Our New Year Present From Somchai

[edwinchester]

Just back online after our house was broken into New Years Eve.

The whole experience has been a royal pain in the a** and especially upsetting for my Thai wife.

It has also shown what many would say is the best and worst of Thailand.

When my wife and I woke up early New Years Eve it was obvious something was amiss as soon as we entered the kitchen as both the window and door were open. The door frame had been badly damaged but it appeared entry had been gained through the kitchen window and exit made through the door.

My wife checked all the downstairs rooms and soon realised some things were missing. Both her purse and my wallet were gone, a camera, dvd writer, both our wedding rings, both our phones altogether worth maybe 35k bht.

I immediately cancelled all my UK cards and ordered replacements which was easy and a relief to get out of the way.

My wife went to a neighbour and called the local police who to my surprise arrived very quickly. Both of them reeked of alcohol seemed disinterested and did nothing except call another officer who arrived after maybe another 20 minutes.

When he arrived he totally ignored my 'sawadee' as he walked into our house.

He examined the damage and said it wasn't worth finger printing. I was surprised at this as we have aluminium wiindows and doors which make a good surface for gathering prints and said 'are you sure?' He shot back 'are you telling me how to do my job?'

After taking details of what was missing all the policemen left leaving wifey and me distinctly unimpressed.

My wife used to work in the admin dept of our local police station and decided to call a friend there. Her friend told her that basically the police who showed up were the most useless there and arranged for another one to come out and carry out the finger printing. He was very surprised that the previous officer did not carry out the finger printing but left it at that.

We needed a police report to get replacement for my wifes ID card and went in that afternoon for one. The same officer who refused to finger print initially was the one writing out the report. Just about the first thing he said to my wife was 'you know you're not Thai now that you have married a farang'. This was very upsetting for her but she shot back that she needed the report for her Thai ID card and would then use that for a new Thai passport. I left the room and waited outside as I hated his attitude.

Later on we had a visit from a plain clothes officer who would be investigating our burglary. He was very sure it was someone local as we live in a small quiet village and to be honest it was a very amateurish attempt. He would let us know how the investigation went he said.

My wife has talked with him a couple of times since but he said that without hard evidence it was difficult.

It would have helped to put a trace on my smartphone but AIS will not try and track without a police request and it took about 3 weeks before they even thought about putting one in. Surprise surprise the officer responsible is the same one who gave me the attitude and said my wife wasn't Thai. We still don't know it the request has been sent.

My wife has recently spoken with her police lady friend in admin at the police station. She passed on that she was ashamed to be a police officer sometimes. She passed on that the plain clothes officer must know who did the crime but will not do anything because he is in fact dealing drugs to him and other suspects in the village. We have also learned that the officer is being investigated for being unusually wealthy considering his rank and pay and that this is not the first time to be investigated.

We are fortunate that the value of items lost is low compared to others but have since spent alot upgrading the security of our house.

We are both much more suspicious of people in the village which is a horrible thing to admit to but have learned alot of the murky dealings of some here.

And then there are others who have offered to help. Poor people who offered money when they learned we lost all our ready cash and cards over the New Year holiday and would have to wait until the banks reopened before we had any.

We have also received an offer of help from another police officer. A known 'good guy' who is horrified by what has transpired but he says alot of time has passed which makes things more difficult.

So there you have it. Somchai's 'Happy New Year' gift to us. It is a lesson we have already learned well from.

I am writing this over a couple of days and have just learnt some more details.

My wife received a call from her friend at the nearby shop yesterday and was handed all the cards that were stolen along with her bag. They were found in a nearby sugarcane field by the guys cutting it. They recognised the local address on wifeys id card, her farang surname, put 2 and 2 together and handed them over.

Most interesting is that the sugarcane field is directly and I mean directly behind the house where the prime suspect lives. The other suspect lives a very short walk away.

The police have been informed. We are awaiting their response.

When my wife talked with her friend at the police station she was told yesterday that another farang house in a village mayby 4 km's away had been burgled yesterday. I am going to try and make contact as it seems a good idea that we both go to the police station and try and stir things up as we were told that this was not the first robbery they had suffered and are thoroughly fed up with it and the lack of police backup and support.

