Thai Man Charged With Murder Of British Holidaymaker

[limbos]

So your "all Thai's hate us" theory is derailed? Your sad delusion that this shooter deliberately targeted a young farang is disproved?

Just another cynical, hate-filled, ignorant and non-contributory post IMHO.

......and there is the main reason I contribute to this board so seldom; ignorant haters bring down the mood on almost EVERY thread with their cynical view of Thailand. I feel like saying "please go back to whatever crappy, gray country you come from and leave paradise to the people who enjoy it." And please don't post on this message board, your sourpuss mood ruins it for everyone else.

I have lived on Phangan for the last 6 high seasons, and while the parties at Haad Rin are way over-crowded and fights often do break out, for the most part they are safe and the tourists have a good time. You hear about a speed boat accident maybe once a year.....low considering there are dozens of them going back and forth from Samui for every big party....and this is only the second shooting I have EVER heard about; there was also one 2 months ago between 2 Thai's over a drug deal gone bad. Guns are rare on Phangan, even this guy had a home-made one, probably a zip gun style gadget like they used to make in prisons.

IMO the cops somehow caught this guy, and he's in huge trouble now; good for them. Not murder because it seemed accidental, but the guy will do 10 or 15 years because of the gun and taking someone's life; manslaughter at the very least. For those looking to be cynical and blaming the cops or hating Thai's in general, I am sure there is another thread somewhere about how bad bar girls are and how they steal your money, blah blah.....this thread is for mourning a young man and applauding the provincial police for a job well done.

I'm afraid that you have no clue what you're talking about regarding guns being rare on KP, or Samui for that matter. Ever been to a local wedding?

[webfact]

SURAT THANI

UK cautions citizens after Pha-ngan killing

KORNCHANOK RAKSASERI,

SOMCHAI SAMART

THE NATION

Full story:

[samuibeachcomber]

life is so cheap here.many thais carry guns as a matter of course and penalties very lenient too.

[NoshowJones]

Well done to the Thai Police for catching him. Good Job!

Yes, but the accused is obviously not from a rich family.

[shrimpythailand]

homemade thai "zip" gun - pencil shooter for a .22 cal bullet I saw a few years ago... slide it back and the spring shoots the metal into the bullet- about 5 parts to the whole thing and the size of a thin magic marker... like a CD marker

am trying to figure out how to upload the picture....but of course this guy could have had a bigger homemade gun

Firstly RIP Stephen Ashton, a tragic loss of life.

In time perhaps the full story will come out, call me pessimistic but I won't hold my breath on that.

For now, who knows what happened.. but there appears to be no suggestion that Stephen was targeted, it's entirely possible/likely that he really was the victim of a stray bullet. The chances of being hit by one in Thailand seem to be rare, but not unknown.

I have no idea what a "home made gun" looks like or how it works, assuming it shoots regular bullets Its seems highly unlikely that it's home made, perhaps home modified in the way that a sawn-off is home made.

I have no idea why a comment by rfukata says he (the killer) has no remorse in his face... I bet the guy is pretty scared and even if not remorseful he must by now appreciate the gravity of the situation. Perhaps he is genuinely only guilty of manslaughter in law (though in my opinion ANYONE who fires a gun should be guilty of murder if someone is killed), but given the international interest in this case, and the need for a public show of justice, he is sure to get a long sentence.

[NoshowJones]

Tragic story all round, however the Thais really don't help themselves...

If this guy was caught in crossfire, how can it be murder?

And seriously, are those two guys either side of him really the police?

Buck your ideas up BiB, the whole world is following this!

If anyone fires a gun in public and kills someone, technically it may be manslaughter, but it should be murder.

[NoshowJones]

He's being used to protect the tourist trade, and will be paid well for his troubles.

Can't be absolutely sure about this, but I think it's a strong possibility.

you are 100% sure about this......how?

[Soi Dog]

Absolutely tragic and condolences to the young man's family. One hopes that this murderer will not get out on bail soon.

[sbk]

One incredibly insensitive post removed. Don't repost that kind of thing.

[Lancelot]

life is so cheap here.many thais carry guns as a matter of course and penalties very lenient too.

