Two Thai Men Confess To Killing Aussie Michelle Smith For '300 Baht'

[simple1]

typical thaivisa.. immediately assuming there are 'real killers' and that every arrest is some sort of conspiracy, and that the 2 arrested were tortured into confessing.. even though there hasn't been anything to suggest this is happening.. they always find these guys so fast because they have surveillance cameras everywhere and they put 100 cops on every hi-profile case, especially one that involves the killing of a foreign tourist..

HMMM - You don't read much do you..??

Foreigners arrested for crimes routinely report torture until they confess - guilty or not...

Any links to support this statement regards foreigners from the likes of recognised human rights monitoring organisations?

[ableguy]

No doubt that 300,000 reward money will again be divided up by the police but who cares if in fact they did get the the lowlifes that did it. But you never know, they may have just grabbed some patsies to look good for island tourism.

I doubt it as 100,000 was put up by the police chief

[Reasonableman]

Please spell the name of Phuket correctly. It is not Phucket. The spelling you are using is a negative slur against the whole island and its population. If it is deliberate it is both inappropriate and hypocritical. If it is just ignorance, that is forgivable. Thanks.

My apologies, just a habit of putting a c before a k.

Pfft. Since there is no "c" in Phuket, you're full of it. Apology what apology?

Off topic, but you are both wrong. In Thai it's spelled with the letter "G"

Actually, you are wrong, my friend. It is pronounced "poo-get" (ภูเก็ต). The Thai language does not have the letter G because it is, well, Thai. But it does have the Thai letter ก, which is variously transcribed as K or G. I hope this makes it clear.

Hopefully, this off-topic should now be closed. Cheers.

[Ferangled]

What makes this more pertinent to Phuket is the ease at which someone can drive onto the island commit a crime & leave absolutely no record of having even been here. I personally would like to see stringent ID/ number plate checks & records at the Sarasin checkpoint rather than sleeping policemen... some sort of deterrent to those looking for easy pickings in Phuket.

Might that not also be a deterrent to inter-province tourists? Have you considered that this vast quantity of data would exclude plane, bus and boat arrivals, in fact anyone who didn't arrive in an out-of-province vehicle?

Good point Mick, quite how many people can fly without ID these days? And quite how many buses arrive by air/ sea?

I was under the impression that ID is required to purchase a bus ticket to Phuket in the first place and ID was required to fly these days.... As far as a deterrent to inter-province tourists, unless these were tourists actively seeking to conceal their identity/ whereabouts I really can't see the issue.

Logging number plates at the checkpoint and actively checking/ logging IDs isn't a cure all, fool proof solution, but it would be a step in the right direction at least... IMO. It's fairly standard procedure in the West.

I really don't see the point of having the checkpoint if they aren't actively compiling number plate data & checking vehicles/ IDs regularly. Past cases in Phuket have shown that they are not, and numerous times criminals have managed to flee the island by car despite police being aware of the suspect's identity/ car registration.

You are of course welcome to come up with your own constructive suggestion or if it's easier just pick holes, real or imaginary, in others suggestions

[meatboy]

"The last time a major reward was offered in a murder case on the island, during the July 2010 manhunt for American Ronald Fanelli, the 50,000 baht reward money was divided up among the police investigators who worked on the successful investigation."

I don't think the reporter even realizes how pathetic that is...

no he dont,he cant read.

[silsburyhill]

Were these two alleged perpetrators asked about the stabbing of a man either 5 hours before, or 5 hours earlier, depending upon which news source you read ... in the same area, although again, it was either Karon or Chalong? Would be odd if not. Two stabbing related attempted thefts within hours of each other?

[notmyself]

Archaeologists have found the ramains of the oldest hominid found in SE Asia. 6 poeple have been arrested and are said to be helping police with their inquiries.

[Nisa]

What makes this more pertinent to Phuket is the ease at which someone can drive onto the island commit a crime & leave absolutely no record of having even been here. I personally would like to see stringent ID/ number plate checks & records at the Sarasin checkpoint rather than sleeping policemen... some sort of deterrent to those looking for easy pickings in Phuket.

Might that not also be a deterrent to inter-province tourists? Have you considered that this vast quantity of data would exclude plane, bus and boat arrivals, in fact anyone who didn't arrive in an out-of-province vehicle?

