Foreigner And 2 Thais, Randomly Shot By Pattaya Teenager

[Fgis]

Was the kid half American ?

[NanLaew]

I thought that Songran was over!!

Sonkran finishes in Pattaya today at dark. Just so you know it is always this way.

And the reason I am going to Pattaya for dinner tomorrow!

[CantSpell]

It's actually a great place to live with some serious downsides.

All big cities have crime.... Compared to Mexico though, it's a gated community....

Exactly, and I am ready to bet that the percentage of crimes is much lower than in resorts areas or even big cities of other countries.

Especially South America..

Not Africa though, no gun crime there, only machetes and genocides...

It is a sad news though.

[NoshowJones]

Anybody in any country should be allowed to own a gun as long as they keep it in their house. There are always scum in all countries who will break into a house to steal your property, and even kill you if you get in their way, you must take steps to protect yourself and your family. This applies in any country in the world.

[TeddyFlyfisherDavis]

Pattaya is such a wonderful place...

What makes it though, that people still wanna live there ?

It's actually a great place to live with some serious downsides.

All big cities have crime. I don't recall the last time a random shooter hit a westerner like this incident. It is definitely NEWS. There is a good bit of gang related shooting in some areas, where innocent people could be at risk. Compared to Mexico though, it's a gated community.

I do agree with you but...(there is always a but) You could not give me a two story house, fully airconned, four bar girls a day and all the single malt scotch in Thailand for me to change my mind about that place. I was there for three days on a buying trip and couldn't wait to leave. It is the "serious downsides" that I have issues with. Detroit, Chicago, DC and NYC along with many others are far larger cities, and all of Mexico included, have the same situations, problems, what ever...It is all relative. I will not ever live in those cities either, although I havein the past. For those that find Pattaya suits them best I can only say please keep your heads down and be alert...Many places when compared to Mexico are "gated communities". I could not agree more...For myself, I am happy here in snoozeville,Phan, Chiang Rai...Peace and be safe.

[phl]

Pattaya is such a wonderful place...

What makes it though, that people still wanna live there ?

It's actually a great place to live with some serious downsides.

All big cities have crime. I don't recall the last time a random shooter hit a westerner like this incident. It is definitely NEWS. There is a good bit of gang related shooting in some areas, where innocent people could be at risk. Compared to Mexico though, it's a gated community.

exactly!, pattaya does not get rocked by earthquakes, does not get paralyzed by red mob or yellow mob, does not get hit by tsunami's, does not have tuk tuk mafia's

does have foreign news and tv, papers, variety of food, variety of entertainment etc etc etc

i am actually glad so many "know it all" do not come to pattaya, makes it a better place for the rest of us

[connda]

Pattaya is such a wonderful place...

What makes it though, that people still wanna live there ?

It's actually a great place to live with some serious downsides.

All big cities have crime. I don't recall the last time a random shooter hit a westerner like this incident. It is definitely NEWS. There is a good bit of gang related shooting in some areas, where innocent people could be at risk. Compared to Mexico though, it's a gated community.

I do agree with you but...(there is always a but) You could not give me a two story house, fully airconned, four bar girls a day and all the single malt scotch in Thailand for me to change my mind about that place. I was there for three days on a buying trip and couldn't wait to leave. It is the "serious downsides" that I have issues with. Detroit, Chicago, DC and NYC along with many others are far larger cities, and all of Mexico included, have the same situations, problems, what ever...It is all relative. I will not ever live in those cities either, although I havein the past. For those that find Pattaya suits them best I can only say please keep your heads down and be alert...Many places when compared to Mexico are "gated communities". I could not agree more...For myself, I am happy here in snoozeville,Phan, Chiang Rai...Peace and be safe.

Agreed. I was in Pattaya in 1986 while in the military. Nice laid-back place...loved it. Came back in 2007 to visit -- spent one night and left the next morning as soon as I could find a bus back to BKK. Settled in Chiang Mai. Yeah, I like quiet and boring nowadays. Pattaya is way too "in your face". Some people enjoy that type of scene and that's fine. Just not my cup of tea.

[kruangfaifar]

one fact i find very scary is that this was on soi 8, literally right outside of police station, ie no fear at all, not to mention with the crack down of the crack downs, for some reason the number of shootings has increased

Thats a true statement first there is one shooting then it increases to two shootings then later increases to three nobody has found a way to reduce the number yet/ I am sorry I am sure that you were referring to the incidence of shootings but do you mean in Pattaya, Thailand, the world or where?

[Philatio]

Hope they are all ok and the man is caught.

I heard possibly wrong but I am sure someone on Thai visa will know, that for a Thai national to own a gun they must have a minimum of 1 million THB in the bank. If this is the case how do so many young Thai's have them. In addition what is the penalty for having a gun without proper paperwork.

