Australian Stabbed In Heart In Thai Bag-Snatch Tragedy

[oldsailor35]

Terrible tragedy indeed ... nobody should die in that way ..if the police were less busy trying to get money from corruption they would perhaps be more visible to those criminals, I never seen any police patrol in those very touristic areas.. I might be wrong of course .Well Thailand is not safe anymore that for sure.

Whatever !............it really depends on where you live. I live on Samui and feel perfectly safe. However i don't think i could feel the same if i was living in either Phuket or Pattaya.

[oldsailor35]

RIP, murdered 60 years old Perth Travel Agent.

Its all over the ABC news here. A Perth travel agents are shocked as Phuket is the safest place to travel and this is the first attack in that area.

Safetest place to travel, the first attack in this area.....................Utter bull shit !

[billbus12]

I think Thailand is getting bad now i travel there for the last five years now but now you must be careful where you go must always check bank fraud or watch your wallet at mall and Thai women you meet Thailand is by fare the most beautiful country i've been to but i here bad news now.

[bangkokheat]

after reading this post this morning it made me realise, thai police covering the tourist areas that pay heavily to become a cop, lose their valuable time making money if they spent too much time on a crime. They have to LOOK like they are proactive then get back to their money making antics. To spend a week solving a crime would cost them dearly financially

[Reasonableman]

oh man, this is not cool,with all the talk about saving face in this country, where's the face in a cowardly act like this? it may not have been Thais, but they were men in Thailand, what the hell is going on here? forget jetski's and scams,this is the stuff tourists are really scared of, being attacked and killed while taking a pleasant walk...dam_n it, after Phi Phi, this one could seal their fate...RIP and condolences to families.

Not according to Thais, listening to 3AW radio streamed from Melbourne they spoke to a spokeswoman from the Phuket hotels association or similar who says that this is an extremely isolated incident and thefts and other crimes in Phuket are very low. They do not believe that an incident such as this will have an impact on tourism.

This statement is utter rubbish. I lived in Phuket for nearly two years and it was common knowledge that men, usually two on one motorcycle targeted mainly women at night for bag snatches. The real danger route was between Kata and Rawai on the coast road. This statement by some Thai with a vested interest in tourism is complete crap. My advice is don't go to Phuket, the shithole of Thailand.

You mean Pattaya has suddenly gone upmarket??

[blueshark]

its time to stop the corny remarks about the police force .... its no longer a joke .....i cannot understand why a country such as australia does not slap a travel ban on this place immediately ...the phuket police are nothing but tea money collectors , they see tourists purely as a source of income .... until corruption is dealt with we will live in a lawless society ... so time to bail , tell your friends , colleagues , business associates stay away ....go to Myanamar ....

I totally agree with you. I am sick and tired also of the constant inability of the corrupt police and courts in this country. Just useless.

They need to get to grips with themselves first before being any kind of host.

I will write to my all my friends nd family lettin them know they shouldnt come.

I am pulling my family out of this S**t hole next month, it just isnt worth the risk having them here any more.

[TonyBee]

Terrible tragedy indeed ... nobody should die in that way ..if the police were less busy trying to get money from corruption they would perhaps be more visible to those criminals, I never seen any police patrol in those very touristic areas.. I might be wrong of course .Well Thailand is not safe anymore that for sure.

This is a tradagdy, is the post above saying the police in Australia are corrupt as well, because unfortuantly tourists get mugged and murded in Australia too, its not just a Thai thing.read some Indian / Irish Australian news papers, Tourists die here as well.

[domma56]

I just said to my Thai girlfriend, this type of senseless violence scares me, her reply ok you don't like Thailand go, not a word from her about the women attacked its like it does not register.

She must really love you.

Don't twist it like that. My Thai friends say the same thing. What else can they say. The typical Thai is bombarded on a daily basis by this sh*t. If they speak out they are smacked down. This is A country held back by its endemic corruption. Who can the average Joe Blow turn to for help, for hope? Is it any wonder why radical groups that promise solutions are so quickly embraced, or a man with a questionable history is seen as a source of salvation?

Sadly i thought the same, you really love me ? they say love is blind, but I have have removed my blindfold, a quick phone call tomorrow to Cathay Pacific, while I am alone of course.

[Ned]

I stayed down in Patong in 1975. There were only six or eight other farang there in the whole area. An Austrian guy who was staying in town went for a walk along the beach at sunset and was stabbed to death and robbed. They caught a couple of locals the next day in town trying to cash his travellers cheques.

[pagallim]

They are extremely selective about the stories that make it to the national papers.

Very disturbing that I can not find the story on the newspaper website related tot the forum nor the "other one"!

It's being carried by the other Phuket newspaper, and has been for some hours.