Good point Mick, quite how many people can fly without ID these days? And quite how many buses arrive by air/ sea?

I was under the impression that ID is required to purchase a bus ticket to Phuket in the first place and ID was required to fly these days.... As far as a deterrent to inter-province tourists, unless these were tourists actively seeking to conceal their identity/ whereabouts I really can't see the issue.

Logging number plates at the checkpoint and actively checking/ logging IDs isn't a cure all, fool proof solution, but it would be a step in the right direction at least... IMO. It's fairly standard procedure in the West.

I really don't see the point of having the checkpoint if they aren't actively compiling number plate data & checking vehicles/ IDs regularly. Past cases in Phuket have shown that they are not, and numerous times criminals have managed to flee the island by car despite police being aware of the suspect's identity/ car registration.

You are of course welcome to come up with your own constructive suggestion or if it's easier just pick holes, real or imaginary, in others suggestions

Maybe better idea to check everyone's papers and record their information any time they enter any province or city or soi or store.

[draggons]

Be you that they will get a seat sentence without being represented by a lawyer because they can't afford one.

How little you know about the Thai judicial system. Everyone has a lawyer made available to them either a decent paid one or a free one regardless of nationality. By confessing they have basically accepted the guilty charge so that gets their sentence cut in half. They could get a sentence as low as 15 years which if they are clever and make their way up the prison grading system earn higher annual reduction in the Kings birthday. They could be out in less than 6 years.

That said IMO they should be given and serve a full 25 years.

I am very well versed with the way the courts work here.....

Was talking with the wife about this last night and she said much the same thing. Sad, very sad.

[Ferangled]

What makes this more pertinent to Phuket is the ease at which someone can drive onto the island commit a crime & leave absolutely no record of having even been here. I personally would like to see stringent ID/ number plate checks & records at the Sarasin checkpoint rather than sleeping policemen... some sort of deterrent to those looking for easy pickings in Phuket.

Might that not also be a deterrent to inter-province tourists? Have you considered that this vast quantity of data would exclude plane, bus and boat arrivals, in fact anyone who didn't arrive in an out-of-province vehicle?

Good point Mick, quite how many people can fly without ID these days? And quite how many buses arrive by air/ sea?

I was under the impression that ID is required to purchase a bus ticket to Phuket in the first place and ID was required to fly these days.... As far as a deterrent to inter-province tourists, unless these were tourists actively seeking to conceal their identity/ whereabouts I really can't see the issue.

Logging number plates at the checkpoint and actively checking/ logging IDs isn't a cure all, fool proof solution, but it would be a step in the right direction at least... IMO. It's fairly standard procedure in the West.

I really don't see the point of having the checkpoint if they aren't actively compiling number plate data & checking vehicles/ IDs regularly. Past cases in Phuket have shown that they are not, and numerous times criminals have managed to flee the island by car despite police being aware of the suspect's identity/ car registration.

You are of course welcome to come up with your own constructive suggestion or if it's easier just pick holes, real or imaginary, in others suggestions

Maybe better idea to check everyone's papers and record their information any time they enter any province or city or soi or store.

Give me strength... clearly you are just being facetious Nisa. I would have thought given your recent display of your geographical knowledge of Thailand you might have been able to grasp how easy this would be to apply here in Phuket specifically.

Phuket is an island, with a single point of road access - Sarasin bridge, and a single point of air access - Phuket airport. 99.9% of people entering Phuket do so by these 2 means.

Massive amounts of money have been invested in setting up a large police checkpoint near Sarasin bridge, why? So that police can sleep in the shade by the side of the road and look distinctly disinterested in doing anything but sleeping. I'm not saying anything will readily change the lazy attitude these guys have but they have CCTV in place already, why not use it pro-actively rather than simply for appearance?

It does not take a genius to apply number plate recognition software, database the results and give police ready access to this database. The odd spot check, take down a few IDs... I realise for some of you this must seem a crazy notion, police actually doing real police work and making use of the not inconsiderable resources they have at their disposal. It may surprise you that this is standard practice on major bridges in most civilised countries.

Currently we have a system whereby police have issued arrest warrants for suspects, complete with car registration details and hours later the suspect has been allowed to drive straight through the checkpoint and off the island, to hide in another province.

