Blocking Of Krabi Video Considered

[fullcave]

why they just don't arrest the perp and be done with it?

[jcw]

Looks like the Krabi police have released pictures of the rapist and victim. Public relations trumps police investigations any time in the Magic Kingdom. While this may work in Thailand, the audience is in europe and the world and they might find this new video freakingly abhorently ugly.

Major faceloss for the Boys in Brown

I agree. They have identifed the victim twice and from viewing the still alone it looks like they are now giving the impression she was up for it. Its very much tit for tat. This one will not go viral. They should have sung it perhaps. (No thats a joke. no comments please)

It looks like a way of discrediting the alleged victim, and a childish reply to what they seem to think was a loss of face with the Evil Man of Krabi song.

Is it orders form Gov ministers to downplay it and give the ok to go bash and rape tourist?

[mancub]

Good video, its sad that youtube now brings more justice in Thailand than the BIB

No it does not bring justice. Justice is when a court reaches a verdict, not when many people listen to only one side.

And many a court in many a land has reached a verdict that was unjust ! How many people have been wrongly incarcerated ..how many have court decisions have been influenced by things other than the facts ?

There is Justice per se , as determined by a court of law ....and there is the personal heart-felt justice being asked for by a father who believes that his daughter was beaten and raped .

You are eager to dismiss parts of the reported story as "hearsay " , yet you seem prepared to readily accept that it was 3 am ,she was very drunk and went with a complete stranger ?

It's hard to keep a an objective view ....personally I doubt this girl ( or many others ) would want to go through all this public drama if she didn't feel it necessary. I may be wrong and it may all turn out to be a publicity stunt ....but I ,personally ,subjective or one-sided if you like ,seriously doubt it .

The the first part of your posting: Do you really believe mob rule is the answer?

To the second part: No, I didn't dismiss anything or classified it as hearsay. I said that we have not heard the other side of the story. Or would you deny that the discussion here is biased?

I have no idea what you're talking about regarding mob rule ???

As for bias ....based on what ? If 99 people air their opinion that the Earth is round ,based on their experience ,and only 3 defend it as flat , based on theirs , that only shows that the vast majority that voiced an interest believe it to be round !!

[mancub]

Looks like the Krabi police have released pictures of the rapist and victim. Public relations trumps police investigations any time in the Magic Kingdom. While this may work in Thailand, the audience is in europe and the world and they might find this new video freakingly abhorently ugly.

Major faceloss for the Boys in Brown

One cannot condone mob rule and then criticize it if people do what the mob wants.

Where and how did " mob rule " become such a part of this thread for you ?

[Jaivin2011]

The Thai politicans and government officials are living in denial!!!!!! I curse that they and their immediate families ie mothers, wifes, daughters etc end up in the same way one day if not at least I pray that they all end up with soem form of cancer or another and perish very slowly and painfully!

In the meanwhile, all you expats and foreigners should do something out there! This is how they value foreigners in this country!! get people to boycott not only tourism to thailand but also all thai products and also lobby your governments back home to stop giving any kind of aid to thailand and whenever you see thais in your home country....treat then the way that they treat foreigners in thailand.

[jcw]

whenever you see thais in your home country....treat then the way that they treat foreigners in thailand

You mean charge them ten times more, bash them then rape them ? A bit harsh eh ?

[Amras]

whenever you see thais in your home country....treat then the way that they treat foreigners in thailand

You mean charge them ten times more, bash them then rape them ? A bit harsh eh ?

This is just stupid. Dual pricing I don't agree with, but it isn't that prevalent where it becomes an issue.

And the second part....it is a few bad apples that the entire whole has and comes up everywhere. Doesn't mean we should treat the rest of the people from the same country that way. I'm sure they are decent living people.

[jcw]

Curious, anyone know how much this guys bail was?

[onthemoon]

Looks like the Krabi police have released pictures of the rapist and victim. Public relations trumps police investigations any time in the Magic Kingdom. While this may work in Thailand, the audience is in europe and the world and they might find this new video freakingly abhorently ugly.

