British Man, Wife Murdered In Thai Resort

[webfact]

British man, wife murdered in Thai resort

BANGKOK, March 14, 2012 (AFP) - An elderly British man and his Thai wife were robbed and beaten to death by three men, including a chef and a security guard, at a beach resort in Thailand, police said Wednesday.

A worker at the resort in Thap Sakae district of Prachuap Khiri Khan province, 280 kilometres (180 miles) south of Bangkok, found the badly beaten bodies of Michael Raymond, 68 and Suchada Baokhamdee, 52, Tuesday afternoon in their beach front bungalow.

"They were beaten with a chair and other hard objects," case officer Captain Winai Raila-aied told AFP by telephone.

Police have arrested three Thai men, including two resort staff and a villager, who all confessed to robbery and murder.

"At first two suspects -- a chef and a security guard -- admitted they had robbed the couple of 2,000 baht ($67), a mobile phone and a Bangkok Bank ATM card," Winai said.

"Now all three have confessed to their wrongdoing," he said.

The couple had checked in at the resort on the Gulf of Thailand a day earlier.

Winai said Raymond had lived in the northeastern Thai province of Khon Kean for two years since he got married.

Related link: Hua Hin Info portal http://huahin.thaivisa.com

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2012-03-14

[stoneyboy]

Dear oh dear it seems to get worse lately,what a terrible way to go sincere condolences to the families,very sad indeed.

[Payboy]

Which resort and what sort of security do they have in place?

[laurentbkk]

Very sorry for the couple RIP .... what is strange is that nobody heard anything , when you beat someone with a chair I guess there are noises , shouting etc ..... lets wait for the police to investigate .... but what a sad way to leave this world ....

[angiud]

Extremely ferocious and futile crime. Sadly violence is growing in Thailand, year by year

RIP for the poor victims

[Mario2008]

1 post deleted.

Please keep in mind that the family might be looking for more information on the internet and read what you say. So please keep it civil and don't give in to speculation.

[maprao]

Very sad news indeed RIP.

I had my first crime committed against me in over a decade in Thailand.

Is it a sign of the economy? Rise in drug related crime/ People wanting money for nothing?

With both of them being victims it will put to rest any conspiracy theories.

[monty1412]

One more senseless and shocking murder. Condolences to family and friends.. no-one should leave this world in this manner

[landslide]

Does anybody know the name of the resort? I am getting married in Prachuap Khiri Khan in May, and frankly, will want to avoid this hotel.

[yummypizza]

Once again,so very sad, RIP, i kind of ask myself,do these things happen spontaneously or is there always something hidden beween the lines? if it was just a senseless attack for money, we should all be very worried!

[MarkCyr]

Awful news.

[khunkeith]

back when I lived in Korea, about 10 or so years ago, there was an American girl tourist that had been murdered in her hotel room near the US Army garrison in Seoul. She had been stabbed multiple times with a knife. The Korean press had a field day, saying it was an American soldier that did it and, that the Americans should leave Seoul, etc, etc. That American soldiers were brutal and attacked women, stuff like that. So Army CID started working on the investigation with the Korean National police. It turned out that the murderer was an Australian lesbian that was in Seoul for a holiday as well. She was caught at the airport when she tried to leave Korea. Not only had the press tried and convicted the US Army prematurely, but, protests were staged outside the US base in Korea.

Don't judge before all the facts are in.

It's a sad story. I have sympathy for the families and, RIP to the victims themselves.

I was in that area last week on the return ferry from Koh Samui.

[cowslip]

THis is terribly sad.

but it isn't helped by those who start crying and moaning about "crime on the increase" "it's getting worse" - these are ridiculous conclusions to draw from this incident.

[frank2611]

Same as Sydney. The crime rate has gone up immensely. I blame drugs, gambling and violent TV and movies

[Fatherfluffybottom]

Very sad, how somebody can come to do that to the elderly is beyond me.RIP.

[stoneyboy]

THis is terribly sad.

but it isn't helped by those who start crying and moaning about "crime on the increase" "it's getting worse" - these are ridiculous conclusions to draw from this incident.

I don't think it's crying and moaning it's stating the facts,perhaps if you reside in Thailand full time you are more akin to seeing this type of headline on a daily basis and are hardened to it,some like myself who split my time between here and the UK don't always follow the day to day news items when back working in the UK,all I can say from my recent personal experience of the last 3 months being present in Thailand is that I am now more aware of the daily Farang deaths,accidents,stabbings muggings,child abuse and general crime.

Edited March 14, 2012 by stoneyboy

[Steps]

For what is on the whole, considered a beautiful country and culture this is a truly shocking incident and i am continually shocked every other week when i read of such incidents here in Thailand.

The economy is one thing but more importantly, socially/environmentally what is happening here and what has gone wrong for one human being to take away the lives of other human beings in such an horrific way for what has been described as a "robbery"?

[PaulHamon]

Does anybody know the name of the resort? I am getting married in Prachuap Khiri Khan in May, and frankly, will want to avoid this hotel.

Me also... not that it's likely to happen twice in one location, but arg... no what you want to read. very sad.

[indieke]

THis is terribly sad.

but it isn't helped by those who start crying and moaning about "crime on the increase" "it's getting worse" - these are ridiculous conclusions to draw from this incident.

No it is not. I come to Thailand since 23 years. It is like everywhere in the world, everything is going downhill because of greed. Tourism has a lot of disavantages also. Tourists have become targets to some people. They were 30, years ago already in Spain, where it sunny weather attracted tourists from the north of Europe, now people travel further, that is all.