Personally I see something fundamentally wrong with that, especially in light of recent crimes here and given how easy it would be to turn this around and actually use these resources to benefit law abiding citizens on the island and safeguard the interests of tourists.

Crazy stuff, it's not like we are living in the 21st century...

Edited June 27, 2012 by Ferangled

[OzMick]

What makes this more pertinent to Phuket is the ease at which someone can drive onto the island commit a crime & leave absolutely no record of having even been here. I personally would like to see stringent ID/ number plate checks & records at the Sarasin checkpoint rather than sleeping policemen... some sort of deterrent to those looking for easy pickings in Phuket.

Might that not also be a deterrent to inter-province tourists? Have you considered that this vast quantity of data would exclude plane, bus and boat arrivals, in fact anyone who didn't arrive in an out-of-province vehicle?

Good point Mick, quite how many people can fly without ID these days? And quite how many buses arrive by air/ sea?

I was under the impression that ID is required to purchase a bus ticket to Phuket in the first place and ID was required to fly these days.... As far as a deterrent to inter-province tourists, unless these were tourists actively seeking to conceal their identity/ whereabouts I really can't see the issue.

Logging number plates at the checkpoint and actively checking/ logging IDs isn't a cure all, fool proof solution, but it would be a step in the right direction at least... IMO. It's fairly standard procedure in the West.

I really don't see the point of having the checkpoint if they aren't actively compiling number plate data & checking vehicles/ IDs regularly. Past cases in Phuket have shown that they are not, and numerous times criminals have managed to flee the island by car despite police being aware of the suspect's identity/ car registration.

You are of course welcome to come up with your own constructive suggestion or if it's easier just pick holes, real or imaginary, in others suggestions

Buses travel overland, with out-of-state plates, and are the preferred means of transport of the less-well off. Are you suggesting that every bus should be stopped and the passenger's ID be recorded? To what end? And no, ID is not required to buy a bus ticket, even to Phuket. If on "numerous times criminals have managed to flee the island by car despite police being aware of the suspect's identity/ car registration", what is the point of recording more?Where in the west is it "standard procedure" to stop all out-of-state vehicles for ID checks of occupants?

[Ferangled]

What makes this more pertinent to Phuket is the ease at which someone can drive onto the island commit a crime & leave absolutely no record of having even been here. I personally would like to see stringent ID/ number plate checks & records at the Sarasin checkpoint rather than sleeping policemen... some sort of deterrent to those looking for easy pickings in Phuket.

Might that not also be a deterrent to inter-province tourists? Have you considered that this vast quantity of data would exclude plane, bus and boat arrivals, in fact anyone who didn't arrive in an out-of-province vehicle?

Good point Mick, quite how many people can fly without ID these days? And quite how many buses arrive by air/ sea?

I was under the impression that ID is required to purchase a bus ticket to Phuket in the first place and ID was required to fly these days.... As far as a deterrent to inter-province tourists, unless these were tourists actively seeking to conceal their identity/ whereabouts I really can't see the issue.

Logging number plates at the checkpoint and actively checking/ logging IDs isn't a cure all, fool proof solution, but it would be a step in the right direction at least... IMO. It's fairly standard procedure in the West.

I really don't see the point of having the checkpoint if they aren't actively compiling number plate data & checking vehicles/ IDs regularly. Past cases in Phuket have shown that they are not, and numerous times criminals have managed to flee the island by car despite police being aware of the suspect's identity/ car registration.

You are of course welcome to come up with your own constructive suggestion or if it's easier just pick holes, real or imaginary, in others suggestions

Buses travel overland, with out-of-state plates, and are the preferred means of transport of the less-well off. Are you suggesting that every bus should be stopped and the passenger's ID be recorded? To what end? And no, ID is not required to buy a bus ticket, even to Phuket. If on "numerous times criminals have managed to flee the island by car despite police being aware of the suspect's identity/ car registration", what is the point of recording more?Where in the west is it "standard procedure" to stop all out-of-state vehicles for ID checks of occupants?

Yes, exactly, buses travel over land, over the bridge and through the checkpoint. In my experience here every time I have bought a bus ticket from Phuket to Bangkok or vice versa, ID was taken but even without IDs it would still be useful to track the comings and goings of these buses simply by number plate.

