Attempted Robbery 5Am This Morning

[Colonel_Mustard]

Glad you came out of it OK mate.

You don't get any of that mallarcy over here.People are actually nice to you and even stop to let you cross the road

Best move I have made in years moving away from that ever increasing hole (Phuket).

Pity it used to be such a nice place.

Ah yes, the "Phuket is a hole" crowd piping in.

SR-where is "over here" you refer to?

To the OP, yes, riding a motorbike to the airport at 5AM, probably not the best move, but glad all went safely in the end.

Don't tell him, Rich!!

I may be joining you soon and don't want the place ruined by too many farangs using up all the locals' good will.

Don't worry mate keeping this place quiet It's not full of dick's.

Sounds like it will be soon

[Poo Ying FeFe]

Did they let you go or did you just take off?

[manly100]

yep phuket is going to the dogs, get got now while your still alive and take the rest of the muppets with you.

[stevehaigh]

one of the kids on the bike in front started to get off his bike so i just hit the gas, turned around and started driving back towards tesco since i knew there would be more people around there than on the talang end of the road

i didn't report to the police since it was a bit of a non incident really, no one was touched, nothing taken. i doubt the police would be that interested.

my biggest mistake besides being there in the first place, was not realizing what was going on sooner. i'd seen these kids dogging me since close to the PTT gas station but i thought just kids screwing around. i've lived here 2 years and Thailand 10 and never had even the slightest hint of a problem except caught up in a fight at a concert once or twice. if i'd had been a bit smarter i could have taken evasive action sooner, or parked up in the open gas station until they moved on.

Edited December 29, 2012 by stevehaigh

[BookMan]

Probably best to remove your location from under your TV profile in that case

I think that's his previous location.

Classic misdirection. Excellent!

[Poo Ying FeFe]

So attempted robbery at gun point is now considered a non-incident?? Hmm, there goes my faith in my community. I suppose that if I spot this happening to you when I drive past you in my truck, I'll just give you a friendly wave because Steves is only getting robbed at gunpoint again...

Edited December 29, 2012 by Poo Ying FeFe

[I Like Thai]

You're lucky that you were on the way to the airport.

If you had been on the way home after a night out, half the crowd on here would have decided that

It was all your own fault.

You should be thankful that you weren't shot, you would have deserved it.

Stop complaining and go back to where you come from if you don't like it

[Poo Ying FeFe]

I would think you'd have more of a chance of getting something done about stopping this if you went to the newspapers, rather than the police.

A few incidences like this broadcast to the media and possibly picked up by the ambassadors in Bangkok might have some long lasting positive effect.

Anyway, glad you're OK and they didn't hurt you.

Newspapers will not generally run something that hasn't been reported to the police. The ambassadors and wardens can then present the news reports to police when they have their regular meetings with them adnask what they are doing about it. It does make a difference.

Agree!! Why should we let petty criminals have free reign. The police won't take it seriously if the victims and their community won't.

[Shot]

You should be thankful that you weren't shot, you would have deserved it.

Stop complaining and go back to where you come from if you don't like it

please leave me out of this

[dmitryspb]

stevehaigh, you MUST apply to police. There are many CCTV on the way and they can be traced.

[noob7]

one of the kids on the bike in front started to get off his bike so i just hit the gas, turned around and started driving back towards tesco since i knew there would be more people around there than on the talang end of the road

i didn't report to the police since it was a bit of a non incident really, no one was touched, nothing taken. i doubt the police would be that interested.

Bypass road?

So they stopped you at a u-turn and you u-turned, when you turned around??

Or did you drive back on the wrong side of the road?

Sorry that I ask, but the picture is not really sharp, at the moment! Also no police, so.....!

And, btw., the police would be interested

In special Chalong police! They may know these guys, anyway.

Also interesting, that they follow from Chalong to the bypass road.

Lots of options, for a camera catch!

Also all there mobilphones driving with your mobile, the same time, the same route!

Shouldn't be to difficult, to find these boys!

Edited December 29, 2012 by noob7

[NamKangMan]

stevehaigh, you MUST apply to police. There are many CCTV on the way and they can be traced.

CCTV cameras have a habit of being broken here, or, the footage lost etc etc. This is most common when 6 Thai guys beat the hell out of a farang on Bangla Road.