Major faceloss for the Boys in Brown

One cannot condone mob rule and then criticize it if people do what the mob wants.

Where and how did " mob rule " become such a part of this thread for you ?

At the point where (almost) everybody agreed that the guy is guilty and the father's video should be published everywhere "to demand justice". I understand from postings here that the video is now going around in Dutch web-boards as well. I find that really sad.

Maybe I'm the only left here who thinks that "innocent until proven guilty" is an unalienable right - if, and only if, you think that democracy needs rule of law, and fair trials. What I read in this thread resembles Lynch-style "justice" more than anything else. The mob wants to rule.

The "boys in brown", as you call them, have given in to the pressure and released information that they usually wouldn't, in order to calm the mob down. Why do you criticize that? Isn't that what you wanted, more information so that you can judge the defendant before any real judge has the chance?

You blame the Thai cops for following Thai law, and when they give in and follow what you demand, you criticize them again. ("You" being the generic term, not you personally.)

Yes, the defendant may be guilty. "May" is the operative word here. He is innocent until is has been proven that he is guilty. In my book, at least. Apparently not in yours.

[mancub]

Curious, anyone know how much this guys bail was?

I'm curious to know what criteria it would be based on....financial status ,abitity to pay or proportionate to the alleged charges -or a combination of all + a few others . Can the police ask for a high figure to be posted ,or is it solely at the disgression of the courts ? The figure given in the case of the 93yr old Farang alleged paedophile in CM recently was quoted at 400,000 bt .

[mancub]

Looks like the Krabi police have released pictures of the rapist and victim. Public relations trumps police investigations any time in the Magic Kingdom. While this may work in Thailand, the audience is in europe and the world and they might find this new video freakingly abhorently ugly.

Major faceloss for the Boys in Brown

One cannot condone mob rule and then criticize it if people do what the mob wants.

Where and how did " mob rule " become such a part of this thread for you ?

At the point where (almost) everybody agreed that the guy is guilty and the father's video should be published everywhere "to demand justice". I understand from postings here that the video is now going around in Dutch web-boards as well. I find that really sad.

Maybe I'm the only left here who thinks that "innocent until proven guilty" is an unalienable right - if, and only if, you think that democracy needs rule of law, and fair trials. What I read in this thread resembles Lynch-style "justice" more than anything else. The mob wants to rule.

The "boys in brown", as you call them, have given in to the pressure and released information that they usually wouldn't, in order to calm the mob down. Why do you criticize that? Isn't that what you wanted, more information so that you can judge the defendant before any real judge has the chance?

You blame the Thai cops for following Thai law, and when they give in and follow what you demand, you criticize them again. ("You" being the generic term, not you personally.)

Yes, the defendant may be guilty. "May" is the operative word here. He is innocent until is has been proven that he is guilty. In my book, at least. Apparently not in yours.

I certainly have never declared that he is guilty ..and I believe that only one poster openly did.

Personally , I only wish to see a fair trial , where evidence is not lost or tampered with and no bribe money is offered nor accepted ,and a fair verdict returned ...in a timely manner ! Not too much to ask for in a democratic society .....

[bunuel]

Not to mention there is any hint at all, and actually an indication to dismiss the possibility, the accused is anything but an average Thai

Could you elaborate on this?

I know you like to think of yourself as a defender of the poor defenceless Thais against the ignorant Thai Visa posters but even for you this seems an extraordinary statement.

Just a note from the perspective of the international tourism industry:

The accused is certainly not an "average Thai" - according to all reports I have seen, he was a Tourist Guide, which makes the alleged assault much worse for the Thai Tourism industry. A number of posters have suggested that the victim should have been more wary of a "stranger". While that is a very debatable issue, the fact is the one person a foreign tourist in any country should be able to trust is a

Tourist Guide. Indeed, a reputable Tourist Guide does not even have consensual sex with foreign clients under any conditions.Such conduct is simply not professional, and would be grounds for dismissal in most travel businesses around the world.