I suggest the use of number plate recognition and databasing the results, which is standard procedure on major bridges/ tunnels in the west. When an arrest warrant is issued for someone in the UK and the police have the car registration, if a vehicle with matching number plate goes through the Dartford tunnel, the system will flag this up. It's not even particularly modern technology and has been in place for some time.

Clearly I'm not suggesting they stop all vehicles but stopping a few vehicles for checks would seem prudent - it is called a "CHECK POINT" for a reason after all.

The point of this being fairly obvious to anyone with half a brain cell...

I notice you ignore offering up any constructive suggestions in favour of trying to pick holes in mine, why am I not surprised?!

Edited June 27, 2012 by Ferangled

[davidstipek]

after this tragic event, should not one i.e the police look at how such crimes can be deterred?

For example if you consider the what would be the main 'tourist' roads from Patong to Kata and beyond,

What about a 'chain' (pair?) of police riders patrolling those roads (and any notable touristy side streets) every 2-3K there would be

police box at those intervals, they could patrol between say 9am to 2 or 3am, any incident reported to police, the nearest riders

could quickly home in, and other officers alerted to suspects.

Also officers should get out and about generally talking to tourists (particularly the most obviously at risk of street crime)

getting people more informed, rather than extorting money from hapless farang scooter and car drivers!!!

or perhaps im being optimistic

Thai police don't patrol

Yes I agree, They Don't!!! "MAYBE THEY SHOULD!"

If Thailand wants to increase Tourisim as P.M. Yingluck and Vice P.M. stated they they are going to have to take a hard look at how Police... Protection... Security is established here. They are going to be required to improve or completely reverse some of the practices that are implemented into this enviroment (Police Theater)

Mabe they realy need to have Patrols in Tourist Areas... If you want to increase something.... you need to Invest something... Simple as that!

To make money... your going to have to spend money!

P.M..... Mandate your Governors to implement a Policy.... Governors for Gods sake take it upon yourselves to mandate changes.... Police Generals, Majors, Captains... Leutenants insure these policy changes are followed or move your Employee out! This will make you money!

Give reviews every 6 months and reward those who have done their best. Governors... do the same for major decreases in Crimes in your Province!

Prime Minister... Do the same for your Governors and Senators!

Senators... Make a Law... none revokable that is named after Michelle, to remember her. "Ref: 300b Michelle" pertaining to the duties of your Law Inforcement Department. Now it can be seen by other Goverments Worldwide, This will increase your Tourist Trade!!

I am not telling you how to do... I am just for the sake of Thailand, it's people... "Our King and Royal Family" things that can be done to protect all... not just your Visitors. But to keep the "Land of Smiles", the "Land of Smiles"!!!

David

[davidstipek]

after this tragic event, should not one i.e the police look at how such crimes can be deterred?

For example if you consider the what would be the main 'tourist' roads from Patong to Kata and beyond,

What about a 'chain' (pair?) of police riders patrolling those roads (and any notable touristy side streets) every 2-3K there would be

police box at those intervals, they could patrol between say 9am to 2 or 3am, any incident reported to police, the nearest riders

could quickly home in, and other officers alerted to suspects.

Also officers should get out and about generally talking to tourists (particularly the most obviously at risk of street crime)

getting people more informed, rather than extorting money from hapless farang scooter and car drivers!!!

or perhaps im being optimistic

Thai police don't patrol

Yes I agree, They Don't!!! "MAYBE THEY SHOULD!"

If Thailand wants to increase Tourisim as P.M. Yingluck and Vice P.M. stated they they are going to have to take a hard look at how Police... Protection... Security is established here. They are going to be required to improve or completely reverse some of the practices that are implemented into this enviroment (Police Theater)

Mabe they realy need to have Patrols in Tourist Areas... If you want to increase something.... you need to Invest something... Simple as that!

To make money... your going to have to spend money!

P.M..... Mandate your Governors to implement a Policy.... Governors for Gods sake take it upon yourselves to mandate changes.... Police Generals, Majors, Captains... Leutenants insure these policy changes are followed or move your Employee out! This will make you money!

Give reviews every 6 months and reward those who have done their best. Governors... do the same for major decreases in Crimes in your Province!

Prime Minister... Do the same for your Governors and Senators!

Senators... Make a Law... none revokable that is named after Michelle, to remember her. "Ref: 300b Michelle" pertaining to the duties of your Law Inforcement Department. Now it can be seen by other Goverments Worldwide, This will increase your Tourist Trade!!

