Phuket Fears As News Of Another Stabbing Emerges

[teddysbuttons]

It's time for embassies to issue stern travel advisories against coming to Phuket, i.e. don't go there unless your trip is absolutely essential. Leave them on until police can demonstrate significant progress in cleaning up the gangs of thugs that prey on tourist pedestrians and motorcyclists, armed with guns, knives and clubs. Also clear up the jet ski scams and similar.

I think the time is getting closer when Insurance Companies will stop Insuring travellers that holiday in Thailand and other countries with similar crime rates. It's a shame that it is left to the people who worry about profit at the end a the finacial year to deal with problem of people who worry about how much they will get if they accost holiday makers. No one else is apparently dealing with the issue.

[sirchai]

"Three men on a moped, they pulled up alongside me as I was riding and said 'Do you want a smoke,' obviously talking about drugs. I accelerated, driving faster," he said.

That's fishy to me. Guess they weren't offering drugs, considering the locality.....

Hope he'll have a fully recovery that enables him to go back to Cambridge.

[swifty5x5]

I find Mohamad's story very strange, seems something fishy about it.

Maybe you would find it less fishy if he was called Colin or Dave?

Up to you to think that way, I don't.

Just fishy that people approach him on a motorbike selling drugs, and they get aggressive when he drives off? Strange sales techniques. He claimed to be going home, 300 meters from the circle he gets stabbed after the road was blocked, very wide road there. I have no doubt he was stabbed, but would guess there is more to it than he telling at the moment. We'll have to wait and see though.

He was 37. It's a way of getting him to stop if he smokes pot. Then rob him easier than trying to stop him. Maybe you should put brain in gear before opening mouth.

[dingdang]

"Three men on a moped, they pulled up alongside me as I was riding and said 'Do you want a smoke,' obviously talking about drugs. I accelerated, driving faster," he said.

"Somehow they overtook me and they blocked the road in front of me. Two stayed on the motorbike, one got off. I saw him on the road and went to go past him.

what now, the road blocked and trying to past the 3rd man?

full break and turning around would have been wiser?

...does sound a bit fishy, imo...

Edited June 22, 2012 by dingdang

[stevenl]

I find Mohamad's story very strange, seems something fishy about it.

Maybe you would find it less fishy if he was called Colin or Dave?

Up to you to think that way, I don't.

Just fishy that people approach him on a motorbike selling drugs, and they get aggressive when he drives off? Strange sales techniques. He claimed to be going home, 300 meters from the circle he gets stabbed after the road was blocked, very wide road there. I have no doubt he was stabbed, but would guess there is more to it than he telling at the moment. We'll have to wait and see though.

He was 37. It's a way of getting him to stop if he smokes pot. Then rob him easier than trying to stop him. Maybe you should put brain in gear before opening mouth.

Don't see what his age has to with this. You don't explain anything, his stroy just does not make sense.

[tropo]

Split your valuables or carry a dummy wallet ,

The dummy wallet could be a dumb idea, unless you make it really believable. They may come back and stab you anyway, just out of spite, for treating them like fools.

[dave222]

'Do you want a smoke,'

He may have been a ladyboy asking for a blow job!!!

Nevertheless this poor guy was stabbed and is lucky to be alive

[dingdang]

if one needs treatment for a stab/gunshot wound in a hospital/doctor, then you HAVE to give an explanation...

you cant say "please treat me" and "good bye"... the police will be called...

Edited June 22, 2012 by dingdang

[KOZMO]

Just get a stun gun or taser. It is even good for scaring off wild dogs!

[hugmee64]

I used to live for 3 years in Phuket and run a business there between 2007 and 2010.

Several of my staff both male and female, all Thais, were attacked in a similar manner at late night/early morning. 3 guys, moped, one whom they did not manage to stop right away was kicked off his bike into the ditch before being robbed a knifepoint, all of them knife to the side or chest or throat.

But as they did not struggle and just give up the loot fortunately none of them was ever harmed (besides the poor guy who did take a dive into the road ditch and obviously carried away some nasty abrasions).

Too many young drug users and other losers on the island and too much dough in the pockets of everyone else from the tourist boom.

Sad to have to say nowadays to stories like this: TIT!

;(

[siamjimi]

Never understood, why people risk lives for what is just stuff.

Been mugged twice in Asia (not Thailand) both times just gave what they wanted and survived never lost more than 50 dollars, of course I never have anything of real value in bag etc.

Split your valuables or carry a dummy wallet , was advised once throw your belongings on floor away from you and run. They will go for bag etc.

If on a night out just take what you need, and get a taxi back.

Lucky you . . . for getting away with just being robbed. These scavengers will often use a knife, or whatever they have to hand - and I do mean use - for nickels and dimes, for a zero haul - and even with the stuff already in their grubby little paws. And not just in Thailand.