[baboon]

This terrible story is certainly a blow to those that argue Phuket is fine providing you avoid Patong. Let us hope the culprits are caught quickly and punished severely.

[mav000]

Amazing, politicians go all over the media slamming Lady Gaga for joking about buying a fake rolex. Saying "this will harm the reputation of Thailand". Another joke of a politician goes on tv blasting college girls for wearing short skirts, yes, also saying "this hurts the image of Thailand". And maybe the best example of inept politicians, when they went on a campaign to get fat policemen in shape. Spending millions of baht to send them to yoga classes, and placing them on special diets. The reason? Of coarse, saying tourists visiting here will think they are fat and lazy, hurting the "image" of Thailand. Corruption is cool, but fat, no no no!

Let me know how many politicians go on the air blasting the animals who killed this poor lady. Or if any politician goes to the media about the unfortunate ladies who recently died in a hotel room from what appears to be poisoning. I guess these two recent incidents won't do anything to hurt the fine reputation of Thailand.

I mean, you don't really think food poisoning- killing one girl, or innocent tourists walking down a street getting stabbed- one killed, could possibly harm the reputation of Thailand- do you?

[teatree]

This is another example of why I have never been to Phuket and will probably never go.

Scum TukTuk drivers, scum police, scum jetski operators.

I would not advise anyone to go there unless you want to be ripped off.

[craigt3365]

Jeez guys, show some respect. A number of posts have been removed and one member is enjoying a 24 hour posting holiday to cool off. Please abide by forum rules.

[jalansanitwong]

There will be no reaction from the Australian gov except for maybe a limp wristed media memo advising tourists to be diligent when o/seas.

When there was a couple of minor incidents involving Indian tourists being attacked in Melbourne the Indian press went nuts resulting in an immediate declinre in tourist arrivals. That never happens here in LOS.

Not surprisingly one of the Indian 'victims' had been involved in an insurance scam involving torching a car. It went wrong severely burning the stupid Indian. No response or apology from the nationalistic Indian press of course.

[bangkokheat]

What a terrible, senseless murder, all for a handbag and probably a few thousand baht.

Condolences to her family and friends.

What a terrible, senseless murder, all for a handbag and probably a few thousand baht.

A typical ignorant farang remark.

No disrespect intended to the poster, but that remark shows the lack of understanding that some people show for the reality of life for many poor people in the "Land Of Smiles".

There are some people for who a "few thousand Baht" is a fortune, it can litterly mean life instead of death.

I have no idea why they actually wanted that money....but I do know that in all the tourist bull---t that Phuket loves to display for foriegners with money to spend freely, there is a seedy and desperate reality beneath the phoney tourist glitter.

Drugs and the use of drugs to escape the hopeless of life for those people is one prime cause that prompts those people to commit crimes like this one.

That's the reality of "tourisim" in Thailand....and Phuket and Pattaya are prime examples of that reality. No matter what the 'tourism business" spokesmen claim.

Although I'm truely sorry for the victims of this crime, maybe the lessons the friends of the victim should takr back to Oz is that this crime shows the true nature of Thailand and it's tourisim business.

I cant believe some of the insensitive replies on here, so your saying cut the crims some slack,? there are a lot of good people in thailand that are dirt poor that wouldnt kill for money, they have dignity and self respect you moron, its not only the murderers and thieves in thailand that scare me, its also people like you with your warped views

[FarangTalk]

Recently the Aussie Embassy in BKK admitted Thailand was the one of the most dangerous tourism destinations for Australian tourists.

The British and Swedish Consulates have also issued similar statements.

[oldsailor35]

its time to stop the corny remarks about the police force .... its no longer a joke .....i cannot understand why a country such as australia does not slap a travel ban on this place immediately ...the phuket police are nothing but tea money collectors , they see tourists purely as a source of income .... until corruption is dealt with we will live in a lawless society ... so time to bail , tell your friends , colleagues , business associates stay away ....go to Myanamar ....

If I am reading your post correctly ... you want the Australian Government to 'slap a ban' of Phuket or on Thailand?

Phuket maybe be difficult to do because it's not a Nation.

The whole of Thailand is not Phuket.

Governments can, and frequently do, slap travel warnings and advisories on countries and various parts of countries that they consider not safe.

Usually this is because of a major threat such as civil war or major civil disturbance, but in these cases they withdraw all government personnel, including consular services, advise their citizens to leave the area immediately and issue the warning against all unnecessary travel to the affected area.

In such cases travel agencies, cruises etc have to also avoid the area as they may be held liable.

Now I am not suggesting that Australia should go to such an extreme measure, but the threat of such an action of other incidents occurred is a powerful economic weapon, especially in tourist dependent areas.

As for the Australian travel agencies selling holidays to Phuket - if they cannot guarantee the safety of one of their own, how can they guarantee it to their customers - it will be interesting to know if greed overcomes prudence.