I am not telling you how to do... I am just for the sake of Thailand, it's people... "Our King and Royal Family" things that can be done to protect all... not just your Visitors. But to keep the "Land of Smiles", the "Land of Smiles"!!!

David

Just a add on to the above:

Just another thing... If you want to continue the Highest Volume of Visitors Yearly...

Then your Police and Goverments are going to be required to afford the same as done in Other Countries! No way around it, sorry if we want to enjoy the fruits of our Labor, first we're going to have to "Wash Our Hands!" and use Soap!

David

Edited June 27, 2012 by davidstipek

[Nisa]

What makes this more pertinent to Phuket is the ease at which someone can drive onto the island commit a crime & leave absolutely no record of having even been here. I personally would like to see stringent ID/ number plate checks & records at the Sarasin checkpoint rather than sleeping policemen... some sort of deterrent to those looking for easy pickings in Phuket.

Good point Mick, quite how many people can fly without ID these days? And quite how many buses arrive by air/ sea?

I was under the impression that ID is required to purchase a bus ticket to Phuket in the first place and ID was required to fly these days.... As far as a deterrent to inter-province tourists, unless these were tourists actively seeking to conceal their identity/ whereabouts I really can't see the issue.

Logging number plates at the checkpoint and actively checking/ logging IDs isn't a cure all, fool proof solution, but it would be a step in the right direction at least... IMO. It's fairly standard procedure in the West.

I really don't see the point of having the checkpoint if they aren't actively compiling number plate data & checking vehicles/ IDs regularly. Past cases in Phuket have shown that they are not, and numerous times criminals have managed to flee the island by car despite police being aware of the suspect's identity/ car registration.

You are of course welcome to come up with your own constructive suggestion or if it's easier just pick holes, real or imaginary, in others suggestions

Maybe better idea to check everyone's papers and record their information any time they enter any province or city or soi or store.

Give me strength... clearly you are just being facetious Nisa. I would have thought given your recent display of your geographical knowledge of Thailand you might have been able to grasp how easy this would be to apply here in Phuket specifically.

Phuket is an island, with a single point of road access - Sarasin bridge, and a single point of air access - Phuket airport. 99.9% of people entering Phuket do so by these 2 means.

Massive amounts of money have been invested in setting up a large police checkpoint near Sarasin bridge, why? So that police can sleep in the shade by the side of the road and look distinctly disinterested in doing anything but sleeping. I'm not saying anything will readily change the lazy attitude these guys have but they have CCTV in place already, why not use it pro-actively rather than simply for appearance?

It does not take a genius to apply number plate recognition software, database the results and give police ready access to this database. The odd spot check, take down a few IDs... I realise for some of you this must seem a crazy notion, police actually doing real police work and making use of the not inconsiderable resources they have at their disposal. It may surprise you that this is standard practice on major bridges in most civilised countries.

Currently we have a system whereby police have issued arrest warrants for suspects, complete with car registration details and hours later the suspect has been allowed to drive straight through the checkpoint and off the island, to hide in another province.

Personally I see something fundamentally wrong with that, especially in light of recent crimes here and given how easy it would be to turn this around and actually use these resources to benefit law abiding citizens on the island and safeguard the interests of tourists.

Crazy stuff, it's not like we are living in the 21st century...

One reason I love Thailand is the lack of police and government interference in every day life. My obviously facetious comment and view remain unchanged. Tracking people's movements is too Big Brother for my tastes. Lots of places to go if you like living in a police state. Personally I will continue to enjoy Thailand as long as the government and politicians don't respond to high profile crimes by infringing on the right of all people as is becoming a norm in the west.

[pinkfloyd2310]

What i don't understand is,If they needed $10 for drinks,How on earth could they afford to get from Phuket to Bangkok?

[simon43]

It would be quite feasible to stop and check the ID of all passengers who travel on all buses in/out of Phuket at the Sarasin Bridge checkpoint.

Such checks are already done for all passengers on all buses that are travelling on the main road close to Ranong - in an effort to identify Burmese without correct travel documents. I travel weekly to/from Ranong and these army checkpoints are efficient and delay the bus journey by only a few minutes.