Maybe it's time to buy one of these, or something similar. Just bolt it onto the front of your bike.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/64MB-Waterproof-Action-Sport-Helmet-Motorcycle-DVR-Camera-Spy-Video-Camcorder-DV-/261048936090?pt=Camcorders_Professional_Video_Cameras&hash=item3cc7baa69a

Or this one, even smaller.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-MD80-Camera-DV-DVR-Video-MicroSD-Cam-Surveille-The-Worlds-Smallest-/290793134356?pt=US_Security_Cameras&hash=item43b49f1914

It will not stop the robbery, but may increase your chances of having the criminals caught and possibly recovering some of your property.

Also, would come in very handy if a Thai crashes into you and then tries to blame the accident on you, with the police saying you have to pay.

[grumpyoldman]

Glad you came out of it OK mate.

You don't get any of that mallarcy over here.People are actually nice to you and even stop to let you cross the road

Best move I have made in years moving away from that ever increasing hole (Phuket).

Pity it used to be such a nice place.

Ah yes, the "Phuket is a hole" crowd piping in.

SR-where is "over here" you refer to?

To the OP, yes, riding a motorbike to the airport at 5AM, probably not the best move, but glad all went safely in the end.

I am not a crowd, just my personal opinion after seven years I do not find it a nice place to live anymore.And you are one of rose tinted glasses crowd.

I suppose anyone who comes from America would find it safe on Phuket.

You are not even safe in school in the good ole USA.

Last sentence is a very very cheap shot. RIP Newton little ones.

[stevehaigh]

one of the kids on the bike in front started to get off his bike so i just hit the gas, turned around and started driving back towards tesco since i knew there would be more people around there than on the talang end of the road

i didn't report to the police since it was a bit of a non incident really, no one was touched, nothing taken. i doubt the police would be that interested.

Bypass road?

So they stopped you at a u-turn and you u-turned, when you turned around??

Or did you drive back on the wrong side of the road?

Sorry that I ask, but the picture is not really sharp, at the moment! Also no police, so.....!

And, btw., the police would be interested

In special Chalong police! They may know these guys, anyway.

Also interesting, that they follow from Chalong to the bypass road.

Lots of options, for a camera catch!

Also all there mobilphones driving with your mobile, the same time, the same route!

Shouldn't be to difficult, to find these boys!

i was about half way up the bypass, maybe a bit less. i just turned around and drove back the wrong way, thai style

anyhow, i just went to chalong police to report it but they are not interested since it happened in town so i have to go report there. i guess i'll do that when it stops raining.

[Phronesis]

i was about half way up the bypass, maybe a bit less.

Its your own fault.

When driving in the early morning on the bypass road you need to be doing at least 180km/h. That is the accepted Thai safety strategy for this stretch of road.

You should have left your scooter at home, and taken care to ensure your car was filled with gas, and your motor race tuned.

[tinfoilhat]

Yawn.

Any thread like this brings out NKM and his Phuket negativity.

Isolated incidents like this happen everywhere. Be vigilant of your surroundings.

yes they do happen everywhere, the thing is lately, in Phuket, they seem to be happening frequently.

Anyways, what surprises me most is the 5 am is dangerous crowd.

I don't know about where you live, but at 5-5:30 am my place in bkk it is a bustle of activity with street vendors etc all getting started on their days.

Perhaps it is simply a matter of increased media attention on Phuket, but saying you afraid go out between the hours of 23:00 - 6 am hardly seems to be a good way to describe a tourist paradise.

i can see the new ad campaign now Phuket - Paradise if you dont leave the Resort

Edited December 30, 2012 by tinfoilhat

[stevehaigh]

by the way, this little incident or the one where some kid drove his motorbike into the side of me a couple of months ago doesn't put me off phuket at all. i think its a great place to live but thanks for the advice I Like Thai: 'It was all your own fault.

You should be thankful that you weren't shot, you would have deserved it.

Stop complaining and go back to where you come from if you don't like it'

its to avoid people like you that i like living here

[noob7]

i was about half way up the bypass, maybe a bit less.

Its your own fault.

When driving in the early morning on the bypass road you need to be doing at least 180km/h. That is the accepted Thai safety strategy for this stretch of road.

You should have left your scooter at home, and taken care to ensure your car was filled with gas, and your motor race tuned.

I see a discrepancy here: No Thai has the car filled with gas, in the morning. And b/c the 500 baht fill from yesterday is almost empty, the Thai safety strategy must be different!

[I Like Thai]

by the way, this little incident or the one where some kid drove his motorbike into the side of me a couple of months ago doesn't put me off phuket at all. i think its a great place to live but thanks for the advice I Like Thai: 'It was all your own fault.

