armed Yakuza member is probably not the kind of guy who hangs around the airport in a tuk tuk. Sorry, but I have a hard time believing the 'tourist' was a really a victim of a psychotic tour guide with no patience and an itchy trigger finger. Regardless of if it was a hit, or just a reaction to a very heated situation with someone who was also armed, and may well have killed numerous people in his life for no good reason. Gang/mafia leaders are not well regarded for their patience and understanding when things don't go their way.

Actually I really like it here. If you live here a long time, pretty soon news like this just falls under Amazing Thailand, and it becomes hard to ignore it. Sort of like the 800 pound gorilla standing in the room everyone is trying to ignore. You HAVE to see the weird humor of a guide getting mad at his customers and gunning them down. ( his story). You do right?? Or the endless jumpers in Pattaya, or the farangs found hanging with their hands behind them in handcuffs that are ruled suicide ?? The truth will never be known ,so it just becomes a matter of interest to speculate on what really occurred. And these stories can also be a form of education in how to go wrong here. Make no mistake, LOTS of farangs die here. I just want to make sure I am not one of them.. :-)

[jdinasia]

rhiekel

I think you might do better if you went back and read the OP and the link

[zorro1]

He shot some mafia, good for japs good for the world.

Whats the problem?

[EyesWideOpen]

rhiekel

I think you might do better if you went back and read the OP and the link

I have read them both. I will say this one more time. There are the facts as we know them, and then there is the story of the guide about what happened. To have the police or anybody else imply that a major Japanese crime boss is wandering the jungle with packets of money to make a drug buy is so absurd as to boggle the imagination. That would be like saying a New York mafia boss is heading to the street corner to buy some crack......Please watch more mafia movies, drug buys are the job of the underlings, not the boss. I still say this was a robbery, and they guy shot in the back of the head should be your tip off.... :jap:

[Frajuhe]

This news was all over Japanese media since yesterday, but none of it said the victim was a yakuza.

Do you really think that media statements, which are bought by criminal syndicates telling the truth that a victim is a member of a criminal syndicate? God will help you to keep your naivety.

[jdinasia]

I have read them both. I will say this one more time. There are the facts as we know them, and then there is the story of the guide about what happened. To have the police or anybody else imply that a major Japanese crime boss is wandering the jungle with packets of money to make a drug buy is so absurd as to boggle the imagination. That would be like saying a New York mafia boss is heading to the street corner to buy some crack......Please watch more mafia movies, drug buys are the job of the underlings, not the boss. I still say this was a robbery, and they guy shot in the back of the head should be your tip off.... :jap:

Strange ... when I read the story I didn't see the speculation about a "drug buy", If it had been it would have been a whole lot more $$. I also didn't read that a man had been shot "in the back of the head".

What I read was that an armed Yakuza boss with a wad of cash in his bag or his friend's bag was on a tour. I read that the guys were complaining incessantly. I read that the guide stopped and that an altercation broke out. I read that the guide was shot at and he shot too. He apparently fired 6 shots and hit 3 times. I read that the guy turned himself in to the police.

In your post above I read that you seem to believe that watching mafia movies tells you what life is like. I read in your post above that you think it was a robbery, but that fails to explain another gun found and 10,000 USD found. I read in your post above that you think the man that was shot in the head and in the back was "shot in the back of the head." and that you think that should be a "tip off".

I would suggest that you watch FEWER gangster movies I would suggest that if this had anything to do with drugs (and I think it might) it would have been a planned higher-level meeting to arrange supplie-lines and shipments and negotiate prices etc. Or just a friendly "meet and greet" to get the ball rolling ........

[jdinasia]

This news was all over Japanese media since yesterday, but none of it said the victim was a yakuza.

Do you really think that media statements, which are bought by criminal syndicates telling the truth that a victim is a member of a criminal syndicate? God will help you to keep your naivety.

Huh? Where is my tin hat?

Do you really think the Pattaya Daily News is "bought by a criminal syndicate"? Or are you suggesting that all of the media in Japan is controlled by the Yakuza? Additionally, do you think the Embassy of Japan was lying?

[jdinasia]

A link to a cited article from the OP

http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/thai-tour-guide-shoots-japanese-tourist-dead-wounds-another

[Luxius]

Ninjas will come after him!

No, seriously ... I bet the Yakuza didn't expect that kind of insubordination. I love Thai culture =D

[cobra]

This is like a bad Soprano's episode,

Next we'll discover this was a pre-arranged hit,

fa-gid-ah-bowd it already,

Edited April 27, 2011 by cobra

[KRS1]

Yakuza in Chiang Rai heading to a Lisu Village.

I seriously doubt he was on a cultural trip.

[lianab]

A link to a cited article from the OP

http://www.japantoda...-wounds-another

Thanks for posting a link to the article, it does seem not many who replied took the time to read it first. Eg. The injured man had more injuries than a single gunshot, casings found were from 2 guns. But what caught my eye and no one has mentioned -If it was the result of an argument; when and WHY did one of the parties take the time to walk around the jeep and shoot out all four tyres?