[davidstipek]

It would be quite feasible to stop and check the ID of all passengers who travel on all buses in/out of Phuket at the Sarasin Bridge checkpoint.

Such checks are already done for all passengers on all buses that are travelling on the main road close to Ranong - in an effort to identify Burmese without correct travel documents. I travel weekly to/from Ranong and these army checkpoints are efficient and delay the bus journey by only a few minutes.

Not just on the road close to Ranong... Its done on any Major road leaving any potential entry point from any of our Border Counties. Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Indonesa... just a few.

[Ferangled]

One reason I love Thailand is the lack of police and government interference in every day life. My obviously facetious comment and view remain unchanged. Tracking people's movements is too Big Brother for my tastes. Lots of places to go if you like living in a police state. Personally I will continue to enjoy Thailand as long as the government and politicians don't respond to high profile crimes by infringing on the right of all people as is becoming a norm in the west.

I'm sure most of the more dubious side of the ex pat community would agree with you there! Sorry, I do understand, cheap shot, just a shame it doesn't stop these same people posting negatively about the lack of police efficiency when it suits them... and that comment's not intended for you, staunch as you are in your defence of all things Thai.

Personally I think there is a big difference between a few prudent measures/ use of modern technology and police/ Government infringing on the rights of all people/ becoming a police state. Surely some happy medium would be better than a completely lawless society, or one that has laws but simply pays them lip service and doesn't enforce them...

I would also prefer a more transparent method of policing, so that the system isn't so open to corruption - selective policing based on financial status already infringes on the rights of people, but only the poor. More transparency and this would not be possible...

[blackthorn2005]

The police keep the reward money? What a $#@! joke. Glad to see BIB living up to their squeaky clean, professional, non-sleazy, honourable, trustworthy, unbribable, non-fraudulent, ethical and pure reputations.

You gotta ask yourself. What kind of system would allow the police to benefit from a crime?

If they enforced the law like they are supposed to, this may not have happened. Phuket is dangerous and anyone who says otherwise is a liar or a fool.

[sunshine51]

The police keep the reward money? What a $#@! joke. Glad to see BIB living up to their squeaky clean, professional, non-sleazy, honourable, trustworthy, unbribable, non-fraudulent, ethical and pure reputations.

You gotta ask yourself. What kind of system would allow the police to benefit from a crime?

If they enforced the law like they are supposed to, this may not have happened. Phuket is dangerous and anyone who says otherwise is a liar or a fool.

Taking what you have just stated LOS is dangerous and not only Phuket. About the only

place in SEA that is relatively "safe" id Burma and perhaps Laos. Let's be careful out there.

[simple1]

Ferangled: "Tracking people's movements is too Big Brother for my tastes". You live in Thailand how about 90 day reporting and hotels etc reporting daily on foreign guests is that not Big Brother activity.

[webfact]

UPDATE:

Police to oppose bail for Australian tourist killing suspects

PHUKET, June 27 – Phuket provincial police commander said on Wednesday that the police will oppose any bail bid if sought by the two men detained as suspects in last week's murder of an Australian travel agent in this southern resort island.

Phuket provincial police commander Pol Maj-Gen Chonsit Wattanawarangkul said the case must be conducted cautiously and be fair to all parties, but initially the police will oppose any granting of bail.

Gen Chonsit said the National Police Bureau has also asked local police to conclude investigation and evidence collection inn the murder of the Australian travel agent within 15 days so that the case can proceed in court as soon as possible in an attempt to restore confidence among foreign tourists.

Police early this week arrested two men, Surasak Suwannachote, 26, and Surin Thatthong, 37, suspected of robbing and stabbing Michelle Elizabeth Smith, 60, and severely wounding her companion, Tammee Lee Lynn, 42, on June 20 in the compound of the Katathani Phuket Beach Resort.

Phuket police reportedly sought a provincial court order to extend the two men detention for 48 hours for further investigation.

The two men were charged with attempting a robbery at night using weapons, leading to injuries and death, carrying weapons in public areas without reason or permission, as well as together killing another person. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-06-27

[softgeorge]

"Gen Chonsit said the National Police Bureau has also asked local police to conclude investigation and evidence collection inn the murder of the Australian travel agent within 15 days so that the case can proceed in court as soon as possible in an attempt to restore confidence among foreign tourists."