You should be thankful that you weren't shot, you would have deserved it.

Stop complaining and go back to where you come from if you don't like it'

its to avoid people like you that i like living here

I suggest you re-read my post again, you're comprehension is suspect.

Unless maybe you were coming from the pub, is that why you are a bit touchy

[NamKangMan]

by the way, this little incident or the one where some kid drove his motorbike into the side of me a couple of months ago doesn't put me off phuket at all. i think its a great place to live but thanks for the advice I Like Thai: 'It was all your own fault.

You should be thankful that you weren't shot, you would have deserved it.

Stop complaining and go back to where you come from if you don't like it'

its to avoid people like you that i like living here

I still like the place as well, despite what some members on TV may think. That said, out of curiosity, how many times would you have to be held up at gun point before you say enough is enough and seriously consider leaving Phuket?

Edited December 30, 2012 by NamKangMan

[stevehaigh]

by the way, this little incident or the one where some kid drove his motorbike into the side of me a couple of months ago doesn't put me off phuket at all. i think its a great place to live but thanks for the advice I Like Thai: 'It was all your own fault.

You should be thankful that you weren't shot, you would have deserved it.

Stop complaining and go back to where you come from if you don't like it'

its to avoid people like you that i like living here

I still like the place as well, despite what some members on TV may think. That said, out of curiosity, how many times would you have to be held up at gun point before you say enough is enough and seriously consider leaving Phuket?

and go where? somewhere where that never happens, like say Antarctica?

[NamKangMan]

by the way, this little incident or the one where some kid drove his motorbike into the side of me a couple of months ago doesn't put me off phuket at all. i think its a great place to live but thanks for the advice I Like Thai: 'It was all your own fault.

You should be thankful that you weren't shot, you would have deserved it.

Stop complaining and go back to where you come from if you don't like it'

its to avoid people like you that i like living here

I still like the place as well, despite what some members on TV may think. That said, out of curiosity, how many times would you have to be held up at gun point before you say enough is enough and seriously consider leaving Phuket?

and go where? somewhere where that never happens, like say Antarctica?

Somewhere where it wouldn't happen to you, and others, as often, and it's a serious question I am asking.

Basically, what is an acceptable level of crime we should expect here on Phuket, given that you can never fully eradicate crime.

Is one armed robbery a week acceptable? Is 10 armed robberies a week unacceptable?

Edited December 30, 2012 by NamKangMan

[noob7]

by the way, this little incident or the one where some kid drove his motorbike into the side of me a couple of months ago doesn't put me off phuket at all. i think its a great place to live but thanks for the advice I Like Thai: 'It was all your own fault.

You should be thankful that you weren't shot, you would have deserved it.

Stop complaining and go back to where you come from if you don't like it'

its to avoid people like you that i like living here

I still like the place as well, despite what some members on TV may think. That said, out of curiosity, how many times would you have to be held up at gun point before you say enough is enough and seriously consider leaving Phuket?

and go where? somewhere where that never happens, like say Antarctica?

Somewhere where it would happen to you, and others, as often, and it's a serious question I am asking.

Basically, what is an acceptable level of crime we should expect here on Phuket, given that you can never fully eradicate crime.

Is one armed robbery a week acceptable? Is 10 armed robberies a week unacceptable?

A week? Considering, that we mostly hear about 'farang involved', or gold shop robberies, maybe the one or the other 7/11 robber, only, but not about all muggings to locals:

We should be asked for the quote of a day, methinks.

The crime scene is moving quickly to the better (more valuable) targets.

[Poo Ying FeFe]

by the way, this little incident or the one where some kid drove his motorbike into the side of me a couple of months ago doesn't put me off phuket at all. i think its a great place to live but thanks for the advice I Like Thai: 'It was all your own fault.

You should be thankful that you weren't shot, you would have deserved it.

Stop complaining and go back to where you come from if you don't like it'

its to avoid people like you that i like living here

I still like the place as well, despite what some members on TV may think. That said, out of curiosity, how many times would you have to be held up at gun point before you say enough is enough and seriously consider leaving Phuket?

and go where? somewhere where that never happens, like say Antarctica?

'ILikeThai' seemed only to be predicting what some people on TV might say to you... His/her writing isn't very clear, I had to read it 3 times before I could understand it. I support anyone that speaks up about an incident, especially when its to inform their community. Power in numbers! If people want to start taking the bike out at 5 am instead of 6am then the petty criminals are going to have to start operating in shorter hours.

