Foreign tourist beaten unconscious, robbed by Thai gang in Pattaya

[Bangkok45]

i am quite sure that soon more and more people will come to realise that the land of smiles, is anything but. The smiles are false to part you from your money.

Thailand now is so money orientated, that they will do anything to get it. Anything !!!! The women are no better, but they use thier bodies and smiles, and "I love you " technic, to part you from your money. Brains rather than brawn, but the end result is the same.

it is sad that these stories are commonplace now. There is no police presence at night, or early hours of the morning. They are more intent on working the day shifts to stop people without helmets and putting the money in thier pockets.

What a diference 8 years have made to this country. When I came here these stories were very few and far between, it was a joy to live here. It was cheap ( Now its expensive) The people were so nice, ( Now they are focused ), Locals welcomed and genuinly liked forieners, ( Now they falsely smile and hate us ) It was a very safe place to be, ( Now it is becoming dangerous ).

they are not interested in learning English, except for the bar girls, who NEED to learn it. And that in itself will backfie big time.

You may say, "well if you dont like it leave " Well I am on 27th November. I am going to live in a Place called Da Lat, in Vietnam, if you have never been there, believe me you will love it.

Goodbye Thailand

I agree with you! Been here since 2008 and saw the degradation personally. Had made some retirement investment here but Da Lat, Vietnam sounds enticing. Please PM me and enlighten me more of it

[X pat]

When/if they catch them,they should be kaned and fined and then do prison time.

[The Fatman]

One has to wonder if these attacks are not some sort of backlash against the foreign take-over of Pattaya. It happened in Phuket too.

As for the land of smiles - well I think things have changed dramatically here - even in 4 short years. There is now so much advertising that locals appear to have fallen in to the western habit of pegging happiness on material possessions not on a simple decision to be happy.

[maxx58]

i am quite sure that soon more and more people will come to realise that the land of smiles, is anything but. The smiles are false to part you from your money.

Thailand now is so money orientated, that they will do anything to get it. Anything !!!! The women are no better, but they use thier bodies and smiles, and "I love you " technic, to part you from your money. Brains rather than brawn, but the end result is the same.

it is sad that these stories are commonplace now. There is no police presence at night, or early hours of the morning. They are more intent on working the day shifts to stop people without helmets and putting the money in thier pockets.

What a diference 8 years have made to this country. When I came here these stories were very few and far between, it was a joy to live here. It was cheap ( Now its expensive) The people were so nice, ( Now they are focused ), Locals welcomed and genuinly liked forieners, ( Now they falsely smile and hate us ) It was a very safe place to be, ( Now it is becoming dangerous ).

they are not interested in learning English, except for the bar girls, who NEED to learn it. And that in itself will backfie big time.

You may say, "well if you dont like it leave " Well I am on 27th November. I am going to live in a Place called Da Lat, in Vietnam, if you have never been there, believe me you will love it.

Goodbye Thailand

Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out! LOL

[Angeledge777]

Still wondering why you need to be armed?

[rebelplatoon]

Disgusted at this kind of cowardly behavior! Yeah sure, never a good idea to be drunk and or asleep in public in Pattaya but it doesn't give a license to rob someone.

[tomth]

Daytime drinking / partying is better, still lots to do and not as many dodgy people about. I'm usually home by 1-2am.

[Rimmer]

Some inflammatory and overtly racist posts removed

[squarethecircle]

Heads would roll if a resident westerner (I hate that farang word) were attacked in my home town in Isaan or south Thailand, where tourists don't go too often and where farangs stick out a bit. Walking around at night is the safest time, as people are too afraid of ghosts to go out, so it's just you and the wind. Pattaya and Phuket have really been getting a bad rap lately (and IMO Chiang Mai too), but it's not this way in the rest of the country. There is a yaa baa problem and associated theft everywhere, but Thailand is pretty darn safe overall.

Also I'd be surprised in the Thai police don't do something about these cases, since they're tainting the image of these two cities (at least for anyone who can do a google search).

[kennypowers]

Of course, crime in Pattaya is likely to be higher than anywhere else because of the nature of the place, but truth is crime is on the rise in Thailand, particularly against foreigners. It doesn't take a genius to work out why.

The rich poor gap is widening, and as living expenses rise and everyone chases the material dream, people will "get rich or go to prison trying". In a country where ownership and wealth earns you respect, to be on the bottom few runs of the ladder is a difficult (mentally) place to be.

The rise of rent, bills, food costs and the demands of kids on their parents to keep up with the latest gadgets, etc, brings a hell of a lot of pressure on people, and once you've maxed out with the local loan shark, desperate times mean desperate measures. The escalation of crime among the lower and working classes is a common side effect of rapid economic growth. Personally I live for the day when a leaders preach sustainability and not growth.

I acknowledge that there will always be low-level street crime to support drug habits and the thrills of teenage gangs, but the dynamics are changing with those of the economic landscape.

Perhaps the overarching problem is, as the Vietnamese proverb says, "the roof leaks from the top down". How can a country expect its citizens to abide by the law if those in positions of authority consistently break the law and get away with it?

