Two nights ago, a successful businessman on Phuket was executed. Common enough in this country. This man owned a few property estates, a recreational "shooting" range (ironically enough) and had business in other legitimate areas.

He was a gentle enough family man from what I could fathom - as a former resident in his Chalong (Phuket) estate. Driving home from dinner with his family he was killed by two bullets in the head. Reportedly, the assassins were two teenagers on a motorbike. They murdered him while he drove his family home.

Media reports suggest that he had business conflicts. This occurs far too often. Business conflict? Kill it! Is this the Thailand that the current generation want to accept or the next generation want to inherit? Problems in business or society? Shoot them dead?!

Is this a product of Mr Thaksin's Thailand? Is this 'acceptable' behaviour instigated by the (former/ caretaker) PM's "control factor" with such examples as the War On Drugs?

I find this tragic. And shocking. And unacceptable. And barbaric. When will Thailand grow up?

Khall - it will go on until the police sort themselves out. Until then keep your head down and hope not to be in the crossfire.

Is this a product of Mr Thaksin's Thailand? Is this 'acceptable' behaviour instigated by the (former/ caretaker) PM's "control factor" with such examples as the War On Drugs?

Nothing to do with Thaksin's Thailand. Even before Thaksin was born these things were already happening.

Is this a product of Mr Thaksin's Thailand? Is this 'acceptable' behaviour instigated by the (former/ caretaker) PM's "control factor" with such examples as the War On Drugs?

Nothing to do with Thaksin's Thailand. Even before Thaksin was born these things were already happening.

My concern is that TEENAGERS were the alleged assassins. What sort of message is the government putting out that it's ok to blow away the "bad guys"? Forget crackdowns on 'after-hours' drinking and other social evils. Thailand is breeding a new and younger generation of gangland killers who think nothing of destroying lives for miniscule pay .

Maybe it's a sign of the times. Teenage gangs are growing worldwide so I wouldn't be surprised if Thailand will get it's share. That doesn't make it right ofcourse.

yeah gang land is pretty much in fashion round these parts (central america)

Foreign Affairs

Ultraviolent youth gangs, spawned in the ghettos of Los Angeles and other U.S. cities, have slowly migrated south to Central America, where they have transformed themselves into powerful, cross-border crime networks. With the United States preoccupied elsewhere, the gangs have grown in power and numbers; today, local officials estimate their size at 70,000-100,000 members. The marabuntas, or maras, as they are known (after a deadly species of local ants), now pose the most serious challenge to peace in the region since the end of Central America's civil wars.

Gangs i nCentral America

Although many Latin American countries are facing serious crime problems

associated with gangs (maras), the largest and most violent gangs in the region operate

in Central America and Mexico. Some analysts believe these gangs could pose a serious

threat to the region’s stability. Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador are at the epicenter

of the gang crisis, with some of the highest murder rates in the world. In 2004, the

estimated murder rate per 100,000 people was 45.9 in Honduras, 41.2 in El Salvador, and

34.7 in Guatemala. In the United States, the corresponding figure was 5.7. Salvadoran

police estimate that at least 60% of the 2,576 murders committed there in 2004 were

gang-related. Estimates of the number of gang members in Central America vary widely,

but the U.S. Southern Command has placed that figure at around 70,000. The gangs are

reportedly involved in human trafficking; drug, auto, and weapons smuggling; and

kidnaping. In the last two years, nearly 1,100 gang members have been arrested in

Mexico, many of whom were charging migrant smugglers to let their groups pass, or

working with Mexican drug cartels. Regional and U.S. authorities have confirmed gang

involvement in regional drug trafficking. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has

found no credible evidence of a connection between Central American gangs and Al-

Qaeda or other terrorist groups.

1

For example.

For more info, google "Gangs in Central America"

Two nights ago, a successful businessman on Phuket was executed. Common enough in this country. This man owned a few property estates, a recreational "shooting" range (ironically enough) and had business in other legitimate areas.

He was a gentle enough family man from what I could fathom - as a former resident in his Chalong (Phuket) estate. Driving home from dinner with his family he was killed by two bullets in the head. Reportedly, the assassins were two teenagers on a motorbike. They murdered him while he drove his family home.

Media reports suggest that he had business conflicts. This occurs far too often. Business conflict? Kill it! Is this the Thailand that the current generation want to accept or the next generation want to inherit? Problems in business or society? Shoot them dead?!

Is this a product of Mr Thaksin's Thailand? Is this 'acceptable' behaviour instigated by the (former/ caretaker) PM's "control factor" with such examples as the War On Drugs?

I find this tragic. And shocking. And unacceptable. And barbaric. When will Thailand grow up?

It happens everywhere in the world, Khall. Does it seem like it's only Thailand?

I wouldn't waste too much time thinking about it. Just another way to grow old very quickly.