Another two days on and more news and goings on.

I went to see the other foreign guy whose house had been literally wrecked and taken apart for the wiring, metal and pipe there. He wasn't in but we called in the local police station and happened to metion our concerns with the way the investigation into our robbery was progressing. Surprise surprise but the 'number 2' at the police station was there, took note of our concerns and asked us to a meeting with the commanding officer at 11am the following morning. There he listened to my wife and my complaint about the way things were going. He called in maybe 7 or 8 policeman, told them it was nowhere good enough what they had done so far and to get things done.

Within an hour a heavy handed pickup attempt had been made of the three suspects which resulted in my wife being labelled a police 'grass' by the suspects. It turns out one of the policeman had said that my wife had given the names of the suspects that is why they were picking them up. My wife was scared and angry. I was livid at what had been said. My wife called the top man and complained and to be honest he appeared genuinly stunned at what had happened and arranged for the police to come back out and try and smooth things out saying that they were in fact acting on their own suspicions due to the fact my wifes cards were found on their property. It seemed to calm the parents of the accused down but whether the yaabaa heads are appeased is anyones guess.

Our faith in the police has been all but destroyed by this latest episode.

At the very least it was unproffessional but the suspicion must be the police trying to cause trouble for us for making them lose face in front of the big boss.

Another day and more surprises. We found out late yesteray that a policeman in the village has been saying they have a week to solve the case and that if they don't that I, the farang from England will be bringing in his own team of police from the UK to get to the bottom of things. Absolute clowns!

The only explanation seems to be a very poor attempt to find a suspect by seeing if anyone goes into hiding over the next few days.

Oh and my wife received her first veiled threat from one of the suspects yesterday too.

The police have been made aware and organised a drive past this morning. Wifey like me has no faith in them and is considering applying for a fire arms license. She also wants to sell the house now asap which is particularly distressing after we designed and built it togther.

I love it and hate having my life affected by these vermin but if either of us are unhappy here then I guess there is no choice but to put it on the market.

Another couple of days on and you really couldn't make this up. If I submitted a work of fiction then it would be turned down as ridiculously unbelievable.

My wife spent a while on the phone to the police number 2 this afternoon. It turns out the letter has only just been sent. Not as we were led to believe by the big boss sometime before the meeting that caused the sh!t to hit the fan. Also the number 2 talked with the policeman who 'confessed' to the suspect that it was my wife who labelled him a suspect. He swore to the number 2 that it was the big boss who pressured him into doing this to cover up for the real person who did the deed. The guy who actually did it is the one dealing drugs and we have been told he is being transferred elsewhere. How this will go down is anyones guess and my wife is getting more and more scared of possible consequences.

[Semper]

Phew!

Edited February 18, 2012 by Semper

[thequietman]

it is totally pointless asked these monkeys to investigate anything. they are lazy, corrupt and incompetent.

in a village you need to sort these things yourself.

about 5 years back all my garden tools were taked from the side of my house. it isnt a tall wall so they were got quite easily. my wife always said nobody would touch them, but he did. in total the tools were worth maybe 5000 baht, not a lot.

when they were taken the wife offered a 3000 baht reward for their return. i asked her why so much as the tools were now second hand and not even worth that. she asked me to be patient. two days later all the tools were returned to the side of the house by a group of young men who have always been friends with the wife and I. A quick chat to them by the wife, 500 baht handed over on top of the 3000 and they were gone.

next day we heard that the local thief and scumbag was admiited to hospital with injuries similar to a bike accident but he wasnt on his bike.

you can drop 10 baht in our drive now and it will still be there a week later. police work......... local style.

the wife explained her methods to me later and she is such a timid person i was taken aback. but it was effective and no problems since.

good luck with your own problems. apart from needing to report the theft for insurance purposes, i wouldnt bother involving police here at all.

[damo]

What part of Thailand are you in?

[thenervoussurgeon]

Some years ago we kept losing drain covers locally and a young lad was badly injured when he crashed into one of the holes ,i presume the locals took it on themselves to look out for the thief as some time later a guy was found shot to death in his pickup with drain covers in it . since that time no one was ever caught for the killing and we have NEVER EVER lost another drain cover ,strange that.