Thais do not need 1 million Baht at all! They need to be of good character, and probably given the approval of the village head guy and then the police -the application for the gun license is something like 17 Baht.

If you don't want the hassle of going through the normal channels you can pick up some pretty nasty handguns for less than 3000 Baht. (If you know the right /wrong people)

Edited April 19, 2012 by Philatio

[bdenner]

If you want to avoid brainless crime like this, don't vacation at Pattaya or Puket. There are too many other laid-back places to visit in Thailand.

That is the most bizarre statement I have read on this forum for some time and I hate Pattaya and Phuket.

If YOU want to avoid a brainless crime like this DON'T GET OUT OF BED! Stay in a cocoon because the perpetrator is present in all societies.

[pieandmash]

I was told a group of Thai youths run up Soi 8 a few days ago waving machetes about.

[Johnniey]

What on earth is a 66 year old man doing in a bar in that area with his wife!

[Jingthing]

What on earth is a 66 year old man doing in a bar in that area with his wife!

That's rich. So it was his fault he got shot? Okie dokie.

[Johnniey]

What on earth is a 66 year old man doing in a bar in that area with his wife!

That's rich. So it was his fault he got shot? Okie dokie.

Of course not - don't put words in my mouth.

Just saying, it's rather strange a married man going to a brothel with his wife.

[pattayadingo]

What on earth is a 66 year old man doing in a bar in that area with his wife!

That's rich. So it was his fault he got shot? Okie dokie.

Of course not - don't put words in my mouth.

Just saying, it's rather strange a married man going to a brothel with his wife.

It was a bar, not a brothel. Big difference.

Can a man not take his wife wherever they want to go? If not, why not?

[Jingthing]

It's not relevant where they were. They could have just as easily been walking down the road.

[surayu]

That's just the Songkran, do as many victims as you can, the only "rule" that seems to apply is that you have to use only water to kill or injury someone, then someone realize that there is not enough time left to be the number one and try to cheat this way, if you are not thai you cannot undelstand

[Johnniey]

What on earth is a 66 year old man doing in a bar in that area with his wife!

That's rich. So it was his fault he got shot? Okie dokie.

Of course not - don't put words in my mouth.

Just saying, it's rather strange a married man going to a brothel with his wife.

It was a bar, not a brothel. Big difference.

Can a man not take his wife wherever they want to go? If not, why not?

I've been to bars in soi 8 and there definitely was NOT a big difference. More like brothels that sell alcohol. The brothels even had the wares showing on outside on the street!

[RabC]

Anybody in any country should be allowed to own a gun as long as they keep it in their house. There are always scum in all countries who will break into a house to steal your property, and even kill you if you get in their way, you must take steps to protect yourself and your family. This applies in any country in the world.

Spoken like a true Yank, "Its not guns that kill people its people". Where can I sign up for the NRA?

[PoodMaiDai]

exactly!, pattaya does not get rocked by earthquakes, does not get paralyzed by red mob or yellow mob, does not get hit by tsunami's, does not have tuk tuk mafia's

does have foreign news and tv, papers, variety of food, variety of entertainment etc etc etc

i am actually glad so many "know it all" do not come to pattaya, makes it a better place for the rest of us

Sorry mate, Pattaya was hit by red/yellow/blue nonsense. You exchange the tuk tuk mafai for motobike, jetski, police, and russian mafia. And a natural disaster could happen anywhere, at any time.

What you do have is decent weather, lots of restaurants, lots of entertainment, and no one to tell you to stop, slow down, or do something in moderation, so long as you wear a helmet when you drive a scooter. Unfortunately, the place is crawling with bad people, both foreign and locals. So much so that INTERPOL needed an office there. That alone speaks volumes. There was a time when the good far outweighed the bad. Now it's starting to tilt in the other direction.

If the trend continues, and by the looks of things and lack of police control it will, eventually Pattaya will become a very dangerous place to live / visit in the future, much like parts of Mexico. Unless there is a massive clean up and law enforcement push, you can count on that. It happens all over the world and no city is exempt. This is what happens when the police are unwilling / unable to control the youth, the influx of drugs, the influx of weapons, and the influx of gangs. However, in Pattaya, some of the police are involved in all of the above.

Kidnappings are already starting to happen in Pattaya, and the criminals are doing so with no consequences. Big surprise. How can you have a city where tourists are kidnapped and the police do nothing? Like the jet ski cancer, this too will plague Pattaya and is just getting started.

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico is a prime example of what happens when the police (and government) are involved in much/most of the illegal activity and/or can not control the situation. That is sadly the future of Pattaya unless something changes, and fast.