Umm, depends on "Who you are and who you know"

[BigC]

Police identified the suspect as Ekkapun Klaewkla. Police said he confessed to killing Stephen Ashton, 22, a city trader, during an exchange of fire with another group of men who allegedly fired at his group.

Police quoted Ekkapun as claiming that his group was outnumbered during a fight at about 5am on January 1, so he decided to use his homemade gun to protect himself. Ashton was hit accidentally.

Dry that one out you can fertilize the lawn. Bullshit. And he thought of this himself or with a little help from the BIB - disgusting.

Amazing Lieland.

so you were there and sore what happened tell us the true story please

[BigC]

get it closed down , the only stain on this once beautiful island happens once a month , rapes on western women continue to be ignored, drugs are rife gangs are out of controll, corruption is rife. haad rin is a toilet , close it down and hang the bastard

typical British thinking. some people cause trouble and all the other people have to pay . there are thousands of people who do enjoy that party why it should be closed down because of some inccodents which in all fairness would only move these inccodents further down the road.

there is a demande for this venue and has bee for years but you have to rememeber an elmiante of risk when you are on a beach surround by freedome and celebrating freedome that bads trhings can happen. p[eople make theri own cjoices to go there they know what can happen so to close it down would just piss a few thousand people off.

i am sorry but one of the reasons whyt i left England is because of our stupid attidude about closing and banning things due to a few people behaving badly.

Closed down club UK because one daughter of a policeman willing took a pill and died.

out lawed gund because of a few nutters. so everyone else has to pay and be treated like one of those nutters.

English people have to stay calme in case of extreme problems and use their heads rarther than ther first thing that comes in to their head.

Why not let the party people decide for themselves if they want to go. they are old enough to not need a nanny telling them that it has to be banned for their own safety

[tmd5855]

Another thai man who was in dire need of a father when he was growing up.

"Many a true word spoken in jest"

[Chicog]

I'm sure this will be resolved quickly so as not to have too adverse an effect on business for the Full Moon Party robbers, rapists, drug dealers and their parasitic overlords. And for no other reason.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect App

[BradinAsia]

Whenever something bad happens in a tourist area in Thailand we have some posters bashing the whole country and even the entire Thai nationality. Anyone who has spent a few years in Thailand and who has made a serious attempt to learn the language and culture, very likely understands that there are in effect two Thailands -- one consists of the popular tourist areas where scammers, con-artists and snake oil salesmen are attracted by the naivety and gullibility of the tourists. Of course, this is true of many, if not most, tourist areas anywhere in the world.

The other Thailand includes places like Mae Sot, Tak, Phitsanulok, Lom Sak, Udon Thani, Nong Khai, Srisaket, Mukdahan, Mahasarakham (just for example), as well as hundreds of other places in other areas I've been to. In those places, the local folks are generally the friendliest, kindest, most polite, and helpful folks I have found in my 26 years in Asia. They very often go out of their way to render whatever assistance is asked and are quite happy to get only a smile and a "thank you" in return.

This is the Real Thailand. The Thailand with the "real Thais" who are still not contaminated by the politics and corruption of Bangkok nor by the temptation to cash in on the gullibility of naive tourists.

My experiences in the Real Thailand include -- Traveling in the mountains in the north, the first time I came up behind a big dump truck going up a hill he promptly moved to the edge to let me pass. I experienced this dozens of time in the provinces. During 16 years in Japan I never had such an experience. A Japanese truck driver would never do such a thing. In my experience, in the provinces, the Thai police are like guardian angels when one gets into a minor scrape -- kind, courteous and professional -- even when their English was very limited.

This has been my experience in the Real Thailand. Once I discovered the Real Thailand (about 20 years ago), I have tried to avoided the tourist areas. Of course, that is very difficult until one becomes fairly proficient in the language.

I strongly suspect that many of the old timers here have come to a very similar conclusion.

[Arkady]

If "carrying a gun in public" is an offence then more prisons will be needed especially for the politicians, VIPs and "would be"s" who do

It is an offence unless you have a permit to carry a gun in public. Ironically MPs, senators and wealthy businessmen are able to obtain these.