Clearly, the Tourism Minister was either uninformed or overlooked this detail when he stated that the alleged victim had " consensual sex" with the accused. However, since there seems to be ample evidence that the victim was, in fact, severely beaten and then raped, the fact that the alleged perpetrator is a Thai Tourism Guide creates yet another serious public relations problem for the Thai Tourism Industry.

Prediction: thanks to the professional incompetence and callous insensitivity of the Thai Tourism minister, this story will continue to snowball unless the government makes a drastic change of course and shows some empathy for the victim and her father.

[jcw]

POst #252 above has many excellent points

[onthemoon]

One cannot condone mob rule and then criticize it if people do what the mob wants.

Where and how did " mob rule " become such a part of this thread for you ?

At the point where (almost) everybody agreed that the guy is guilty and the father's video should be published everywhere "to demand justice". I understand from postings here that the video is now going around in Dutch web-boards as well. I find that really sad.

Maybe I'm the only left here who thinks that "innocent until proven guilty" is an unalienable right - if, and only if, you think that democracy needs rule of law, and fair trials. What I read in this thread resembles Lynch-style "justice" more than anything else. The mob wants to rule.

The "boys in brown", as you call them, have given in to the pressure and released information that they usually wouldn't, in order to calm the mob down. Why do you criticize that? Isn't that what you wanted, more information so that you can judge the defendant before any real judge has the chance?

You blame the Thai cops for following Thai law, and when they give in and follow what you demand, you criticize them again. ("You" being the generic term, not you personally.)

Yes, the defendant may be guilty. "May" is the operative word here. He is innocent until is has been proven that he is guilty. In my book, at least. Apparently not in yours.

I certainly have never declared that he is guilty ..and I believe that only one poster openly did.

Personally , I only wish to see a fair trial , where evidence is not lost or tampered with and no bribe money is offered nor accepted ,and a fair verdict returned ...in a timely manner ! Not too much to ask for in a democratic society .....

Good to hear that we agree.

All those people who retweeted the father's video will disagree with us, though. They have made up their minds about the defendant, they don't want to see a fair trial.

Edited November 11, 2012 by onthemoon

[JetsetBkk]

<snip>

All those people who retweeted the father's video will disagree with us, though. They have made up their minds about the defendant, they don't want to see a fair trial.

Don't be silly. Of course we want him to have a fair trial. And then we want him jailed.

[jvs]

Many issues here,hard to keep them separated and in their proper place.Imo The BIB did what they had to do and did what they could do.The fact that the alleged rapist has been allowed bail is a thing the courts handle.I do agree rape is a terrible thing and should be dealt with according to the law,but the law in Thailand and in Holland are not the same i would think.I personally know a girl who was raped in Bkk about a year ago and she did not even bother to report it to the police,she just quit her job and went back home.

People here are outraged by what the courts did,letting the rapist out on bail does not mean he is off the hook.

Is justice in Holland any better?Last week a very well known K1 fighter from Holland was also released after he spent some months in jail for attempted manslaughter and lying about it to the police,many Dutch people are up in arms about that case also.

I do not know all of the details but it does show not everybody is agreeing with court decisions but courts are guided by the law and like it or not we have to live with that.

[onthemoon]

<snip>

All those people who retweeted the father's video will disagree with us, though. They have made up their minds about the defendant, they don't want to see a fair trial.

Don't be silly. Of course we want him to have a fair trial. And then we want him jailed.

Very funny, hahaha. I hope I'll never have to stand trial in your country.

[ttelise]

Many issues here,hard to keep them separated and in their proper place.Imo The BIB did what they had to do and did what they could do.The fact that the alleged rapist has been allowed bail is a thing the courts handle.I do agree rape is a terrible thing and should be dealt with according to the law,but the law in Thailand and in Holland are not the same i would think.I personally know a girl who was raped in Bkk about a year ago and she did not even bother to report it to the police,she just quit her job and went back home.