But honestly, what did you expect from a city where the Mayor's father (the notorious Khaman Poh) is a wanted fugitive and is reported as Thailand's biggest crime boss? And that is not a dig on the Mayor, that is just a documented fact. Reports say not a deal was made in Chonburi without Poh collecting money from it. You think that just stopped simply because he has legal issues? A little common sense goes a long way here.

[PoodMaiDai]

Anybody in any country should be allowed to own a gun as long as they keep it in their house. There are always scum in all countries who will break into a house to steal your property, and even kill you if you get in their way, you must take steps to protect yourself and your family. This applies in any country in the world.

Spoken like a true Yank, "Its not guns that kill people its people". Where can I sign up for the NRA?

It would be best if guns didn't exist. But we don't live in that world. What we live in is a world where criminals have guns and honest, hardworking people usually don't. As long as criminals can get them easily, I want to have one too. It doesn't matter to me if I have to get one legally or illegally, or what country I'm in, because when some wanke_r comes into my house and HE has one, I'm not going to be the victim, nor is anyone from my family. What you will have is one dead criminal, and I'll deal with the consequences later. And the most important thing is, I'll be alive to deal with it.

But like I said, I wish they didn't exist at all. What a horrible invention.

[phl]

exactly!, pattaya does not get rocked by earthquakes, does not get paralyzed by red mob or yellow mob, does not get hit by tsunami's, does not have tuk tuk mafia's

does have foreign news and tv, papers, variety of food, variety of entertainment etc etc etc

i am actually glad so many "know it all" do not come to pattaya, makes it a better place for the rest of us

Sorry mate, Pattaya was hit by red/yellow/blue nonsense. You exchange the tuk tuk mafai for motobike, jetski, police, and russian mafia. And a natural disaster could happen anywhere, at any time.

What you do have is decent weather, lots of restaurants, lots of entertainment, and no one to tell you to stop, slow down, or do something in moderation, so long as you wear a helmet when you drive a scooter. Unfortunately, the place is crawling with bad people, both foreign and locals. So much so that INTERPOL needed an office there. That alone speaks volumes. There was a time when the good far outweighed the bad. Now it's starting to tilt in the other direction.

If the trend continues, and by the looks of things and lack of police control it will, eventually Pattaya will become a very dangerous place to live / visit in the future, much like parts of Mexico. Unless there is a massive clean up and law enforcement push, you can count on that. It happens all over the world and no city is exempt. This is what happens when the police are unwilling / unable to control the youth, the influx of drugs, the influx of weapons, and the influx of gangs. However, in Pattaya, some of the police are involved in all of the above.

Kidnappings are already starting to happen in Pattaya, and the criminals are doing so with no consequences. Big surprise. How can you have a city where tourists are kidnapped and the police do nothing? Like the jet ski cancer, this too will plague Pattaya and is just getting started.

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico is a prime example of what happens when the police (and government) are involved in much/most of the illegal activity and/or can not control the situation. That is sadly the future of Pattaya unless something changes, and fast.

But honestly, what did you expect from a city where the Mayor's father (the notorious Khaman Poh) is a wanted fugitive and is reported as Thailand's biggest crime boss? And that is not a dig on the Mayor, that is just a documented fact. Reports say not a deal was made in Chonburi without Poh collecting money from it. You think that just stopped simply because he has legal issues? A little common sense goes a long way here.

I think you have been reading too many xfiles or something along the lines.

Could you please remind me the dates when red or yellow mob paralyzed the city?

Could you also please tell the date natural disaster struck Pattaya?

Also please do tell me incidents when Russian Mafia(by the way another fiction story) interfered with anyone's life? perhaps a link to some story would be great

Do give some links to "motorcycle mafia" charging some triple rates or extorting anyone.

City is by far under greater control than any other tourist place in Thailand, everyone know their place and act accordingly

Pattaya is expanding at record rates and becoming more and more upmarket as more and more high profile developments are coming in.

There is crime in every single city in the world, in Thailand, not every shooting gets posted on Thai Visa.

Pattaya always gets bashing on Thai VIsa, though funny enough the ones doing he bashing never been past the red light district.

But anyhow, will stop the rant and would love to see the answers and links to the questions asked few lines above

[Jingthing]

It was pretty intense here during the Asean meeting in Pattaya where the world leaders had to be evacuated by copter. Not to mention Abhisit's car being attacked. That was all on the REDS.

[phl]

It was pretty intense here during the Asean meeting in Pattaya where the world leaders had to be evacuated by copter. Not to mention Abhisit's car being attacked. That was all on the REDS.

Yep, BUT

1. It lasted for 1 day or so

2. Did not paralyze the city

[RabC]

It was pretty intense here during the Asean meeting in Pattaya where the world leaders had to be evacuated by copter. Not to mention Abhisit's car being attacked. That was all on the REDS.