[paulyd2k]

it`s getting beyond here lately, while all these tourists are going to attract the robbers, and the like. if he was drunk and being a nuisance then he might have asked for it, but sitting having a drink minding his own business then this stinks, the beach is a dangerous place after dark. but most tourists don't know this, on another note I saw the old jetski scam happening yesterday while walking to my bike, four Indians being put in back of police pick up and a big fat thai thug yak yakking, and then the copper was going to leave the thai at beach and they said why he isn't coming to police station, so after a while he was helped in back by copper, and patted on the back happily by the cop, corrupt b/studs,

[OMGImInPattaya]

We don't know what the tourist might have said or done to start it.

How do you motivate provoke other people to rob you?

Being drunk and passed out on the beach at 3:30 am is a good way to start.

[pacovl46]

Once they're caught I advise to publicly flog them!!! 100 lashes will do the trick!

[OMGImInPattaya]

Just another case in point. Thailand has become a place to avoid at all costs. Such a shame.

I quit my regular travels to LOS 3 years ago. I got better places to go and enjoy without being assaulted, robbed, scammed, or killed.

So glad you stopped coming...makes the lines at immigration at least 1 person shorter...now if only those other 20M tourists would do the same 5555

[jimmybcool]

I had a relative who lived in Pattaya and when i stayed with him i would watch the news and the most common thing about these kind of attacks , other than they were perpetrated by cowards, was that they happened , " in the early hours of the morning ". So i always made sure i was not wandering about but safely home before then. Its almost like a kind of evil awakens and emerges at that time , either fuelled by alcohol and drugs or taking advantage of people inebriated and unaware . Doesnt matter if its Bangkok, Chiang Mai or rural Thailand , or even my small seaside home town in Oz , I just wont go out anymore......i hope they get the guys . Im actually amazed at how many times the Pattaya police do find their man. .

Yes. Isn't it amazing how many of these stories begin with "at 3 AM...."

It doesn't excuse it but reality is a higher percentage of the people out at that hour are drunk or on drugs. And a higher percentage of young thais looking for an easy score.

When ever I first arrive in Pattaya I go out early in the morning for exercise. I split time arriving there twice a year from the US. Because of jet-lag this means I'm leaving my condo 20 minutes before daylight. I head to Beach Road where the yabba'ed up lady boys and thai lads are winding down and turn left towards walking street.

As I am moving fast and pretty obviously not carrying anything of value they leave me be. If one says anything to me I'm polite and never get any problem back. When I get to Walking street the sun is up. And the discos are emptying. The falangs leaving them are scarier than the ladyboys. Lots of testosterone and liquor mixed together. Few drunks are in the mood to jog fast enough to keep up with me to cause trouble. But you can SMELL the trouble in the air.

Between the hours of 9 AM and midnight I never see much of anything scary. Beach road. baht buses. Bars. Gangs. Nothing. So yeah, time of day matters a lot. Same as anywhere really. Go to Las Vegas and read the loca papers. Lots of crimes start with the phrase "at 3 AM.....".

Edited November 11, 2013 by jimmybcool

[hawker9000]

Pattaya is now a big town with all the concomitant big problems.

One gets the feeling that the police and crime prevention authorities are lagging behind in this perception.

Lagging? LAGGING?! Lol. Yeah. Sort of like a child with swim fins and a broken leg lags a Formula One speedboat. Maybe Phuket is getting a rival. Didn't the very same thing happen to another foreigner out by himself drinking a beer on the beach, in the wee morning hours...a month or so back? Repeat crimes like this, in the same places, at roughly the same times, are the true test of police effectiveness. Not snap inspections of bathrooms by new top cops...

[OMGImInPattaya]

Drunks get rolled everywhere on a daily basis...not really a concern unless you're a public drunk too out in public at 3;30 in the morning.

I'm sorry, but you (nor any of us) know anything about this man, yet you choose to victimize the victim instead of villainzing the perps! A pretty girl in a pretty dress is not asking to be raped! A man sitting quietly on the beach with a beer is not asking to be attacked and robbed. There could be a million perfectly good reasons for this man to sit down on the beach at 3:30am with a beer. For one thing, he could have just arrived, having landed at BKK very late--like most of us--and been jet-lagged. His father could have just died and he was just sitting and thinking. The list is endless. Yes, he could have also been drunk, as you presuppose, but that is only one of a million possibilities.

He was sitting alone, bothering nobody, breaking no law; and yet you choose to label him a "drunk" who should have known better. Why? Because that's the easy way out? It's also cowardly; victimizing victims. At least the witness yelled at the perps and chased them off. Would you have done the same brave act? Or just muttered to yourself about "some stupid drunk who deserves what he gets?" And because attacks like this DO concern me, in your book that makes me a public drunk, too! How simple a world view...