People here are outraged by what the courts did,letting the rapist out on bail does not mean he is off the hook.

Is justice in Holland any better?Last week a very well known K1 fighter from Holland was also released after he spent some months in jail for attempted manslaughter and lying about it to the police,many Dutch people are up in arms about that case also.

I do not know all of the details but it does show not everybody is agreeing with court decisions but courts are guided by the law and like it or not we have to live with that.

In Thailand, seems that very little is decided by courts, except drug cases, and most everything is resolved by paying victims and officials off. Did those two guys sentenced to death and then released on bail ever return to jail?

Candidly, Thai officials will influence findings to what serve their interests more than the victims. Their posture now reflects having system, evidence and media whirlwind all to find victim brought this on herself so they look less incompetent. Urging such beliefs at this stage is directly contrary to administration of justice and is, in my opinion, reprehensible. So is publishing victim's name and photo in rape case, but this is about par for course based on Thai moral compass.

Edited November 11, 2012 by ttelise

[fish fingers]

I think this story will have an effect on tourism, it will certainly drive the good tourists away.

But there is a silver lining for the Tourism Minister, Thailand will always be attractive to perverts, conmen and sad bachelors looking for a quick way to lose their money.

[Skywalker69]

whenever you see thais in your home country....treat then the way that they treat foreigners in thailand

You mean charge them ten times more, bash them then rape them ? A bit harsh eh ?

Also in the Western World you sure as h*ll wont walk free.

[soundman]

Posts removed from view. Try to keep it civil please.

[lovelomsak]

Not to condone or dismiss rape for I feel it is a horrible crime. But there is a cultural side to this that seems to have been missed that may have enraged the man as stupid as it may sound. I am also sorry that it is me who has to bring this into the thread.

Has anyone ever heard a thai man say to a woman "Nong tong can pye hong cap pee mai?" This translate to "Do you want to go to a room with me?" Which is the thai way of saying can we go have sex together.This is purely speculation on my part ok . But perhaps the innocent, nieve young woman invited the thai man to her room or vice versa and the went to a room together. She wouldnot have been aware that he was expecting sex as it would be understood by a thai woman. When he was denied sex he may have became outraged by what he may have seen as an insult or loss of face. In a thai court he may be found innocent for this very reason sad as it may sound.

Edited November 12, 2012 by lovelomsak

[DocN]

Not to condone or dismiss rape for I feel it is a horrible crime. But there is a cultural side to this that seems to have been missed that may have enraged the man as stupid as it may sound. I am also sorry that it is me who has to bring this into the thread.

Has anyone ever heard a thai man say to a woman "Nong tong can pye hong cap pee mai?" This translate to "Do you want to go to a room with me?" Which is the thai way of saying can we go have sex together.This is purely speculation on my part ok . But perhaps the innocent, nieve young woman invited the thai man to her room or vice versa and the went to a room together. She wouldnot have been aware that he was expecting sex as it would be understood by a thai woman. When he was denied sex he may have became outraged by what he may have seen as an insult or loss of face. In a thai court he may be found innocent for this very reason sad as it may sound.

Yeah all fine and nice!

Problem is: he should have noted (and respected) that she obviously changed her mind, when she screamed "NO" and "STOP" and was struggeling under him to get free!

But it also maybe a cultural thing, NOT to give any thought to what a woman is saying and so conclusively beat the living daylights out of her and just make her "enjoy" what he wants to do!

I said it before: there may be "culture" and "tradition"...and than, there is the law.

Unfortunately, I don't know what it says, but the ministers way of telling us that rape is not really rape, if you have dinner first, makes me fear the worst!

[HeavyDrinker]

I'm afraid that rape is rape is rape.

To try and bring culture into it is not only repulsive but is morally wrong.

If a lady says "no" in any language or culture, then "no" is should be....

