Thailand Shooting: How Could My Son's Life Be Taken So Recklessly?: Stephen Ashton's Family

[Arkady]

Tragic and senseless incident. Will the sentence be light/commuted as indicated in the article?

Also, what the hell has the house price got to do with anything? Such inclusions are normally found in Daily Mail articles.

If anyone is interested, I sold my house for 75000 GBP before I came here. Anyway, RIP to the poor guy and my condolences to his family.

Pity for you it wasn't a mock Tudor in Purley. Didn't know you could still buy anything for under 100k in the UK.

[Whidbeyboy]

Tragic and senseless incident. Will the sentence be light/commuted as indicated in the article?

Also, what the hell has the house price got to do with anything? Such inclusions are normally found in Daily Mail articles.

Always have heard of British media being ruthless, and noting the cost of their house seems to be diverting the story to something totally unrelated. Might as well made comment on how expensive the cloths they were wearing at the time too, or the car they drove.

[NoshowJones]

Tragic and senseless incident. Will the sentence be light/commuted as indicated in the article?

Also, what the hell has the house price got to do with anything? Such inclusions are normally found in Daily Mail articles.

If anyone is interested, I sold my house for 75000 GBP before I came here. Anyway, RIP to the poor guy and my condolences to his family.

At the time I came to Thailand, there was plenty of houses in Scotland at that price, and No, I didn't come to Thailand many years ago. only seven.

[how241]

Tragic and senseless incident. Will the sentence be light/commuted as indicated in the article?

Also, what the hell has the house price got to do with anything? Such inclusions are normally found in Daily Mail articles.

I agree, noting the price of the family's home is, in my view, mocking their grief.

Real shame, a young life snuffed out so needlessly. My sympathy to the family.

+1

[personchester]

Tragic and senseless incident. Will the sentence be light/commuted as indicated in the article?

Also, what the hell has the house price got to do with anything? Such inclusions are normally found in Daily Mail articles.

The house price was stated to indicate the social status of the family, and that their killed son was not a working class boy,

[Kalbo]

Tragic and senseless incident. Will the sentence be light/commuted as indicated in the article?

Also, what the hell has the house price got to do with anything? Such inclusions are normally found in Daily Mail articles.

I agree, noting the price of the family's home is, in my view, mocking their grief.

Real shame, a young life snuffed out so needlessly. My sympathy to the family.

Yes, that is horrible and the photo of the mock tudor home didn't add to the report either. Even the Torygraph now resorts to gutter press tactics. For balance they might have added an estimate of the value and a photo of Mr Ekkapun's family home but perhaps no Thai appraiser or photographer was available at short notice. I am also not sure what they mean by the comment about light sentences in Thailand for manslaughter which doesn't exist as a crime in the Thai Penal Code. I don't think that any form of accidental killing plea will fly anyway. Ekkapun fired an illegal gun in the direction of a group of people with the intention of causing death or severe injury and his intent was realised as one of them died. The intent to kill or maim makes that murder under the Thai Penal Code, regardless of exactly whom he might claim was his target, and the penalty is much more severe than in the soft British legal system where murderers can be freed after 5 or 6 years in jail and then go on the dole. With remission for a guilty plea and cooperation I think his sentence will be a minimum of 30 years, of which he will have to serve at least 20.

You are not very familiar with the Thai 'legal' system, are you. What is written in the Thai Penal code and what actually goes on are very very different things

[cbrer]

It's almost like real Thailand is beginning to get exposed to the World.

And they seem rather shocked by what Thailand's really like here.

Edited January 3, 2013 by cbrer

[BuffaloRescue]

Those islands are full of criminals. Ko Phangan itself was originally a prison/convict island and before that many of its settlers were indonesians crooks on the run who took refuge there. Samui Is the worst with a very high number of gun deaths. I wouldnt go to any islands in the South, including Phuket.. I dont go south of Pattaya TBH. Phuket is OK if you have money and want to stay in a 5 star spa resort or go on honeymoon where you spend most of the time in the hotel and have a driver to take you around so you dont have to deal with the street criminals and rip-offs. Pattaya is full of loose young women looking for a way to fleece a fortune out of foreign men but there is much less organized mafia activity and cocky young Thai men with guns. Most of the people you meet in bars in Pattaya are from Isaan, same for the taxi drivers and many people working in service industry. People from Isaan are very poor but they are a better sort, they really do have a different attitude from the arrogant small time crooks who are all over the tourist areas in the South. Someones going to argue that Pattaya is run by Russian mafia but I just dont buy that. There might be a lot of dodgy mafia around but if you have your wits about you in Pattaya and arent a bloody idiot and arent involved in anything dodgy i feel there is a lot less chance of coming to a sticky ending like this. In most of Thailand if you wear a smile on your face and are repsectful to people youll get on just fine. It is different in the South though.

And yes, mentioning the price of his parerents home etc .. its very Daily Mail, surprised to see it in the Telegraph. Daily mail always publish articles to strike a cord or stir up resentment or hatred in its viewers. I blame the DM for most of the UKs social problems TBH. Lets look at the racism and hatred they preach.. and then when the UK riots happened the DM accusing the country of being broken and racist and full of thugs etc. DM are the cause.