Rushing an investigation is hardly the way to restore confidence. Wrapping up a murder case in 15 days to have it thrown out of court because they overlooked something in the rush. Take your time and dot all your "i's" and cross all your "T's".

P.S Foreign tourists do not forget about incidents like this in 2 weeks, it will take longer for confidence to be restored and with another 2 stabbing in the same week justing getting this lone case to court is not going to make all the others just simply vanish. Clean up a few others while your at it and that may help.

[Ferangled]

Ferangled: "Tracking people's movements is too Big Brother for my tastes". You live in Thailand how about 90 day reporting and hotels etc reporting daily on foreign guests is that not Big Brother activity.

You obviously haven't read any of my posts. That quote was Nisa's I believe

[OzMick]

Might that not also be a deterrent to inter-province tourists? Have you considered that this vast quantity of data would exclude plane, bus and boat arrivals, in fact anyone who didn't arrive in an out-of-province vehicle?

Good point Mick, quite how many people can fly without ID these days? And quite how many buses arrive by air/ sea?

I was under the impression that ID is required to purchase a bus ticket to Phuket in the first place and ID was required to fly these days.... As far as a deterrent to inter-province tourists, unless these were tourists actively seeking to conceal their identity/ whereabouts I really can't see the issue.

Logging number plates at the checkpoint and actively checking/ logging IDs isn't a cure all, fool proof solution, but it would be a step in the right direction at least... IMO. It's fairly standard procedure in the West.

I really don't see the point of having the checkpoint if they aren't actively compiling number plate data & checking vehicles/ IDs regularly. Past cases in Phuket have shown that they are not, and numerous times criminals have managed to flee the island by car despite police being aware of the suspect's identity/ car registration.

You are of course welcome to come up with your own constructive suggestion or if it's easier just pick holes, real or imaginary, in others suggestions

Buses travel overland, with out-of-state plates, and are the preferred means of transport of the less-well off. Are you suggesting that every bus should be stopped and the passenger's ID be recorded? To what end? And no, ID is not required to buy a bus ticket, even to Phuket. If on "numerous times criminals have managed to flee the island by car despite police being aware of the suspect's identity/ car registration", what is the point of recording more?Where in the west is it "standard procedure" to stop all out-of-state vehicles for ID checks of occupants?

Yes, exactly, buses travel over land, over the bridge and through the checkpoint. In my experience here every time I have bought a bus ticket from Phuket to Bangkok or vice versa, ID was taken but even without IDs it would still be useful to track the comings and goings of these buses simply by number plate.

I suggest the use of number plate recognition and databasing the results, which is standard procedure on major bridges/ tunnels in the west. When an arrest warrant is issued for someone in the UK and the police have the car registration, if a vehicle with matching number plate goes through the Dartford tunnel, the system will flag this up. It's not even particularly modern technology and has been in place for some time.

Clearly I'm not suggesting they stop all vehicles but stopping a few vehicles for checks would seem prudent - it is called a "CHECK POINT" for a reason after all.

The point of this being fairly obvious to anyone with half a brain cell...

I notice you ignore offering up any constructive suggestions in favour of trying to pick holes in mine, why am I not surprised?!

You have gone from 'I personally would like to see stringent ID/ number plate checks & records at the Sarasin checkpoint rather than sleeping policemen...."to " stopping a few vehicles for checks" and number plate recognition technology, and tracking buses on set routes.And I still have no idea what you expect to gain in the way of crime prevention.

[Nisa]

"Gen Chonsit said the National Police Bureau has also asked local police to conclude investigation and evidence collection inn the murder of the Australian travel agent within 15 days so that the case can proceed in court as soon as possible in an attempt to restore confidence among foreign tourists."

Rushing an investigation is hardly the way to restore confidence. Wrapping up a murder case in 15 days to have it thrown out of court because they overlooked something in the rush. Take your time and dot all your "i's" and cross all your "T's".

P.S Foreign tourists do not forget about incidents like this in 2 weeks, it will take longer for confidence to be restored and with another 2 stabbing in the same week justing getting this lone case to court is not going to make all the others just simply vanish. Clean up a few others while your at it and that may help.