Crobe

I guess, that it won't be long before travel insurance companies either put heavy restrictions on travel to Phuket policies,charge exhorbatant rates or refuse to insure at all. his would make the people think twice about going there.

[FarangTalk]

I personally knew a Scottish woman that was killed in Bangkok a few years ago by bag snatchers.

It happened in Sukhumvit Soi 22. Story was on here when it happened.

[pagallim]

This is another example of why I have never been to Phuket and will probably never go.

Scum TukTuk drivers, scum police, scum jetski operators.

I would not advise anyone to go there unless you want to be ripped off.

There are thousands of us expats who live happily on Phuket, and like everyone else, only experience the sad stories through the media rather than personally. Remember that Phuket is a province, and you can't make wholesale condemnation on the happenings in the tourist areas. Of course there are problems that contribute to crime, notably the chain of corruption that exists in the local Thai society.

[NoshowJones]

Terrible tragedy indeed ... nobody should die in that way ..if the police were less busy trying to get money from corruption they would perhaps be more visible to those criminals, I never seen any police patrol in those very touristic areas.. I might be wrong of course .Well Thailand is not safe anymore that for sure.

It's never been safe. This type of murder has been occurring in Phuket and other tourist areas for decades, in fact ever since tourists started coming. When there were only backpacker bungalows on the beaches of Phuket, backpackers were regularly attacked and shot dead or knifed, even in broad daylight, sometimes in their hotel rooms. The police made a bit more effort in those days and also had the "communist" bandits to deal with in Phuket and the South as well as the Muslim insurgents. Now, as you say, they are only interested in corruption. They have to pay handsomely for transfers and promotions to these lucrative tourist areas and then have to pay a fixed monthly rental payment to stay in the job. Obviously they are there to rake in as much as they can.

I believe there is something in a lot of what you say, but I could not walk around the centre of Glasgow or any shopping areas after dark and sometimes during the day without being approached by menacing people, I can walk about Bangkok anytime without fears for my safety, though that is not to say nothing will happen, anything can happen, but I do feel safer here if you take away places like Phuket which I have never been.

[NoshowJones]

Terrible tragedy indeed ... nobody should die in that way ..if the police were less busy trying to get money from corruption they would perhaps be more visible to those criminals, I never seen any police patrol in those very touristic areas.. I might be wrong of course .Well Thailand is not safe anymore that for sure.

I still think Thailand is one of the safest countries in the world, every country has bad bastards like the two involved in this tragedy, but I feel much safer in Bangkok or even Pattaya than I do in Glasgow, or would feel in any city in the UK.

Have you been reading the Thai news over the past few months? There were always isolated incidents but violent crime against tourists, particularly in Phuket, is definitely getting worse.

I'm form South London and I don't always feel safe on the streets there. Like you, I used to feel safer in Thailand, initially Bangkok and latterly Phuket, but it is no longer the case. Many incidents are not reported, others are but don't make the press.

This is a particularly disturbing incident and my sympathy goes out to the friends and family of the deceased.

I do take your point Madmitch, I have two mates from the London area and they say it is quite safe.

[cdmtdm]

...the phuket police are nothing but tea money collectors , they see tourists purely as a source of income .... until corruption is dealt with we will live in a lawless society ... so time to bail , tell your friends , colleagues , business associates stay away ....go to Myanamar ....

Wake up call, a lot of the "Farang" here rely on police corruption and love it because they can make their dirty deals and have power over other people if they pay the right price. How many times have I heard people talk about their advantages here using Thai police? There is a reason this corruption is a smooth-running machine, it isn't just a one-way corruption practice. What gives you the idea that Myanmar has a less corrupt system, or that it won't follow in Thailand's path once the investors come to get their advantages and perks if they grease palms in that country as well? Please, this is a racist comment, you are ignoring the basis of why you believe the police are corrupt.

you obviously walk around with your head in the clouds ....racist ...try being a farang in phuket then u may understand what its like .... stupid post

[NoshowJones]

Terrible tragedy indeed ... nobody should die in that way ..if the police were less busy trying to get money from corruption they would perhaps be more visible to those criminals, I never seen any police patrol in those very touristic areas.. I might be wrong of course .Well Thailand is not safe anymore that for sure.

I still think Thailand is one of the safest countries in the world, every country has bad bastards like the two involved in this tragedy, but I feel much safer in Bangkok or even Pattaya than I do in Glasgow, or would feel in any city in the UK.

You may well FEEL safer but there are no grounds to assert that Thailand IS safer. Even with the Thai's manipulation of the stats, Glasgow & Scotland are much safer places than Bangkok & Thailand. For Thais Thailand has always been a dangerous place but they never used to harm the goose that lays the golden egg to such an extent.