I must agree entirely - LUCKY YOU - when a 60+ year old couple get savagely beaten to death in Hua Hin for 2000.oo baht - the accused being the security guard, maid and 1 other fellow - all because they drove a nice car and seemingly "would have money" - the uneducated fools that are committing these brutal crimes and killing innocents are doing it for another bottle of Sang-Som and a handful of YaBa - this should seriously concern tourists and tour agencies alike - they need to be informed - these bastards are preying on them like cows being led to slaughter.

THE TOUR GUIDE THAT DIED WAS HERE TO PROMOTE THAILAND AS A PREFERED VACATION DESTINATION

THE KNOWLEDGE OF THESE EVENTS SHOULD BE SHARED THROUGHT OTHER COUNTRIES TO STAY AWAY FROM THAILAND

I WOULD VENTURE TO SAY EMBASSY WARNINGS SHOULD BE ADVISED – IF NOT – ARE THE GOVERNMENTS THAT DO NOT WARN THEIR CITIZENS NEGLEGENT ??

<deleted> TO ALL THE EMBASSY OFFICIALS THAT WOULD OR WOULD NOT DECIDE TO HIDE THIS FROM THE SAME PEOPLE THAT PAY THEIR SALARIES – THE CITIZENS OF THEIR COUNTRIES

EVERYONE HAS A RIGHT TO KNOW ABOUT THE BRUTAL ATTACKS ON TOURISTS AND FORIEGNERS ALIKE

The gangs of boys that have been doing this for quite some time – they are virtually embedded in the communities around the tourist areas – snatching purses and gold jewelry from the necks of tourists - don't be too naive about how you interpret the news

The less anyone does about apprehending them – the bolder these idiot scum become and use of force to either get what they want or to silence the victim to prevent indentifying them will become more and more prevalent.

[dave222]

Just get a stun gun or taser. It is even good for scaring off wild dogs!

Not a bad idea! what are the public in Thailand allowed to carry for self defense purposes, IE; pepper spray, taser

[lianab]

I find Mohamad's story very strange, seems something fishy about it.

Maybe you would find it less fishy if he was called Colin or Dave?

Up to you to think that way, I don't.

Just fishy that people approach him on a motorbike selling drugs, and they get aggressive when he drives off? Strange sales techniques. He claimed to be going home, 300 meters from the circle he gets stabbed after the road was blocked, very wide road there. I have no doubt he was stabbed, but would guess there is more to it than he telling at the moment. We'll have to wait and see though.

That's what I thought . No motive, they can pull up beside him, talking so he can hear then he accelerates away from them , they (3- "somehow") get far enough ahead to stop, get off a bike, him sees them ahead waiting for him (wide road blocked with a moped) doesnt turn around and get out of there when 3 he presumes dealers are waiting for him ...AND All within 300meters of near where he started, (didnt say where they oulled up beside him - they had speed?

I was just calculating it - he doesn't say if it happened before or past the roundabout, but he didn't say I'was leaving, but he was on his way home. but within 300m this all happened now if he was trying to accelerate away he is going at least 60km I would think ; that's 1km a minute, 300meters in 18 seconds, so all this happened in < 18 seconds? And contributors are getting angry at us who thinks it doesn't add up!

[dluek]

"It's time for embassies to issue stern travel advisories against coming to Phuket, i.e. don't go there unless your trip is absolutely essential. Leave them on until police can demonstrate significant progress in cleaning up the gangs of thugs that prey on tourist pedestrians and motorcyclists, armed with guns, knives and clubs."

Agreed. It's like when the US issued a terrorism warning for Bangkok last Jan. Apparently the Thai authorities had known about a possible threat and had specifics but dragged their feet. Until, that is, the US issued a warning. Then the Thais got on the ball within a day and carried out the necessary raids. (At least that's how I understand it).

[lianab]

Just get a stun gun or taser. It is even good for scaring off wild dogs!

Not a bad idea! what are the public in Thailand allowed to carry for self defense purposes, IE; pepper spray, taser

I was wondering this myself today - does anyone know ?

[Jayman]

Just get a stun gun or taser. It is even good for scaring off wild dogs!

Not a bad idea! what are the public in Thailand allowed to carry for self defense purposes, IE; pepper spray, taser

even though it's illegal.. I bought pepper spray for my wife to carry in her purse. It looks like a tube of lipstick (all pink and everything) but I feel a little better knowing she has something that could help her in a sticky situation. Not much more we can do other than be aware of what's going on around us. She's thai and already knows better than wearing her gold around town. We were both victims of an attempted gold snatch during the day while on the motorbike and were very lucky we didn't get pushed down and they were unsuccessful.. Was a huge wake-up for both of us.