[Shot]

by the way, this little incident or the one where some kid drove his motorbike into the side of me a couple of months ago doesn't put me off phuket at all. i think its a great place to live but thanks for the advice I Like Thai: 'It was all your own fault.

You should be thankful that you weren't shot, you would have deserved it.

Stop complaining and go back to where you come from if you don't like it'

its to avoid people like you that i like living here

I still like the place as well, despite what some members on TV may think. That said, out of curiosity, how many times would you have to be held up at gun point before you say enough is enough and seriously consider leaving Phuket?

I was held at gunpoint twice within a few weeks in my home country. Both times in the middle of the day in decent neighborhoods. I lived there another 26 years.

[NamKangMan]

by the way, this little incident or the one where some kid drove his motorbike into the side of me a couple of months ago doesn't put me off phuket at all. i think its a great place to live but thanks for the advice I Like Thai: 'It was all your own fault.

You should be thankful that you weren't shot, you would have deserved it.

Stop complaining and go back to where you come from if you don't like it'

its to avoid people like you that i like living here

I still like the place as well, despite what some members on TV may think. That said, out of curiosity, how many times would you have to be held up at gun point before you say enough is enough and seriously consider leaving Phuket?

I was held at gunpoint twice within a few weeks in my home country. Both times in the middle of the day in decent neighborhoods. I lived there another 26 years.

The question is, how many times would you need to be a victim of crime here, before you considered leaving????

Let's use a common, non-violent crime, as an example.

If your house / unit / condo etc was broken into and your laptop, tablet, jewellery etc were stolen - you could say this was just bad luck. If you were then broken into again, 1 month later - you could say, "Well, the thieves came back because they know we would have replaced our stolen items with new ones." So, you may now look at extra security. Eg. house alarm, bars on windows etc.

If you were broken into a third time, soon after the second time, despite the extra security measures - would it be at that stage you would consider moving to a different part of the island?

If you did change location on Phuket, and get broken into again for the fourth time, would it be at this stage you would consider Phuket to have a serious crime problem, or would it take a fifth, or sixth time, for you to be broken into, within a calender year, before you consider Phuket to have an uncontrolable crime problem and the solution would be to leave the island?

Everyone has different tolerance levels.

If someone is out at 5am, and rather than be heading to the airport, they were on their way to their favourite beach for their daily sunrise walk or swim, and was held up several times, would they not have to change their habits, thus losing the freedom and enjoyment they chose to live here for, and once that freedom and enjoyment was lost, would they not consider leaving the island to regain it elsewhere?

Edited December 31, 2012 by NamKangMan

[Phronesis]

Basically, what is an acceptable level of crime we should expect here on Phuket

ZERO for crimes against a person

You can crash into my car or motorbike. You can steal my stuff. But you are NOT allowed to F..K with me.

[KarenBravo]

and go where? somewhere where that never happens, like say Antarctica?

I hear Chumpon's nice...............

[noob7]

by the way, this little incident or the one where some kid drove his motorbike into the side of me a couple of months ago doesn't put me off phuket at all. i think its a great place to live but thanks for the advice I Like Thai: 'It was all your own fault.

You should be thankful that you weren't shot, you would have deserved it.

Stop complaining and go back to where you come from if you don't like it'

its to avoid people like you that i like living here

I still like the place as well, despite what some members on TV may think. That said, out of curiosity, how many times would you have to be held up at gun point before you say enough is enough and seriously consider leaving Phuket?

I was held at gunpoint twice within a few weeks in my home country. Both times in the middle of the day in decent neighborhoods. I lived there another 26 years.

Resistance to state authority?

[NomadJoe]

I just (at 2am) travelled the Kata-Rawai road as I do every night on my bike between 8pm and 2am. There was a very big police check point set up in the hill near the ATV and Elephant trekking place. Tires and cones stacked in the road, 2 revolving red lights with lit triangles etc, At least a dozen very seriously dressed special police of some kind, some in camouflage with two fancy police SUV's with lights all flashing, one of them all white but I couldn't see the markings. Not regular BIB. They even had guys hiding down the road a ways in each direction presumably to catch u-turners. They had some Thai's stopped and were searching their bikes. They did not stop me. I was given a smile, wave and a "Slowly, thank you." For sure this is due to the high number if reports we have been hearing of robbers knocking people off their bikes along that road lately. I have heard of four incidents myself recently. It was really great to see them out there. I hope they keep it up.