I don't agree with you Jimmu, Bangkok is much safer per head of population that Glasgow is.

[NomadJoe]

The RTP will not take this lightly. I suspect they will have made arrests by the end of the day.

yes they always arrest someone ...but whats the point if the crims do little or no time? the sad thing this continues to happen because the police force is corrupt ... 350k and you can be a cop in LOS ..... anyone follow the cheating in police exams story ?

Not to go off topic, but the news of the police exam cheating is actually a good sign. It's good because it's actually making news. Of course in Thailand cheating is the norm, university, police exams, etc. Talk to any university student and they will tell you. The fact that it actually is starting to make news is a sign things are starting to change.

On high profile cases like this the police are actually quite efficient. They can work very quickly when they want to because they aren't hindered by things like search and seizure laws or limits on what they can do during interrogations like in the west. And now with cameras covering all the islands roads...just watch. Announcement to come later today, tomorrow at the latest.

[freedom4life]

Catch them and do the same thing they did to the women...instant justice.

[tropo]

.....i cannot understand why a country such as australia does not slap a travel ban on this place immediately ...

Are you serious? A travel ban? It doesn't work like that in the free world.

[Yunla]

]I believe there is something in a lot of what you say, but I could not walk around the centre of Glasgow or any shopping areas after dark and sometimes during the day without being approached by menacing people, I can walk about Bangkok anytime without fears for my safety, though that is not to say nothing will happen, anything can happen, but I do feel safer here if you take away places like Phuket which I have never been.

Its true that if you walk with cameras and nice bags, maybe dressed more expensively than the locals, it will attract criminals like sharks to blood. That is true allover the world if you go to the bad neighbourhoods. You are so right about Glasgow, and there are poor neighbourhoods all over England too where you would just never go walking through those neighbourhoods wearing a nice camera and a cheerful smile, or you would never do that a second time anyway. Theres serious predators allover urban UK who wouldn't give you a second chance at all. I've been burgled and mugged so many times around city Leeds, but I've never been burgled or mugged in city Bangkok in the same timespan. But most likely in Europe the cops will arrest the guilty people, or at least try to. The difference and problem in Thailand is the lack of legal accountability, due to the police-corruption and ineptitude which is as common here as the sun rising in the morning.

Edited June 21, 2012 by Yunla

[notime]

Can an incident like this happened in Australia? Maybe yes. But I lived there for 25 years and never heard of a 60-y.o. Japanese lady walking down the street in Gold Cost or elsewhere and being robbed and stabbed to death by some Australian hooligans on the motor bike. If an incident like this happened it would cause a national outcry and soul-searching.

And here? "Thai police had launched an investigation into the woman’s death." Not a man-hunt? Just an investigation? Well, being the police could they not launch one?

‘‘It would not be appropriate to discuss the case further while a police investigation is in progress.’’ Really? Why not appropriate? So it seems like because in this case it would really be difficult to blame it on the victim we should shut up and not discuss it?

The low-life scumbags that perpetuate crime on soft-target that foreigners are in Thailand do so with the blessing of corrupt police that in many cases participate in the spoils. This is a result of Thai mentality and xenophobic altitude to foreigners who are perceived to be "too rich", meaning the act of taking from them and giving to "poor Thais" is acknowledged as patriotic and smart. It this unfortunate incident the "noble" act of taking from foreigners went wrong and the life was lost. The Thais may feel sorry about that but their sympathy is still with their own kind, understanding where they came from, that they may not wanted to kill the victim and that now they may be in trouble. So, the tendency will be to whitewash the culprits or not to ever find them.

Foreigners beware: you are not welcomed here and bad things happen far beyond the attractiveness of this country so perhaps consider not coming to Thailand for your own sake. Thai people should put their house in order and change their attitudes before they can be a worthy host to the international tourism. Until then .. bye bye "miracle, amazing bullshit land".

[webfact]

Australian killed in Thai robbery: police

Bangkok, June 21, 2012 (AFP) - An Australian woman has been stabbed to death in an attempted bag snatch on the Thai resort island of Phuket, police said Thursday.

Michelle Elizabeth Smith, 59, suffered a knife wound to her chest after two men on a motorcycle tried to rob her late Wednesday near her hotel in Phuket town, the authorities said.

She was part of a group of tour operators visiting the island. One of her travel companions was hospitalised after suffering a cut to her arm.

"Police are compiling evidence, such as closed-circuit television footage, in which we can see the attackers' faces clearly, to seek court arrest warrants," a Phuket police officer who declined to be named said by telephone.

The death is another blow to Thailand's tourist-friendly image, coming less than a week after two Canadian sisters were found dead in their hotel room on nearby Phi Phi island, showing signs of an extreme toxic reaction.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2012-06-21