[Arkady]

Whenever something bad happens in a tourist area in Thailand we have some posters bashing the whole country and even the entire Thai nationality. Anyone who has spent a few years in Thailand and who has made a serious attempt to learn the language and culture, very likely understands that there are in effect two Thailands -- one consists of the popular tourist areas where scammers, con-artists and snake oil salesmen are attracted by the naivety and gullibility of the tourists. Of course, this is true of many, if not most, tourist areas anywhere in the world.

The other Thailand includes places like Mae Sot, Tak, Phitsanulok, Lom Sak, Udon Thani, Nong Khai, Srisaket, Mukdahan, Mahasarakham (just for example), as well as hundreds of other places in other areas I've been to. In those places, the local folks are generally the friendliest, kindest, most polite, and helpful folks I have found in my 26 years in Asia. They very often go out of their way to render whatever assistance is asked and are quite happy to get only a smile and a "thank you" in return.

This is the Real Thailand. The Thailand with the "real Thais" who are still not contaminated by the politics and corruption of Bangkok nor by the temptation to cash in on the gullibility of naive tourists.

My experiences in the Real Thailand include -- Traveling in the mountains in the north, the first time I came up behind a big dump truck going up a hill he promptly moved to the edge to let me pass. I experienced this dozens of time in the provinces. During 16 years in Japan I never had such an experience. A Japanese truck driver would never do such a thing. In my experience, in the provinces, the Thai police are like guardian angels when one gets into a minor scrape -- kind, courteous and professional -- even when their English was very limited.

This has been my experience in the Real Thailand. Once I discovered the Real Thailand (about 20 years ago), I have tried to avoided the tourist areas. Of course, that is very difficult until one becomes fairly proficient in the language.

I strongly suspect that many of the old timers here have come to a very similar conclusion.

It is a fairly romantic view of Thailand but it is great that some are able to reach this level of tourist Nirvana. To balance things you should take into account that law and order in these idyllic locations is actually far more fragmentary for the disadvantaged, marginalised people who have to live there than it is in Bangkok and the tourist resorts. Gangsters hold sway as pu yai baan and local police chiefs and there are many murders and rapes of local people who have little or no recourse to any form of justice. Have you forgotten about the boy who was sexually tortured and then murdered in idyllic Kalasin by the police colonels who have been compensated by the police fund for the inconvenience of being sentenced to death for actions taken in the line of duty and are still roaming around free to intimidate witnesses and torture and kill others? What about the inhabitants of Klity Creek who have been systematically poisoned by the authorities, then silenced? The Deep South is totally free from disturbance by the tourism industry but do the impoverished Muslim villagers appreciate this when their young men disappear and their children fall to government death squads?

Enjoy Thailand, as I do too, but try to open your eyes as well. BTW I first came to Thailand 30 years ago and have passed government exams in Thai.

Edited January 3, 2013 by Arkady

[Kilgore Trout]

Tragic story all round, however the Thais really don't help themselves...

If this guy was caught in crossfire, how can it be murder?

And seriously, are those two guys either side of him really the police?

Buck your ideas up BiB, the whole world is following this!

Because he was trying to kill someone, he just got the wrong guy

Sent from my GT-S5660 using Thaivisa Connect App

[BradinAsia]

It is a fairly romantic view of Thailand but it is great that some are able to reach this level of tourist Nirvana. To balance things you should take into account that law and order in these idyllic locations is actually far more fragmentary for the disadvantaged, marginalised people who have to live there than it is in Bangkok and the tourist resorts. Gangsters hold sway as pu yai baan and local police chiefs and there are many murders and rapes of local people who have little or no recourse to any form of justice. Have you forgotten about the boy who was sexually tortured and then murdered in idyllic Kalasin by the police colonels who have been compensated by the police fund for the inconvenience of being sentenced to death for actions taken in the line of duty and are still roaming around free to intimidate witnesses and torture and kill others? What about the inhabitants of Klity Creek who have been systematically poisoned by the authorities, then silenced? The Deep South is totally free from disturbance by the tourism industry but do the impoverished Muslim villagers appreciate this when their young men disappear and their children fall to government death squads?