Edited January 3, 2013 by BuffaloRescue

[metisdead]

Off topic posts, overly derogatory posts and other trolling nonsense posts and replies have been removed.

[Khonper]

Tragic and senseless incident. Will the sentence be light/commuted as indicated in the article?

Also, what the hell has the house price got to do with anything? Such inclusions are normally found in Daily Mail articles.

The house price was stated to indicate the social status of the family, and that their killed son was not a working class boy,

So if the son would have been a working class boy, it would not have been that awful?

[Considered Opinion]

what an absolute disgrace that the price of his home should go alongside the story of this unfortunate killing of an innocent man it just goes to show that whoever rote this bit of garbage knows nothing about the area of putney,a garage would cost you more than whats been quoted.my condolences to his family sometimes i am ashamed to say i live in thailand.

For Putney read Purley. Putney forms part of the London Borough of Wandsworth while Purley lies in the London Borough of Croydon. There are no connections between to two. It seems that you are not fully informed about the asking price for garages in either location also.

Some might think that on account of your over the top and inaccurate post you should also put yourself inside a big black plastic bag and wait for the binmen to collect you. I couldn't possibly comment.

P.S. If you think that a Daily Telegraph reporter is garbage God only knows how you would categorise a reporter employed by The Nation.

sorry my mistake as you get old the eye's start going,looks like you are already there by your snide remarks.

I hope you don't think his comment about the Tele reporter was snide. Those "people" are little more than oxygen thieves... not a "journalist" among them.

[TechnikaIII]

I thought all news items in British tabloids on any subject whatsoever included the price of the subjects home due to some bizarre quirk in British journalism?

Yes .. . Next they will be asking are they going to have a Top Chef come over and cook dinner at the wake?

The British Tabloids only print shit like that, because millions of Brits read it, want it, and have become it.

.....

I am so sorry for Stephen's family and his friends.

That smug bastard who shot him knows he wll get off lightly. It sticks in my throat because he resembles an almost identical look-alike Thai, facial expression and all, who stole money from me. With Police present, I was pressured to agree that if he returned the money, I would drop charges.

Returning the bullet to the murderer's gun is not going to help poor Stephen. It sickens me.

Some very tough policing called for, with matching justice system. ( Yeah .. I know )

[fareastguy]

Thailand shooting: how could my son's life be taken so recklessly?

Come to Thailand & see for yourself.. it's happening almost daily... read the daily posts !!

Thailand is not the same as the glossy "Land of smiles" brochures depict by the Thai tourist minister, scratch away a bit and under the surface you will quickly find & fully understand it's a lawless society with immense social problems !!

Condolences to the family..

Free advice to all other's: if your seeking adventure then Thailand is your ultimate destination.. maybe your last !!

If you like freedom & adventure but not risk death then head elsewhere !!

[BuffaloRescue]

Anyway the little S**t is going to get off almost scott free. Maybe they will do an autopsy and find drugs in Stephens body. That will persuade the judge that he was an undesirable sort, involved with drugs, insinuate he was involved in some kind of Mafia activity. He'll get 5 years max, probably 2 or 3. Less than you might get if you were caught smoking a joint.

Their attitude is that people who go to the full moon party are disrespectful of Thailand, loud, low life drug takers etc. This also sells newspapers in Thailand, I guess in their equivalent of the Daily Mail... sigh..

Edited January 3, 2013 by BuffaloRescue

[Robbie Dye]

Last time I look at the Telegraph, thought they were above this callous style of journalism

[imjustagirl]

i cannot imagine how this young mans family feels, my deepest condolences.

To those that say he shouldnt have been out, come on!! it was new years eve and the masses were celebrating. As so many have pointed out the media is very quiet on the dangers of thailand and he probably had no idea that being in a bar that late with his friends was putting his life in danger.

Koh Phangan outside of full moon party time is a lovely island, sadly it attracts low lifes from all over thailand to come and rob tourists just over that time period of a few days...the rest of the time they head back to their homes.

To say the thai scum will get off scot free, i dont think so. Now this has become an international incident Thailand has to save face and show that they are taking affirmative action and punish this idiot to full extent of thai law, otherwise they are going to get themselves in even more s**t with the global community and look like they dont care. They are going to have to take action, and harsh action at that IMO.

[I Like Thai]

Condolences to the Ashton family. What was the newspaper's objective in publishing the value of the Ashton family home? Were they seeking to sensationalize the status of the family? Or were they attempting to strike fear in the hearts of Thais who recklessly fire away or hit and run people on the streets? Hard to figure what their motive in this was.

If the Ashton family's wealth is substantial, it would be very just is they sued the bar for allowing customers to carry guns in the bar. In the US a bar can be sued for a substantial sum if a customer were to be hit by a shot fired by a customer or staff of the bar. A law suit by the Ashtons might raise visibility about the lack of due diligence, legal surveillance and risk to tourists in Thailand.

Thankfully it's not the same as the US. The person responsible for this is the person that fired the gun, not any innocent bar owners who are just trying to make a living.