[Pseudolus]

Wouldn't effectively paying someone to get a beating mean you are just as likely to get a call from the law and a beating as well? For a bag of old tools? I like your style (or your wife's) but I would be worried about 1) getting knicked, especially if the beating went too far 2) The person getting the beating dishing some thing back to you on the basis a criminal knows nastier people that us good guys 3) the people doing the beating using this to continue getting money from you for ever after with the threat of the first 2 if cash was not forthcoming.

[Bagwan]

My understanding of the law as it is administered in my village is that a suspect is chosen, and he is given a stern warning. The second time he is locked up for a week or so. Third time round the block and he disappears - never to return.

[Sing_Sling]

Isn't it great living in a third-world environment where the local cops are drug-dealing scum and foreigners are seen as easy prey.

It will take a long, long time for this to change, especially in the countryside where they see Caucasians as retired old folks who support their local family . . . at least in places like Bangkok there are enough professional westerners who break this stereotype

[HeavyDrinker]

Sounds to me like you've opened can of worms after can of worms here to the extent that you are now being hounded out...all for 35K...???

Frankly you should just have got the coppers in, got their report, contacted your insurers and left it.

I know hindsight is a wonderful thing but I wonder exactly what you expected from them?

Surely as you're married to a Thai, you've been here long enough to know not to expect miracles in such cases and also to know better than to start kicking up a fuss.

Sometimes in Thailand you just have to swallow sh*te and get on with things with a smile on your face.

[farang000999]

just get a dog, gun, and security system. build a fence. etc.

it is totally pointless asked these monkeys to investigate anything. they are lazy, corrupt and incompetent.

in a village you need to sort these things yourself.

about 5 years back all my garden tools were taked from the side of my house. it isnt a tall wall so they were got quite easily. my wife always said nobody would touch them, but he did. in total the tools were worth maybe 5000 baht, not a lot.

when they were taken the wife offered a 3000 baht reward for their return. i asked her why so much as the tools were now second hand and not even worth that. she asked me to be patient. two days later all the tools were returned to the side of the house by a group of young men who have always been friends with the wife and I. A quick chat to them by the wife, 500 baht handed over on top of the 3000 and they were gone.

next day we heard that the local thief and scumbag was admiited to hospital with injuries similar to a bike accident but he wasnt on his bike.

you can drop 10 baht in our drive now and it will still be there a week later. police work......... local style.

the wife explained her methods to me later and she is such a timid person i was taken aback. but it was effective and no problems since.

good luck with your own problems. apart from needing to report the theft for insurance purposes, i wouldnt bother involving police here at all.

your wife is scary. i would watch your private parts closely.

[Spoonman]

Why do neither you or wife not wear your wedding rings ?

[PattayaParent]

Isn't it great living in a third-world environment where the local cops are drug-dealing scum and foreigners are seen as easy prey.

It will take a long, long time for this to change, especially in the countryside where they see Caucasians as retired old folks who support their local family . . . at least in places like Bangkok there are enough professional westerners who break this stereotype

Yes, reminds me a lot of Australia.

[Jimi007]

Sounds to me like you've opened can of worms after can of worms here to the extent that you are now being hounded out...all for 35K...??? Frankly you should just have got the coppers in, got their report, contacted your insurers and left it. I know hindsight is a wonderful thing but I wonder exactly what you expected from them? Surely as you're married to a Thai, you've been here long enough to know not to expect miracles in such cases and also to know better than to start kicking up a fuss. Sometimes in Thailand you just have to swallow sh*te and get on with things with a smile on your face.