I wouldn't jump to a conclusion that bringing something to court is the same as starting a trial. Keep in mind too that the two are likely going to be pleading guilty. Regardless of a guilty plea or not, it is likely going to be some time before the case is concluded. As for people forgetting, people do have short memories and I doubt too many tourists are going to change their plans because of a single murder during a robbery. Anybody coming to Thailand for the first time should have done a bit of research to learn it is by no means a crime free nation and that tourists are at risk of scams.

Edited June 27, 2012 by Nisa

[Ferangled]

You have gone from 'I personally would like to see stringent ID/ number plate checks & records at the Sarasin checkpoint rather than sleeping policemen...."to " stopping a few vehicles for checks" and number plate recognition technology, and tracking buses on set routes.And I still have no idea what you expect to gain in the way of crime prevention.

I haven't gone anywhere, that's exactly what I had in mind with the original post. It became clear that you needed further explanation but it's evident now that such ideas go way over your head. I never suggested stopping every vehicle or tracking buses on set routes; that's your obtuse take on it.

I took it for granted that most would understand that number plate checks and records can be carried out via CCTV recognition software these days and not manually stopping each vehicle, writing down the number plate on a bit of paper and doing what exactly with it? File it for a rainy day?

I take it you're struggling to understand the concept of car registration being linked to personal ID and the use of databases to collate information?

Let's make this really simple with a quite obvious example...

Man shoots tourist and runs away. Police issue arrest warrant and have car registration. Suspect drives off island and disappears. End of story.

Man shoots tourist and runs away. Police issue arrest warrant and car registration is flagged on database as wanted, active arrest warrant. Suspect attempts to drive off island, number plate is flagged automatically as he gets to checkpoint despite sleeping policemen. Alarm sounds, he is pulled over and arrested, tried, sentenced and put away for a long time.

Of course active police collation of information, vigilant officers at the check point and this could be done the old fashioned way but past cases have proved this doesn't work here... and we do have a shiny new checkpoint with the facilities to make this a reality.

Never mind Mick just go back to bitching about how poor police work is in Thailand, while offering up nothing constructive to improve it...

[Nisa]

Ferangled: "Tracking people's movements is too Big Brother for my tastes". You live in Thailand how about 90 day reporting and hotels etc reporting daily on foreign guests is that not Big Brother activity.

You obviously haven't read any of my posts. That quote was Nisa's I believe

It was me -- And I agree, I don't like the government tracking people but given the current state of countries (not open borders), I do understand a government wanting to keep up on the address of foreigners .. but don't like it and certainly don't want more tracking and questioning ... especially if it is intrusions such as ID-ing folks on buses in cars (and of course pedestrians and bikes) simply because they want to visit a city such as Phukett. Given the limited access and how it would not be intrusive, I have no problem with have a video of the front and back of vehicles in hopes of picking up the license plate. As for tracking it with readers and putting it into a database, that is too much and serves no purpose but tracking innocent people's movements.

[Ferangled]

Ferangled: "Tracking people's movements is too Big Brother for my tastes". You live in Thailand how about 90 day reporting and hotels etc reporting daily on foreign guests is that not Big Brother activity.

You obviously haven't read any of my posts. That quote was Nisa's I believe

It was me -- And I agree, I don't like the government tracking people but given the current state of countries (not open borders), I do understand a government wanting to keep up on the address of foreigners .. but don't like it and certainly don't want more tracking and questioning ... especially if it is intrusions such as ID-ing folks on buses in cars (and of course pedestrians and bikes) simply because they want to visit a city such as Phukett. Given the limited access and how it would not be intrusive, I have no problem with have a video of the front and back of vehicles in hopes of picking up the license plate. As for tracking it with readers and putting it into a database, that is too much and serves no purpose but tracking innocent people's movements.

Nisa, Phuket is a province, an island and on this island there happens to be a town/ city called Phuket town...

A good example of this technology being used on a wide scale (although not appropriate purpose) would be the congestion charge in central London. It works, it's not science fiction, it doesn't have to be an intrusion of your personal rights or freedom, it could be used simply to monitor vehicles crossing the bridge, flagging up any that have pending arrest warrants.

Phuket has a single road access point, central London has hundreds. It's not rocket science and would be a far better use of tax payers money than vehicle X ray machines etc... it doesn't have to be used to track your movements, it's simple border control and effective policing.

Edit - I believe Simple1 was disagreeing with you by pointing out that far more intrusive systems already exist here...

Edited June 27, 2012 by Ferangled