Yep, BUT

1. It lasted for 1 day or so

2. Did not paralyze the city

WRONG

3/4 Days and those of us living in South Pattaya or Jomtien had our movements quite severely restricted. I agree Pattaya isn't a bad place to live and it is my choice but please get your facts straight or you just give Pattaya bashers more ammunition.

[sirchai]

What on earth is a 66 year old man doing in a bar in that area with his wife!

What on earth are guys like you doing in such a forum?

Edited April 19, 2012 by sirchai

[PoodMaiDai]

Could you please remind me the dates when red or yellow mob paralyzed the city?

April 2009

The red shirts fought the blue shirts on the street and had a stand off with the Thai ARMY who was armed and ready to shoot them. Then they went after the PM, caused the summit to end early, and trashed the convention center.

Not sure how you missed that one.

Could you also please tell the date natural disaster struck Pattaya?

I said a natural disaster could happen at anytime, anywhere. The location is irrelevant.

However, there is a fault line that runs right down the middle of the Gulf Of Thailand. The "experts" say the threat of a tsunami from a quake from that area is very low, but I wouldn't have a lot of faith in Thai experts. Some of them also said Bangkok wouldn't flood.

In addition to the fault line, here is a seismic hazard image of Thailand. Chonburi is in Zone 1.

Also please do tell me incidents when Russian Mafia (by the way another fiction story) interfered with anyone's life? perhaps a link to some story would be great

Google: "US embassy cables: Russian mafia active in Thailand"

Jet ski scams, human trafficking, money laundering, to name a few. Since we can't name and shame, just know all those Russian dancers and street walkers are not here on their own free will.

We are not allowed to link to other news stories here, but if you spend 2 minutes on google, you'll find what you're looking for.

However, this was posted on Thai Visa so I can link to that:

There are lots of examples. Google is your friend, use it.

Do give some links to "motorcycle mafia" charging some triple rates or extorting anyone.

You new here or what?

Jet skis. "Metered Taxis" who won't turn on meters. Normal taxis. Motorbike taxis. All mafia controlled. Everyone knows this. Pattaya is a "boss" city. It starts with the Mayor's dad and trickles down. Just because you don't know about it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Ever try to catch a Bangkok taxi leaving Pattaya and notice they are sly or very fast picking you up? It's because they will get the shit beat out of them if they are caught picking up anyone in Pattaya without paying their "fee" to the taxi mafia.

[PoodMaiDai]

It was pretty intense here during the Asean meeting in Pattaya where the world leaders had to be evacuated by copter. Not to mention Abhisit's car being attacked. That was all on the REDS.

Yep, BUT

1. It lasted for 1 day or so

2. Did not paralyze the city

Totally wrong on that.

Suk was brought to a standstill, as was a lot of Pattaya as the reds ran the streets and set up camp in north Pattaya. The army blocked certain roads too.

Some parts of Pattaya were OK, sure, but generally, the city was greatly effected during those couple of days, especially the big day. Many shops closed down.

However, 1 day or 10 days, it's all the same. The reds came to Pattaya and effected the city. Don't think it couldn't happen again.

[sirchai]

It was pretty intense here during the Asean meeting in Pattaya where the world leaders had to be evacuated by copter. Not to mention Abhisit's car being attacked. That was all on the REDS.

Yep, BUT

1. It lasted for 1 day or so

2. Did not paralyze the city

WRONG

3/4 Days and those of us living in South Pattaya or Jomtien had our movements quite severely restricted. I agree Pattaya isn't a bad place to live and it is my choice but please get your facts straight or you just give Pattaya bashers more ammunition.

Many people who live in Pattaya tell their families and friend that they live in Thailand.

Like a British couple who made their holiday there for 20 years, but they never saw other places in LOS....

What's so nice there? The dirty beaches, druggies, cheap girls/guys, Go go bars, expensive food, the possibility to jump out of 10th floor without wings,crowded streets, unreal people, low flying and dangerous Ping Pong balls, smelly used by bar girls bananas, too many foreigners, paying too much for anything, etc....

Could go on for hours.

Who would build a house, or buy a condo there, after just knowing some facts???

It's a bad place to live, when knowing other places.

Come to Nong Mek in Sisaket, a big beer also on holidays for 35 baht.

But my dog likes to eat bones, I don't....

Edited April 19, 2012 by sirchai

[phl]

It was pretty intense here during the Asean meeting in Pattaya where the world leaders had to be evacuated by copter. Not to mention Abhisit's car being attacked. That was all on the REDS.

Yep, BUT

1. It lasted for 1 day or so

2. Did not paralyze the city

WRONG

3/4 Days and those of us living in South Pattaya or Jomtien had our movements quite severely restricted. I agree Pattaya isn't a bad place to live and it is my choice but please get your facts straight or you just give Pattaya bashers more ammunition.

Hmmm, i live in Pattaya Tai and had no problems getting around,