[softgeorge]

I'm afraid that rape is rape is rape.

To try and bring culture into it is not only repulsive but is morally wrong.

If a lady says "no" in any language or culture, then "no" is should be....

Agree. I also didn't know it was part of the Thai culture to rape foreign women or part of the dutch culture for women to be raped by Thai men.

[likewise]

There culture, beliefs and social development is way behind ours, here a few words that I've heard from prosecutors during translating for numerous cases : Rape is not considered a heavy crime in Thai law......

If a female has done a crime the sentence will be much lower then when said crime has been done by a male.

Our Buddhist religion calls for forgiveness for people who went in the wrong

Drugs is one of the hardest crimes one can engage in today's society.

I've heard many more but these are a few that I can remember.

In one case which I translated for, the prosecutor seemed to be on the side of the suspect and was very critical and patronizing towards the victim. After a while it became clear, that said prosecutor had received "gifts" from suspect, he has been demoted and sent to Bangkok to inactive post. But things could have gone way differently if lawyers hadn't done their homework so well, so heads off for those lawyers who just wouldn't stand that a farang victim was being punished a second time by their "justice system".

[Buchholz]

“Evil Man From Krabi”: Thai image protectionism gone horribly wrong

A few weeks ago in late October, a YouTube video titled “Evil man from Krabi” was uploaded and describes an incident, where a woman was assaulted and raped by a Thai tour guide earlier this summer in the Southern resort town of Ao Nang, Krabi province – before it suddenly turns into an English-language music video that repeats the accusations and calls for justice (the man in the video is the victim’s father).

Even though the suspect was arrested by the local police (a full month after the sexual assault), but was released on bail soon after.

Ever since this video was reported by Thai media last week, it went viral: the view counts have quadrupled and are now over 400,000 as of this writing. However, the reactions by Thai officials have been everything but supportive to the father’s plea. Instead…

Continued:

http://asiancorrespo...horribly-wrong/

.

[ManInSurat]

Firstly, had the police just applied the law correctly in this case and come down hard on the rapist they wouldn't have to worry about taking measures to stem the flow of money out of tourism. They wouldn't have to contend with viral videos and trying to block them. It would be costing them significantly less Baht in lost tourism revenue than it is now and considerably less time and effort. So very much som nam naa that they are allegedly hemorrhaging money now (which I don't believe).

Banging the guy up and dealing with him properly isn't going to cost them millions of Baht. The Thai police and gov't acting mindlessly, failing to apply the law, spouting dangerous drivel about buying a woman dinner before you savagely beat her and rape her, forcing enraged fathers to create viral videos and then having to deal with the fallout of that - THAT will cost you millions of Baht. All to prevent the loss of one scummy rapist's face. It really beggars belief.

And... block the video? ... It constantly amazes me how incredibly naive and stupid Thais in government and/or authority can be about the internet. The MICT internet blocking controls they have in place right now are literally the most laughable government control I've ever seen. It's like them trying to stem the flow of Niagara falls with one bucket that is mostly full of holes. The Great Firewall of China? .... The Ricidulous Rickety Bamboo Firewall of Thailand. Watching them try will be entertaining though.

Tell you what, just block Youtube arbitrarily again for 9 months. Just to abet one rapist and prevent the tiny dent in profits the country will make through tourism this year. That does actually sound like something the gov't/MICT/TAT would do now that I think about it.

Also, would the same Thai officials be brushing off the beating and rape of a lady if the perpetrator had been a foreigner and the victim a Thai? If the victim had been one of their family members or friends?

No chance in hell. It'd be headline news and the manipulated Thai media circus would demonize and tar every foreigner with the same brush.

They'd parade Johnny Foreigner around the streets and through press and photo ops like an animal, they'd turn up mob-handed to the re-enactment of the crime baying for the foreigner's blood. He'd be lucky to survive custody without some form of retribution for him daring to even touch a Thai and his life in prison after that would be a fate worse than death.