I agree! I had a motorbike stolen once. I knew the guy and saw him take it. I even had a picture of him. He was arrested within hours. I got a call that my motorbike was at the police station, come and identify my bike and the thief. I had a friend drive me, so I could pick up the bike. I went in, identified the bike and the man. He was local mafia and a known drug dealer. He had already threatened me to go back to my country or die in Thailand. But there he was in handcuffs. The police lieutenant asked me how long have I lived in Thailand, then said I think you know what you should do. Yes, I knew. I went Thai on him, made him feel bad for doing what he did. He high waied me several times, saying sorry, sorry! The police captain then told him to apologize to me and that he would never bother me again if I let him go. Which I did and I have never been bothered again. The next day I got a call from the police captain telling me it took 10 officers to go and arrest him and recover my motorbike. He wanted 8,000 Baht. I said pang! He then said 3,000 Baht. I said okay. So maybe the OP neglected to pay for any police services, at least that's my guess. Plus it doesn't help living where you are one of the few farang targets either. And surprise, surprise, the police are inept, corrupt and most likely at least one of them is a major drug supplier.

[Sing_Sling]

Why do neither you or wife not wear your wedding rings ?

Completely irrelevant question . . . but I was wondering the same.

[longstebe]

And I get peeved when people take our fruit.

[necronx99]

Why do neither you or wife not wear your wedding rings ?

Completely irrelevant question . . . but I was wondering the same.

? Only ring I wear in bed doesn't go on my finger..

[OZEMADE]

Why do neither you or wife not wear your wedding rings ?

Completely irrelevant question . . . but I was wondering the same.

? Only ring I wear in bed doesn't go on my finger..

Through your nose?

[Sing_Sling]

Why do neither you or wife not wear your wedding rings ?

Completely irrelevant question . . . but I was wondering the same.

? Only ring I wear in bed doesn't go on my finger..

Through your nose?

Ugh, I wish I hadn't started this . . .

[Ijustwannateach]

Well, it seems to me OP's story provides some advisory notes:

1. Make sure your valuables are either locked up in a difficult-and-noisy-to-destroy place, and/or in the same room you sleep in.

2. Have a dangerous-looking dog (or 4) if you are in a remote or small-village area.

3. Try to make sure you are friends with at least one person working for the police, and make sure they (the police) know it BEFORE they consider doing something stupid. Perhaps visit them at the police station and bring a gift.

[edwinchester]

Why do neither you or wife not wear your wedding rings ?

We do, just not all the time as we both enjoy working in the garden which can take its toll on soft Thai gold.

[edwinchester]

Sounds to me like you've opened can of worms after can of worms here to the extent that you are now being hounded out...all for 35K...??? Frankly you should just have got the coppers in, got their report, contacted your insurers and left it. I know hindsight is a wonderful thing but I wonder exactly what you expected from them? Surely as you're married to a Thai, you've been here long enough to know not to expect miracles in such cases and also to know better than to start kicking up a fuss. Sometimes in Thailand you just have to swallow sh*te and get on with things with a smile on your face.

I agree! I had a motorbike stolen once. I knew the guy and saw him take it. I even had a picture of him. He was arrested within hours. I got a call that my motorbike was at the police station, come and identify my bike and the thief. I had a friend drive me, so I could pick up the bike. I went in, identified the bike and the man. He was local mafia and a known drug dealer. He had already threatened me to go back to my country or die in Thailand. But there he was in handcuffs. The police lieutenant asked me how long have I lived in Thailand, then said I think you know what you should do. Yes, I knew. I went Thai on him, made him feel bad for doing what he did. He high waied me several times, saying sorry, sorry! The police captain then told him to apologize to me and that he would never bother me again if I let him go. Which I did and I have never been bothered again. The next day I got a call from the police captain telling me it took 10 officers to go and arrest him and recover my motorbike. He wanted 8,000 Baht. I said pang! He then said 3,000 Baht. I said okay. So maybe the OP neglected to pay for any police services, at least that's my guess. Plus it doesn't help living where you are one of the few farang targets either. And surprise, surprise, the police are inept, corrupt and most likely at least one of them is a major drug supplier.

Actually we told the police that there is a no questions asked 10k bht reward for getting our property back.

[edwinchester]

Sounds to me like you've opened can of worms after can of worms here to the extent that you are now being hounded out...all for 35K...???

Frankly you should just have got the coppers in, got their report, contacted your insurers and left it.

I know hindsight is a wonderful thing but I wonder exactly what you expected from them?

Surely as you're married to a Thai, you've been here long enough to know not to expect miracles in such cases and also to know better than to start kicking up a fuss.