P.S. i don't own any bars or other businesses in Thailand

[ukrules]

I wonder if it will prove that I small bag of drugs is worth more than a life when it comes to prison time. We will see if this guy gets found guilty.

[Tchooptip]

Tragic and senseless incident. Will the sentence be light/commuted as indicated in the article?

Also, what the hell has the house price got to do with anything? Such inclusions are normally found in Daily Mail articles.

I agree, noting the price of the family's home is, in my view, mocking their grief.

Real shame, a young life snuffed out so needlessly. My sympathy to the family.

As a non native English speaker, first I thought what is it I did not catch with this 1M£ house ? Almost insulting in this very context .

[webfact]

KOH PANGAN

Family of Briton killed "devastated at loss"

The Nation

Ashton

LONDON: -- Family of Stephen Ashton, a Briton, killed by a stray bullet while celebrating the new year on Koh Phangan on Tuesday have issued a statement, saying "as a family, we are completely devastated by the loss of Stephen from our lives.

He has been taken away from us in such cruel and tragic circumstances in which he was an innocent bystander simply enjoying New Year celebrations," according to the Daily Mail.

'We are comforted in the thought that he was having a fantastic time with friends after such a difficult period following the loss of his much loved dad who passed away from a brain tumor in 2011 and the loss of his granddad a few months earlier."

He was described as a muchloved son, brother, grandson and nephew and he will be truly missed by his family but also by the many friends he made during his life. "We cannot comprehend how someone can carry out such a reckless act, giving such little value to human life."

The Daily Mail quoted his sister Emily, 20, as saying, "it is such a shock and the family are still trying to get their heads round it. It hasn't sunk in.

"He was just on a holiday and we are trying to come to terms with it."

Ashton, a barrister's clerk who then became a junior trader for a city firm, had recently quit his job to go travelling in Australia with a stopoff in Thailand.

-- The Nation 2013-01-03

[Arkady]

Condolences to the Ashton family. What was the newspaper's objective in publishing the value of the Ashton family home? Were they seeking to sensationalize the status of the family? Or were they attempting to strike fear in the hearts of Thais who recklessly fire away or hit and run people on the streets? Hard to figure what their motive in this was.

If the Ashton family's wealth is substantial, it would be very just is they sued the bar for allowing customers to carry guns in the bar. In the US a bar can be sued for a substantial sum if a customer were to be hit by a shot fired by a customer or staff of the bar. A law suit by the Ashtons might raise visibility about the lack of due diligence, legal surveillance and risk to tourists in Thailand.

Thankfully it's not the same as the US. The person responsible for this is the person that fired the gun, not any innocent bar owners who are just trying to make a living.

P.S. i don't own any bars or other businesses in Thailand

Nice idea but beach bars in Thailand are usually not highly capitalised enterprises. There are normally owned by private individuals whose assets could quickly be transferred elsewhere.

Edited January 3, 2013 by Arkady

[sbk]

Enough with the bickering over houses, thanks.

This is a thread about a young man whose life was cut short, not about the Mail or the house or where they lived regardless of what the original writer felt inclined to include. Have some human empathy for a family who has lost their son or brother. Thanks

[steve187]

RIP to Stephen and condolences to the family.

[metisdead]

Off topic obfuscation posts have been removed as well as some derogatory posts.

[sirchai]

// Lets drop the continued comments on the house in England //

RIP! Sorry that you can't go back into this nice house any more.--

Edited January 3, 2013 by metisdead

[tominbkk]

Much sympathy to the family of this boy, it must be the worst thing in the world to happen to a parent.

As well, Thailand is not alone in having random violence, I know my hometown in the States has several accidental shootings of people caught in the wrong place between gangs.

Still, a tragic loss.

[MrRealDeal]

Condolences to the Ashton family. What was the newspaper's objective in publishing the value of the Ashton family home? Were they seeking to sensationalize the status of the family? Or were they attempting to strike fear in the hearts of Thais who recklessly fire away or hit and run people on the streets? Hard to figure what their motive in this was.

If the Ashton family's wealth is substantial, it would be very just is they sued the bar for allowing customers to carry guns in the bar. In the US a bar can be sued for a substantial sum if a customer were to be hit by a shot fired by a customer or staff of the bar. A law suit by the Ashtons might raise visibility about the lack of due diligence, legal surveillance and risk to tourists in Thailand.

Laws? In Thailand?

The shooter was on the beach and not connected to the bar ..... your post is nonsense and typical of ambulance chasing wackos looking to sue anyone they can.

[maprao]

The Sun's point of view here:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4723591/Thai-beach-Brits-killer-set-to-cheat-justice.html

Very sad. RIP. I hope the Thai justice system will provide closure for the family.

[endure]

For the final time of asking. Stop bickering and stop with the houses stuff. Holidays ARE available for those who can't abide by this simple request. Someone's son is dead. Show some respect.

[endure]

This thread is about the shooting of Stephen Ashton and his parent's reaction. It is not about the cost of the house they live in, general house prices in London or the quality of reporters employed by the Daily Telegraph. Stick to the topic or be suspended. Up to you.