Enjoy Thailand, as I do too, but try to open your eyes as well. BTW I first came to Thailand 30 years ago and have passed government exams in Thai.

I don't know where you come from but -- you could relate all your horror stories from Thailand and I could respond with all the horror stories of rape, murder and child torture, as well as the gratuitous killings by police in the U.S. and other Western countries. (You do follow the news, right?) We could make a contest of it -- it would go on endlessly and what would it prove? The problem with some folks, even after 30 years overseas they never escape their prejudices. They are blinded by the bigotry and prejudices they brought with them from farang-land. Long time ago, I learned how to spot this kind of folk from 50 paces.

Tourist Nirvana? What a huge crock. If you want to blow smoke you're aiming in the wrong direction. BTW, I first went overseas in 1960 (for 5 years) and first visited Thailand in 1962. After living, studying and working in Asia a total of 26 years, I'm hardly a tourist. But, you are certainly welcome to your own views, even if they contradict the obvious realities on the ground.

Edited January 3, 2013 by BradinAsia

[cobra]

Sad waste of life,

But as often repeated and especially in Thailand,

nothing good happens after midnight.

RIP

[saroq]

RIP Stephen Ashton.

As for the previous poster, I have no idea what he is on about.

"I have no idea what he is on about."

No matter how sad, deplorable or unfortunate an event, there always seems to be some bitter, unhappy member of the ThaiVisa fraternity sitting at his computer ready to make it even more sordid with his pointless, groundless hate mongering.

Especially sad that the victim was a young man with his whole life ahead of him.

I also have no idea what the previous poster was on about. I speculate that he believe that the story told by the man arrested was not true but as pointed out by another poster there were witnesses so if it's not the truth it'll come out in the UK papers. What are you upset about by the comment "I have no idea what he is on about?" Are you upset by that comment? I have no idea what you're on about - honestly.

With all due respect, but why would the truth come out in the UK papers? Do they have somebody on the ground in KP?

Point taken I guess I should have said that the account from his friends and other western witnesses will be reported if they vary wildly from the local guys story.

[Maestro]

Beach Brit’s killer set to cheat justice

Thai gunman claims 'accident'

By NICK PARKER, Chief Foreign Correspondent, and ALEX WEST

Published: 7 hrs ago

BEACH cops triumphantly paraded a local charged with a Brit’s murder yesterday — despite fears he may dodge jail over the New Year gun horror.

Handcuffed Ekkapan Kaewkla, 26, says innocent reveller Stephen Ashton died when his pistol went off ACCIDENTALLY — so faces a suspended sentence, court sources in Thailand revealed.

At most he might serve just two or three years for the manslaughter of the 22-year-old — blasted as he danced with fellow holidaymakers at a bar.

Read more: http://www.thesun.co...l#ixzz2Gtsp4Am4

[gl555]

Beach Brit’s killer set to cheat justice

Thai gunman claims 'accident'

By NICK PARKER, Chief Foreign Correspondent, and ALEX WEST

Published: 7 hrs ago

BEACH cops triumphantly paraded a local charged with a Brit’s murder yesterday — despite fears he may dodge jail over the New Year gun horror.

Handcuffed Ekkapan Kaewkla, 26, says innocent reveller Stephen Ashton died when his pistol went off ACCIDENTALLY — so faces a suspended sentence, court sources in Thailand revealed.

At most he might serve just two or three years for the manslaughter of the 22-year-old — blasted as he danced with fellow holidaymakers at a bar.

Read more: http://www.thesun.co...l#ixzz2Gtsp4Am4

I just don't understand why the newspaper had to go out of its way to tell us everyone how rich the family is, from the price of the house to the 'sporty' car.

[angsta]

Dry that one out you can fertilize the lawn. Bullshit. And he thought of this himself or with a little help from the BIB - disgusting.

So your "all Thai's hate us" theory is derailed? Your sad delusion that this shooter deliberately targeted a young farang is disproved?

Just another cynical, hate-filled, ignorant and non-contributory post IMHO.