Not victimizing victims but just pointing out the obvious and by example encouraging people to use common sense. Funny, in my tourist days, I arrived in Bangkok on many a red-eye flight but my first reaction after checking into my hotel was not to run down to the corner 7-11 and nurse a beer on the curb of Sukhumvit Road at 3:30 a.m. I guess I just had the good sense to know nothing good was likely to come of it. I guess this is too complicated a logic for some to grasp.

[sultan2011]

Disgrace...The more I read about these sort of increasing incidents the more I think to myself why on earth do I go there.

[nomimusic]

i think thats pretty stupid making public the full name of the witness, no woder he couldnt remember the number plate number

Indeed, not good form giving the name of the witness. The cops will be looking for the thugs, and the thugs will be looking for the witness.

[orpheus454]

Those despicable morons, should, when they get caught, brought to trial, named and shamed,

and have the book thrown at them hard, literally,

Is that some new kind of punishment, throwing books at people?

Sounds rather lenient to me, no matter how hard you throw them, given the severity of the crime committed...

Edited November 11, 2013 by orpheus454

[OMGImInPattaya]

look french coast ,police on the beach ,on bikes ,on motor bikes ,on horses ,on foot , in cars ,watching all the time ,see little betty crime ,thailand should wage up and take control , little like a farmers taking control of his cow ,we are your cash cows take care of us please

Wasn't there just like a 100 million dollar jewel heist there a few months ago...a fascist police state is not the answer.

[supashot]

"admiring the scenery on Pattaya beach " right...

[CLUBBER]

Please stop posting these stories , its getting harder and harder to get friends and family to visit me in LOS My condo has a beautiful huge roof top pool with a great view of BKK . I spend my late nights up there . I used to walk everywhere in BKK at anytime never had a problem , ofcourse it might also be cuz I look like an axe murderer but reading all these stories I just take a taxi to be safe , and ........I am always very polite and nice to the taxi man especially samurai sword wielding ones

[bander]

Those despicable morons, should, when they get caught, brought to trial, named and shamed,

and have the book thrown at them hard, literally,

You mean caught, brought to trial and fined 500 bath?

[dunque]

i am quite sure that soon more and more people will come to realise that the land of smiles, is anything but. The smiles are false to part you from your money.

Thailand now is so money orientated, that they will do anything to get it. Anything !!!! The women are no better, but they use thier bodies and smiles, and "I love you " technic, to part you from your money. Brains rather than brawn, but the end result is the same.

it is sad that these stories are commonplace now. There is no police presence at night, or early hours of the morning. They are more intent on working the day shifts to stop people without helmets and putting the money in thier pockets.

What a diference 8 years have made to this country. When I came here these stories were very few and far between, it was a joy to live here. It was cheap ( Now its expensive) The people were so nice, ( Now they are focused ), Locals welcomed and genuinly liked forieners, ( Now they falsely smile and hate us ) It was a very safe place to be, ( Now it is becoming dangerous ).

they are not interested in learning English, except for the bar girls, who NEED to learn it. And that in itself will backfie big time.

You may say, "well if you dont like it leave " Well I am on 27th November. I am going to live in a Place called Da Lat, in Vietnam, if you have never been there, believe me you will love it.

Goodbye Thailand

That's odd - on a post yesterday you were off to the Philippines.

Anyway, don't let the door hit your arse on the way out.

[NoshowJones]

I remember the days I could walk back to my hotel the length of Beach Road without any such problem - not been in Pattaya for years.

I have done that lots of times in Pattaya, also without any such problem, even recently, but two things, never in the early hours of the morning, and always stone cold sober.

[dao16]

Well, it is horrible that it is like that down in Patts--another reason I don't care if I ever go there. I have been to nearby beach towns, though, I and I was told the same by several Thais (wife, family and hotel owners)--don't go to the beach late as there are criminals around. So, I don't think this is restricted to Pattaya.....it just has a higher concentration of people, etc.

[NoshowJones]

This sort of cowardly attack and robbery is an offence to civilised behaviour. That said, I recall my teenage years in Glasgow, when many parts of the city were unsafe late at night and in the wee small hours. Violent attacks on individuals and small groups walking home by larger groups resulting in serious injury and sometimes death were not uncommon. The motive for the attacks was not related to robbery. Just "hard men" demonstrating their power. The "boys" were bored and just having fun. I suppose all I am saying is this kind of behaviour is not unique to Thailand ......................

Coming from near Glasgow myself, I must agree with this, I was in Glasgow only two years ago when three guys walked towards me, one of them ran towards me shouting obscenities, good job I could run faster than them.

[NoshowJones]

Just another case in point. Thailand has become a place to avoid at all costs. Such a shame.

I quit my regular travels to LOS 3 years ago. I got better places to go and enjoy without being assaulted, robbed, scammed, or killed.

Use common sense, stay sober, and you will be 99% safe, even in Pattaya.

[tomross46]

Times getting harder, it is not like some 25 years ago where you can sit at the beach and take a nap!

Pathaya was very nice 45 years ago The 46 Team House was on the beach. Large trees and the tallest building was three stories. Nippa Hut has very nice cafe made from a a RR passenger car. Than there was Doff's Reef.