But sure is that 20 years ago I discussed with a Thailand lover, persuaded that all Thais were nice and robbers and murderers did not excist and Thailand was the safest country in the world. Sure, when you stay at the Oriental like he did.

Story of murders robberies HAVE increased a lot. Everywhere there are gates now, guards necessary in places they would not be before.

Very sorry for the family, hope the murders get caught.

[animatic]

RIP the poor victims.

He no doubt just wanted a comfortable retirment with his lady and a bit of travel.

Sad, too sad.

[supaprik]

R.I.P. my condolences to family and friends.... Regardless of what happened there is NO need in senseless, brutal killing, I know this does happen all over the world but this is where I live and it really hits home about the scoundrels we live amongst...

[stevehaigh]

Which resort and what sort of security do they have in place?

i doubt it, i've been to a few beach 'resorts' south of HH and they are just beach bungalows, mostly for Thai weekenders

i always felt completely safe around that area, just goes to show ya!

Edited March 14, 2012 by stevehaigh

[jerrysteve]

My condolences to their families...Lets hope that the police work as hard on solving this case as Norwegian case.c

It does appear that murders, beatings, & robberies seem to be in epidemic proportions, but then again Puket is a high profile place. Perhaps if the Associated Press would pick these stories up more often, Thailand might see a drop in their tourist dollars, but worst things could happen.

[TheGhostWithin]

RIP to this couple, it takes a special kind of expat to live in Isaan, quite different to that which you would find in the more western orientated places.

Being so far from home, I would guess that this was not a crime comittied b family or friends, bearing in mind we know few facts. One would assume there was security in place, though sadly several recent events have shown us that the Thai bargain prices for hotels are often a case of "you get what you pay for". this being said, other hotels are simply amazing in comparison tosimilar priced hotels in our home countries.

Certainly one case which cannot be deemed a suicide by any degree, and requires immediate investigation to locate the persons involved to avoid scaring off the very group of tourists that Thailand has been trying to become the "hub" for catering to..

[steve187]

RIP to both the victims of this senseless crime, i have stayed in this area in the past and it is a nice area, but where we stayed was a little remote.

[submaniac]

This is horrible. It's one thing to take someone's money, but let them live for goodness sakes. How much of a fight could a 68 year old man have made that someone would have caused such a brutal death as beating him with a chair and other hard objects. Rest in peace.

As for the other posters, I don't know if this is necessarily indicative of increasing crime levels (i.e. I wouldn't necessarily panic that violent crime is rising in the area.) The information from the crime scene indicates something more than just a random robbery may have occurred. Bludgeoning in that manner involves a more "personal involvement" (as opposed to shooting someone), indicative of rage. To merely subdue a robbery victim, may only have required a few blows. But to beat someone to death like that would never have been necessary in an ordinary robbery. (It's the difference between stabbing someone 2 or 3 times and stabbing them 40 times). I would suspect (based on stuff learned from the cop ex-GF) either that the killers have a psychological issue with rage, or that the couple may have been specifically targeted for reasons unknown. I hope the police find the killers ASAP.

Edited March 14, 2012 by submaniac

[vernonschmiddy]

Hey Khunkeith... Here's the truth.. The convicted woman was not Australian as you have suggested ...The woman that was charged and aquitted is :Kenzi Snider from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. No one has been convicted of the murder of Jamie Lynn Penich.

[Markaew]

Very sad news indeed RIP.

I had my first crime committed against me in over a decade in Thailand.

Is it a sign of the economy? Rise in drug related crime/ People wanting money for nothing?

With both of them being victims it will put to rest any conspiracy theories.

I believe it's a trend of the Thais opinion of foreigners and it's getting more and more volatile. We should all be looking over our shoulder for potential danger. So much for the Land of Smiles.

[alanferdi]

Dear oh dear it seems to get worse lately,what a terrible way to go sincere condolences to the families,very sad indeed.

I agree its getting worse in Thailand or atleast what was done in secret is now made public... It is sad that the administrative conscience of people here are torn between the reality of a make belief lifestyle and Nirawana. Anyone crossing or not doing their part are wiped out easily. I always thought countries like Russia and some Eastern European countries had such a reputation...but it looks like Thailand is making its mark as "Amazing Thailand" What has happened to your simplistic smile.... it looks more like a guilty one of lure to those who are swept off on first impressions. Its the sub culture groups of "havenots" and "havelots" and we only watch sadly on. Today bavery and heroism is a subtle form of thuggery that smiles on. Its lawlessness that prevails in such countries where the laws are proned to be misinterpreted with languages that has tones and squeaks to mean on thing or the other. I hope justice will be done!

[Markaew]

THis is terribly sad.

but it isn't helped by those who start crying and moaning about "crime on the increase" "it's getting worse" - these are ridiculous conclusions to draw from this incident.

I don't think it's crying and moaning it's stating the facts,perhaps if you reside in Thailand full time you are more akin to seeing this type of headline on a daily basis and are hardened to it,some like myself who split my time between here and the UK don't always follow the day to day news items when back working in the UK,all I can say from my recent personal experience of the last 3 months being present in Thailand is that I am now more aware of the daily Farang deaths,accidents,stabbings muggings,child abuse and general crime.

cowslip,

People are not coming to any conclusion over this one incident. Events like these are in the news multiple times a week.