Wow, oh to be so fresh off the boat and/or have never spnet any time in Haad Rin. You're right, it was a complete accident. He shouldn't have been in Thailand then then poor Thai man wouldn't of felt the need to 'accidentally' shoot him with his home made gun?? Give me a break. Do you believe everything you read??

Ok - I'll bite. Zoom bar on a FMP and you think someone is firing a gun at you. I will assume you are aware of Zoom bar and how both busy and loud it would be at that time of the evening during that event. It isn't a duel, it would be packed. Firing a gun as the first reaction to some alleged threat by another group on Thai's. Now I've heard it all.

Hate filled - no. Head in the sand - defiantly not.

[JetsetBkk]

I just don't understand why the newspaper had to go out of its way to tell us everyone how rich the family is, from the price of the house to the 'sporty' car.

Because it's a <deleted> rag.

[angsta]

Police identified the suspect as Ekkapun Klaewkla. Police said he confessed to killing Stephen Ashton, 22, a city trader, during an exchange of fire with another group of men who allegedly fired at his group.

Police quoted Ekkapun as claiming that his group was outnumbered during a fight at about 5am on January 1, so he decided to use his homemade gun to protect himself. Ashton was hit accidentally.

Dry that one out you can fertilize the lawn. Bullshit. And he thought of this himself or with a little help from the BIB - disgusting.

Amazing Lieland.

This is a dumb post.

The police have the gun, the bullet, and the DNA. A few simple tests and the accused can be linked to the death of the tourist. The accused is no rocket scientist, so don't expect any sensible explanation from him.

The Royal Thai Police did a great job in tracking down this man in the first place, so pull your head in and stop bagging them out!

This ain't NCIS Samui mate. DNA lol.

Maybe they should swab his hand to see if it's the same gun?? You've been watching entirely too much television.

The accused is clearly not the only person not studying rocket science in Thailand.

[stiggy]

Good and bad all over, however greed does seem to always play a part in why people get away with things.It also allows any potential situation get to its point of no return to start with.

Such as a overcrowded party mixed with tourists misguided Thai youth lowlifes, and regular business owners trying to earn a normal living.From the monthly cash cow the FMP

People complain about nanny states in the western world.However basic licence laws and policing, combined with responsible tourism etc etc would of shut down FMP years ago.

Poor lad was just on holiday, Thai lad was behaving as his lowly twisted social circles expected of him.The same circles will no doubt see him out soon enough, if he is connected. If not Thailand has its example to parade on national TV and the world stage.

What a messed up situation for all involved and devastating for his family.

[attento]

The red-top UK press never let the truth get in the way of a good story. They don't need somebody on the ground, they can concoct 'the true and shocking front-page story" back in the press room.

The Times, Independant and Guardian, who all covered this on their front pages, are red tops? That's news!

Who said that these 3 Newpapers didnt cover this story on their front pages ?

They ain't redtops .They are classed as broadsheet.

Who said they were redtops?

[frankold]

Beach Brit’s killer set to cheat justice

Thai gunman claims 'accident'

By NICK PARKER, Chief Foreign Correspondent, and ALEX WEST

Published: 7 hrs ago

BEACH cops triumphantly paraded a local charged with a Brit’s murder yesterday — despite fears he may dodge jail over the New Year gun horror.

Handcuffed Ekkapan Kaewkla, 26, says innocent reveller Stephen Ashton died when his pistol went off ACCIDENTALLY — so faces a suspended sentence, court sources in Thailand revealed.

At most he might serve just two or three years for the manslaughter of the 22-year-old — blasted as he danced with fellow holidaymakers at a bar.

Read more: http://www.thesun.co...l#ixzz2Gtsp4Am4

Interesting defence.

Perhaps he'd heard of it working in another case related to a dinner table, a sub machine gun and magazine full of ammo.

[Maestro]

I just don't understand why the newspaper had to go out of its way to tell us everyone how rich the family is, from the price of the house to the 'sporty' car.

Because it's a <deleted> rag.

I hesitated to post an article from the Sun and tried to find this news in a more upscale paper, without success.