Also wondering how did the injured man get back from the jungle? They said they found the dead man's body in the jungle and the tour guide was arrested at a friends house.

[ukrules]

I'm just surprised that there was $10,000 left in one of the backpacks by the time anyone got there.

[Chris Lawrence]

So if the dead man was a Yakuza member and the or a gang leader, the last thing I would want if being the Thai guide is my mug shot plastered all over the news. I would imagine that there would be some need to right the death of the gang member by the group back in Japan. It does sound as though the Thai man may have a very unlikely future mapped out for him. May not be able to do any future guide jobs; may be he will end up getting the $10K as compensation? Just a thought!

I think seeing a tour guide with a gun would make many very uncomfortable, even up in the north. Honestly would you really want to go into areas that require a gun as a tourist. As a tourist I would want to enjoy myself and not feel threatened.

As a tour a guide not many will argue with this Thai man in the future, as you know the outcome.

[favre360]

rip brother

and

the fact that the guy turned himself in voluntarily pretty much rules out all conspiracy theories

[sydneyjed]

If you read an earlier post from one of the members,him and his wife live near to the guide and the area they were reported to be in and nearest village is known for drug 'activity'...Not Einsteins Theory of Relativity by any stretch of the imagination to hazard a guess as to what they were up to!

I have read them both. I will say this one more time. There are the facts as we know them, and then there is the story of the guide about what happened. To have the police or anybody else imply that a major Japanese crime boss is wandering the jungle with packets of money to make a drug buy is so absurd as to boggle the imagination. That would be like saying a New York mafia boss is heading to the street corner to buy some crack......Please watch more mafia movies, drug buys are the job of the underlings, not the boss. I still say this was a robbery, and they guy shot in the back of the head should be your tip off.... :jap:

Strange ... when I read the story I didn't see the speculation about a "drug buy", If it had been it would have been a whole lot more $$. I also didn't read that a man had been shot "in the back of the head".

What I read was that an armed Yakuza boss with a wad of cash in his bag or his friend's bag was on a tour. I read that the guys were complaining incessantly. I read that the guide stopped and that an altercation broke out. I read that the guide was shot at and he shot too. He apparently fired 6 shots and hit 3 times. I read that the guy turned himself in to the police.

In your post above I read that you seem to believe that watching mafia movies tells you what life is like. I read in your post above that you think it was a robbery, but that fails to explain another gun found and 10,000 USD found. I read in your post above that you think the man that was shot in the head and in the back was "shot in the back of the head." and that you think that should be a "tip off".

I would suggest that you watch FEWER gangster movies I would suggest that if this had anything to do with drugs (and I think it might) it would have been a planned higher-level meeting to arrange supplie-lines and shipments and negotiate prices etc. Or just a friendly "meet and greet" to get the ball rolling ........

Edited April 27, 2011 by sydneyjed

[sbk]

Posts deleted. Keep the racist opinions to yourself, cheers.

[webfact]

Guide in Yakuza murder saga

By CHINNAPAT CHAIYAMON

THE NATION

Chiang Rai

A Thai tour guide has been arrested for allegedly killing a Japanese man suspected to be a Yakuza leader and seriously injuring his compatriot, Tourist Police chief Maj-General Adis Ngamjitsuksri said.

Apichat Inthisak, 41, who was arrested in possession of a .38-calibre pistol, said the men hired him to take them to Doi Hang. He claimed the men scolded him over delays and rough terrain leading to an argument that resulted in the shooting.

On Tuesday morning, the body of Takashi Kodo, 44, with gunshot wounds to the head and torso, and the injured Hiromichi Makano, 59, were found in a bamboo forest near a hot spring. Makano was taken to Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital. His condition is now stable in intensive care.

The Japanese men's two backpacks, carrying a hundred US$100 (Bt3,000) banknotes and 47 bullets, were also found at the scene. There were also signs of struggle.

After the shooting, Apichat fled to a nearby Akha village, where police arrested him and charged him with murder and assault.

Adis said initial police investigation found that Kodo - the reported manager of Tokyo's "Sedu-kai" gang and fugitive from a murder case - did not have a visa to enter Thailand.

His compatriot is suspected of being a caretaker for fugitive gangsters in Thailand.

Adis said the suspect claimed he met the two men a month ago on a bus and gave them his business card.

The two men later contacted Apichat to take them to Doi Hang, Adis said. However, they reportedly scolded him along the way about things such as delays and rough terrain.

When he pulled over at the scene because he could go no further as the road was too steep, Kodo pulled out a gun to shoot him, but he shot Kodo instead. The suspect claimed he then fought with the injured Makano, who used Kodo's gun to shoot the truck tyre, so he fled on foot to the nearby village.

-- The Nation 2011-04-28

[ib1b4]

rip brother

and

the fact that the guy turned himself in voluntarily pretty much rules out all conspiracy theories

Possibly so;;; but he may have surrendered along with a brown paper bag?