It's a tough scenario to imagine as from my memory foreigners raping Thais is a virtually non-existant problem here. Thais raping/attacking foreigners (or attempting to) is dramatically on the increase.

It's always been one rule for them and sub-human rules for us. That does not surprise me in the slightest.

If you're lucky enough to have to influential Thai friends/family or have a lot of money, you might be able to change the status quo, I'd imagine there's very few people that fall into this category.

There's nothing you can do to change the system. You either have to leave or put up with the fact there's going to be severe injustices around you, happening regularly. Viral video or no viral video, Thailand's revenue generated through tourism increases every year. I like what the Dutch father has tried to do, but it'll be out of the spotlight soon and people have extremely short memories.

What particularly galls me about this is that a Thai in position of power is basically explaining to would-be rapists how to ensure your bail and release. Buy them a meal first. This gives you carte blanche to severely beat someone and force yourself upon them.

Until a foreigner commits a crime like this on a Thai lady. Then everything changes and the country goes ape-shit.

Thais, in general, do have a very different and definitely backward view about rape. The amount of Thai women who've told me (via my wife or directly) that as a teenager they were forced upon by some boy(s) and this was their first sexual experience is very shocking.

Thai men are incredibly repressed about sex all of their lives and I've always maintained that this is a large part of the problem. Nearly all of Thailand's holiday resorts are highly sexualized in one form or another. Their TV ads, TV shows, films, magazines are all getting much much more sexualized, yet the overall culture towards sex and nudity in general is extremely repressed. When you have that extreme dichotomy, I personally think it makes the men in that place, generally, much more predisposed to committing acts of sexual violence. I digress, that's a whole other debate.

A "Yeah, but she was asking for it" culture still exists within a lot of foregin countries, for women who get drunk, act dubiously and then cry wolf after the sex took place through a feeling of guilt or not wanting to get in trouble for cheating on someone.

I know for a fact in the UK, unless you've specifically asked for consent from the person you're trying to have sex with, the woman can technically report you for rape and there are women who do use the law to get innocent men into trouble.

Never have I seen or heard anyone in authority (or not) condoning extreme physical violence and violent rape of a woman. That really leaves me open-mouthed.

That's where Thailand differs and shows the extreme stupidity of its leadership on a regular basis.

None of this is in the least bit surprising, nothing will be done about it other than measures to prevent a loss of money and year on year tourism revenue increases. The loss of money may affect the immediate area, but the overall countrywide total will continue to increase for the forseeable future.

Another day in paradise.

Edited November 12, 2012 by ManInSurat

[evadgib]

@Onthemoon #236;

You have no idea what they are saying and you judge anyway? It is you who shot himself in the foot, methinks.

The police are explaining what they have done and that they are following the law. The law may be different in the NL, but they have to follow Thai law. The NL embassy have been following up with the police on a constant basis and perfectly understand this.

But then, you have made up your mind about the Thai police already and probably don't want to be confused with facts. My apologies.

Until they act in the manner you describe for every case in which they are involved I stand by my initial assessment. You might like to google "GPMG" re the seriousness of injuries to the foot:)

Edited November 12, 2012 by evadgib

[softgeorge]

Firstly, had the police just applied the law correctly in this case and come down hard on the rapist they wouldn't have to worry about taking measures to stem the flow of money out of tourism. They wouldn't have to contend with viral videos and trying to block them. It would be costing them significantly less Baht in lost tourism revenue than it is now and considerably less time and effort. So very much som nam naa that they are allegedly hemorrhaging money now (which I don't believe).

Banging the guy up and dealing with him properly isn't going to cost them millions of Baht. The Thai police and gov't acting mindlessly, failing to apply the law, spouting dangerous drivel about buying a woman dinner before you savagely beat her and rape her, forcing enraged fathers to create viral videos and then having to deal with the fallout of that - THAT will cost you millions of Baht. All to prevent the loss of one scummy rapist's face. It really beggars belief.