Just get a stun gun or taser. It is even good for scaring off wild dogs!

Not a bad idea! what are the public in Thailand allowed to carry for self defense purposes, IE; pepper spray, taser

I was wondering this myself today - does anyone know ?

both stun guns and pepper spray are illegal in Thailand (although quite easily purchased here in Pattaya)

Edited June 22, 2012 by Jayman

[Interman]

Not fishy, Slum and drug peaple all over the places. Also here in Pattaya. They are lazy to work, just stealing is easy. I got my own lesson. I got surRouded by 5 locals last Octobre. What chance do you hace without weapon? The problem is that we foreigners can't carry guns. In my home country i can do that. So we are just victims in this country. In my case police was useless.

Not even regular Thais can walk around with a gun, but they do... and plenty people back home do as well, so just because you live here, you wont break the law? Shit, im well qualified to handle myself but if your surrounded or up against weapons, it doesnt seem all that bad idea to break the law and carry a pistol.

[sirchai]

Im staying in Chaing Mai

Surrounded by nice b......... mountains....

[dingdang]

a women told him to go to the hospital... not that mohamad would have gone there for that scratch....

[Nip]

"It's time for embassies to issue stern travel advisories against coming to Phuket, i.e. don't go there unless your trip is absolutely essential. Leave them on until police can demonstrate significant progress in cleaning up the gangs of thugs that prey on tourist pedestrians and motorcyclists, armed with guns, knives and clubs."

Agreed. It's like when the US issued a terrorism warning for Bangkok last Jan. Apparently the Thai authorities had known about a possible threat and had specifics but dragged their feet. Until, that is, the US issued a warning. Then the Thais got on the ball within a day and carried out the necessary raids. (At least that's how I understand it).

The Consuls will do nothing in Phuket because most of them derive their income from tourist related business's

[peterdk]

Bangkok squad called in to catch Phuket ‘bag snatch killer’

Phuket Gazette – Thursday, June 21, 2012 8:04:00 PM

A

stern-faced Col Sirisak Warasiri told the press that more than 50 officers were working on tracking down the killer. Photo: Orawin Narabal

The Katathani resort has more than 100 CCTV cameras on its premises plus eight more monitoring the road outside, but the attack last night was ‘beyond our expectations’, said the resort's managing director, Sombat Atiset. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo

PHUKET: More than 50 police officers, including a team from the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok, have been dedicated to catching the two men who attacked Australian tourist Michelle Smith, 60, who was stabbed to death in Kata last night.

Ms Smith died after being stabbed in the chest, puncturing her heart and a lung, when a bag snatch attempt went tragically wrong.

Her friend, Tammee Lee Lynn, suffered a slash to her right arm in the same attack.

“We have already provided all the details we have to all police stations in Phuket, and officers from Phuket City Police and Phuket Provincial Police are assisting in the investigation,” Chalong Police Superintendent Col Sirisak Warasiri told the Phuket Gazette this afternoon.

“A team of Crime Suppression Police officers from Bangkok have been dispatched to Phuket. They are in Phuket already,” he added.

At a press conference at Katathani Phuket Beach Resort, where Ms Smith was staying with other travel agents on a familiarization trip to Phuket, Col Sirisak was brief in the details he gave to the media.

“Hotel CCTV footage shows the two men riding a blue Honda Dream motorbike. The driver wore a white shirt and dark pants and the passenger wore a denim shirt and jeans.

“We did not get the license plates, but we have expert police artists creating sketches of the culprits from the images recorded on CCTV cameras,” he explained.

“We have more details about the suspects but are unwilling to share that information at this stage as it may jeopardize the investigation,” Col Sirisak added.

Police were on patrol in the Kata area as usual last night. “But we didn’t patrol the area where the attack occurred as we never thought it would be a dangerous area,” he said.

Col Sirisak admitted that police were under considerable pressure to catch the killer. “We will try to arrest these two men as soon as possible since the incident directly affects Phuket’s tourism,” he said.

Katathani resort Managing Director Sombat Atiset expressed his condolences to the family and friends of Ms Smith.

“I offer my deepest sympathies to Ms Smith’s family and friends. We try our best to take care of our guests and their belongings, but what happened last night was beyond our expectations,” he said.

The resort has 110 CCTV cameras in different locations throughout the premises and eight more cameras monitoring the road for 800 meters, from Kata Hill to in front of the resort. “We also have 23 security guards on our staff to patrol the hotel 24 hours a day,” Mr Sombat explained.

In light of the attack, the resort will now boost its security measures. “We have asked Chalong Police to set up more checkpoints around hotel areas and have volunteers patrol the area at night. We will also increase the number of hotel security guards and CCTV cameras in the hotel,” he added.

Geoff Smith, Michelle’s husband of 35 years, was “absolutely devastated” by the incident.