Sometimes in Thailand you just have to swallow sh*te and get on with things with a smile on your face.

I have been here long enough to know the score or thought that I did. All we did was get the report so wifey could get here id card and then ask if they could please send the letter to AIS to get my phone tracked after they sat on their hands for 6 weeks.

The 'mistake' was telling the police where the cards were found.

[norrona]

all the holier than thou types on here with what they would have done make me laugh but feel sick at the same time...the OP and his wife did nothing wrong and are the victims here, all they wanted was the report so they could make an insurance claim and get ID cards...as for the 'why don't you wear your wedding ring' loaded questions...poor attempts to get a bite and fill their empty days....

to the OP thanks for sharing your experience with everyone and letting us know what to expect should it ever happen...I feel for you as now you don't feel comfortable in your own home, something I have experienced and I never want to go through with ever again!

Edited February 20, 2012 by norrona

[weka]

Thanks for taking the time to document your run in with criminals...and the burglars.

I can't stand any of these officials charged with protecting Thai society - lowest forms of life on the planet. But I understand your need for signed documents

[BookMan]

Question for the OP.

How has all this panned out now?

[pakorn7]

Why do neither you or wife not wear your wedding rings ?

Completely irrelevant question . . . but I was wondering the same.

? Only ring I wear in bed doesn't go on my finger..

I pity you. You needed those aids.

[edwinchester]

Question for the OP.

How has all this panned out now?

Hi BM. In a nutshell not alot further happened. A few weeks ago the police came to our house with a copy of the letter they supposedly sent to AIS to ask for my phone to be tracked. It detailed the wrong number! When my wife contacted AIS they said they had received nothing for either my actual number or the wrong one in the letter.

The 'unpleasantness' from the suspects family has lessened although there are reports from a friend who lives next door to them of threats when the lao khao is flowing.

Wifey still wants to put our house on the market so maybe that will happen in the near future. Funnily enough we recently had an offer out of the blue for our house which wifey rejected as being nowhere near enough so at least no danger of it being undersold haha!

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect App

[BookMan]

Question for the OP.

How has all this panned out now?

Hi BM. In a nutshell not alot further happened. A few weeks ago the police came to our house with a copy of the letter they supposedly sent to AIS to ask for my phone to be tracked. It detailed the wrong number! When my wife contacted AIS they said they had received nothing for either my actual number or the wrong one in the letter.

The 'unpleasantness' from the suspects family has lessened although there are reports from a friend who lives next door to them of threats when the lao khao is flowing.

Wifey still wants to put our house on the market so maybe that will happen in the near future. Funnily enough we recently had an offer out of the blue for our house which wifey rejected as being nowhere near enough so at least no danger of it being undersold haha!

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect App

Thanks for the update edwinchester.

Good to hear the situation hasn't deteriorated too badly... nothing worse than being 'forced' to move, but of course u have to watch your safety.

I am always bemused when u hear stories of criminals who are 'grassed up' by their victims...and then they turn their blame for being caught onto the victim. Absurd, but happens everywhere.

[nocturn]

Question for the OP.

How has all this panned out now?

Hi BM. In a nutshell not alot further happened. A few weeks ago the police came to our house with a copy of the letter they supposedly sent to AIS to ask for my phone to be tracked. It detailed the wrong number! When my wife contacted AIS they said they had received nothing for either my actual number or the wrong one in the letter.

The 'unpleasantness' from the suspects family has lessened although there are reports from a friend who lives next door to them of threats when the lao khao is flowing.

Wifey still wants to put our house on the market so maybe that will happen in the near future. Funnily enough we recently had an offer out of the blue for our house which wifey rejected as being nowhere near enough so at least no danger of it being undersold haha!

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect App

Thanks for the update edwinchester.

Good to hear the situation hasn't deteriorated too badly... nothing worse than being 'forced' to move, but of course u have to watch your safety.

I am always bemused when u hear stories of criminals who are 'grassed up' by their victims...and then they turn their blame for being caught onto the victim. Absurd, but happens everywhere.

i hear surayu has some lovely neighbors, perhaps you could look into something near his gaff