And... block the video? ... It constantly amazes me how incredibly naive and stupid Thais in government and/or authority can be about the internet. The MICT internet blocking controls they have in place right now are literally the most laughable government control I've ever seen. It's like them trying to stem the flow of Niagara falls with one bucket that is mostly full of holes. The Great Firewall of China? .... The Ricidulous Rickety Bamboo Firewall of Thailand. Watching them try will be entertaining though.

Tell you what, just block Youtube arbitrarily again for 9 months. Just to abet one rapist and prevent the tiny dent in profits the country will make through tourism this year. That does actually sound like something the gov't/MICT/TAT would do now that I think about it.

Also, would the same Thai officials be brushing off the beating and rape of a lady if the perpetrator had been a foreigner and the victim a Thai? If the victim had been one of their family members or friends?

No chance in hell. It'd be headline news and the manipulated Thai media circus would demonize and tar every foreigner with the same brush.

They'd parade Johnny Foreigner around the streets and through press and photo ops like an animal, they'd turn up mob-handed to the re-enactment of the crime baying for the foreigner's blood. He'd be lucky to survive custody without some form of retribution for him daring to even touch a Thai and his life in prison after that would be a fate worse than death.

It's a tough scenario to imagine as from my memory foreigners raping Thais is a virtually non-existant problem here. Thais raping/attacking foreigners (or attempting to) is dramatically on the increase.

It's always been one rule for them and sub-human rules for us. That does not surprise me in the slightest.

If you're lucky enough to have to influential Thai friends/family or have a lot of money, you might be able to change the status quo, I'd imagine there's very few people that fall into this category.

There's nothing you can do to change the system. You either have to leave or put up with the fact there's going to be severe injustices around you, happening regularly. Viral video or no viral video, Thailand's revenue generated through tourism increases every year. I like what the Dutch father has tried to do, but it'll be out of the spotlight soon and people have extremely short memories.

What particularly galls me about this is that a Thai in position of power is basically explaining to would-be rapists how to ensure your bail and release. Buy them a meal first. This gives you carte blanche to severely beat someone and force yourself upon them.

Until a foreigner commits a crime like this on a Thai lady. Then everything changes and the country goes ape-shit.

Thais, in general, do have a very different and definitely backward view about rape. The amount of Thai women who've told me (via my wife or directly) that as a teenager they were forced upon by some boy(s) and this was their first sexual experience is very shocking.

Thai men are incredibly repressed about sex all of their lives and I've always maintained that this is a large part of the problem. Nearly all of Thailand's holiday resorts are highly sexualized in one form or another. Their TV ads, TV shows, films, magazines are all getting much much more sexualized, yet the overall culture towards sex and nudity in general is extremely repressed. When you have that extreme dichotomy, I personally think it makes the men in that place, generally, much more predisposed to committing acts of sexual violence. I digress, that's a whole other debate.

A "Yeah, but she was asking for it" culture still exists within a lot of foregin countries, for women who get drunk, act dubiously and then cry wolf after the sex took place through a feeling of guilt or not wanting to get in trouble for cheating on someone.

I know for a fact in the UK, unless you've specifically asked for consent from the person you're trying to have sex with, the woman can technically report you for rape and there are women who do use the law to get innocent men into trouble.

Never have I seen or heard anyone in authority (or not) condoning extreme physical violence and violent rape of a woman. That really leaves me open-mouthed.

That's where Thailand differs and shows the extreme stupidity of its leadership on a regular basis.

None of this is in the least bit surprising, nothing will be done about it other than measures to prevent a loss of money and year on year tourism revenue increases. The loss of money may affect the immediate area, but the overall countrywide total will continue to increase for the forseeable future.

Another day in paradise.

"but it'll be out of the spotlight soon and people have extremely short memories"

Not that short when thais celebrate such a thing. News from australia today

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/2012/11/12/15/45/why-thai-ambulance-workers-take-trophy-shots