“She loved life, she loved traveling,” he told Australia’s Channel 9 news.

“She was a very experienced travel agent. She’d worked in travel for 40 years. It was her passion, it was her life and she's been to many exotic places around the world.

“There were no boundaries to her horizons. For the places she’s been on her own and with escorted tours, I can’t believe it,” he said.

Mr Smith said that the couple’s three children were still coming to grips with the news.

“They are all devastated,”' he said. “She was a wonderful mum and we have wonderful children.”

Meanwhile, attack survivor Ms Lynn and the delegation of other travel agents she and Ms Smith were traveling with flew back to Australia today. The 10 delegates were on a familiarization trip, so that they could accurately assess how to recommend Phuket as a travel destination to potential tourists looking to book a holiday.

Arrangements are being made for the body of Ms Smith to be repatriated to Australia.

– Orawin Narabal

Phuket,

Thailand

20:04 local time (GMT +7)

http://www.phuketgaz...ticle16231.html

[dude007]

Scary place that " Knifekhet "

Beter not go there, until the police has caught the stabby guy.

It will never end up... This is Phuket, southern and high temper. Tuk-tuk Mafia, cheaters,scam and last but not least, police who only knows the difference between "farang" and "thai", not between right and wrong...

Better stay away from Phuket and let it for the Asians and the rich Thai...

[frimu]

Ever heard of counter violence. Maybe you could shoot two before they shoot you or slash your throat.

It's a very shitty situation and only the police and government could do something. But since they're corrupt not much will happen. Every now and then they might bring someone to court to show the embassadors that they do something.

But that won't help. Only a systematic fight against crime would help. But that's not going to happen in Thailand.

Not fishy, Slum and drug peaple all over the places. Also here in Pattaya. They are lazy to work, just stealing is easy. I got my own lesson. I got surRouded by 5 locals last Octobre. What chance do you hace without weapon? The problem is that we foreigners can't carry guns. In my home country i can do that. So we are just victims in this country. In my case police was useless.

[lianab]

Not fishy, Slum and drug peaple all over the places. Also here in Pattaya. They are lazy to work, just stealing is easy. I got my own lesson. I got surRouded by 5 locals last Octobre. What chance do you hace without weapon? The problem is that we foreigners can't carry guns. In my home country i can do that. So we are just victims in this country. In my case police was useless.

Not even regular Thais can walk around with a gun, but they do... and plenty people back home do as well, so just because you live here, you wont break the law? Shit, im well qualified to handle myself but if your surrounded or up against weapons, it doesnt seem all that bad idea to break the law and carry a pistol.

I looked it up on http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/thailand It estimates10,000,000 civilian Thais are licensed for guns. It says 15.6% civilians but presume multiple gun ownership per person has blown out the data integrity. Am waiting for clarification re stun guns.

Other info is:

In Thailand, only licensed gun owners may lawfully acquire, possess or transfer a firearm or ammunition

Applicants for a gun owner’s licence in Thailand are required to prove genuine reason to possess a firearm, for example, hunting, sports shooting, collection, self defense

The minimum age for gun ownership in Thailand is 20 years

An applicant for a firearm licence in Thailand must pass background checks which consider personal conduct, living condition, income and criminal records

Where a past history, or apprehended likelihood of family violence exists, the law in Thailand stipulates that a gun licence should be denied or revoked

[Lifer]

Every country should highly publicize these crimes and ALL put out travel advisories and keep them running until Thailand cleans up their despicable crimes against tourists. The only time Thailand does anything is if they get a lot of bad foreign plublicity or the money made off tourists is cut way down.

[maapaa]

I find Mohamad's story very strange, seems something fishy about it.

Maybe you would find it less fishy if he was called Colin or Dave?

That's what came to my mind at first: Maybe just "fishy" because of his name ... poor mentality. Sorry

[pedro01]

I find Mohamad's story very strange, seems something fishy about it.

Pretty common to get mugged on the road in Phuket late @ night.

Happened to a friend of mine - in that case, they just rode up & kicked him off the bike.

[stevenl]

I find Mohamad's story very strange, seems something fishy about it.

Maybe you would find it less fishy if he was called Colin or Dave?

That's what came to my mind at first: Maybe just "fishy" because of his name ... poor mentality. Sorry

This thought says a lot about your way of thinking. You're right, thinking that others think that way because you do is a poor mentality.

[Rainmon]

after this and the 2 Canadian sisters hotel poisoning deaths last week, Thailand really needs to WAKE UP and take action about safety and corruption in this country, stop smiling and saying sorry, mai pen rai!

[how241]

I find Mohamad's story very strange, seems something fishy about it.

What's fishy about...."Mr Edwa was treated at the Phuket International Hospital for a stab wound to his side."

That's a fact....