Red Bull Heir's Hit-And-Run Case Reaches Prosecutors' Hands: Bangkok

[Naam]

if the young man had driven a Honda Jazz nobody would care a sh*t.

If he had driven a Honda Jazz at 120 km/h, dragged the cop along for 200 meters, left him to die, went home, tried to bribe the police, get an innocent man to be his scapegoat etc pp...you be dam_n sure, I would care a lot of sh1t!

Also to all you "this is Thailand, it is like it is, go home if you don't like it"- guys: GROW UP!

who would care a sh*t that you care a lot of sh*t? your pet rabbit?

Read your statement- read my reply!

Problem solved!

you consulted your pet rabbit?

[rametindallas]

The policeman who died was 'unlucky'. People die, needlessly, every day. His family is very lucky. If their loved one was killed by a poor person there would be no compensation and there is little comfort knowing the poor person who killed their loved one will spend twenty years in prison. In this case, they have still lost their loved one but now have lots of money to help them forget. Since nothing is going to bring the Policeman back, which is better? No money and the offender serves twenty years or lots of money and the offender gets off scott free. It's not the kind of justice I'm used to but in Thailand it is commonly accepted. In some places in the Middle East, compensation that is accepted by the family is also accepted by the prosecutors. The same was true in Europe a couple hundred years ago. This is not a totally alien concept nor a strictly Thai concept.

No money and 20 years!

That's your personal choice. The officer is dead in any case. Some want revenge over money. For me, I not a vengeful person, my loved one is dead and punishing someone will not bring him back, so, I'll take the money. It would give my kids a better future than no money and some schmuck sitting in prison.

You do know that a criminal case, in Thailand, where a sentence is imposed provides the aggrieved party the right to Civil Court for compensation. The downside is that it could take years and enforcing payment would be a real issue. I think you will find this is the reason most Thais go down the immediate compensation path that, in effect, forces them to accept lack of justice for prison time to be served by the guilty.

I know I will probably be misunderstood but I will try again. Maybe my viewpoint comes from understanding the Thai way of looking at things. Here goes: Every day in Thailand people die because of the negligence/bad behavior of others. Most of those who die, die from the negligence/bad behavior of people who don't have enough money to pay compensation and the only justice that is served is the bad actor goes to jail and the family gets zero Baht. In this case, from a Thai viewpoint, the family essentially 'hit the jackpot' because the bad actor was wealthy and willing and able to pay compensation. Who is better off? The family of a victim who died from the actions of a poor person or who died from the actions of a wealthy person. In the U.S. the victim's family can get both compensation and the satisfaction of the bad actor going to prison (excepting the family of Ron Goldman vs. O.J. Simpson who got neither). Thailand is what it is, and here, if you are going to die because of negligence/bad behavior, it is better if the bad actor is wealthy. I guess if you are 'comfortable' financially, compensation isn't as important as seeing the guilty punished. In Thailand that ain't gonna (sic) happen if the bad actor is wealthy/connected so compensation is more 'justice' than most Thais get.