The Nic Brown Story

[Loaded]

Just found this on his gofundme appeal page

"Created by Nic Brown on January 10, 2014

0 I was the victim of a random and brutal shooting while working abroad in Chiang Mai, Thailand. As a result of the shooting, I am now paraplegic with no sensation or movement from about the belly button down. I spent six months in a Thai hospital recovering from multiple surgeries and a nasty pressure ulcer on my tailbone that wore down the bone (sacrum bone exposed) The man that shot me is currently out on bail of the equivalent of 5,000USD and facing trial soon. His family have put him in a mental institute for a time and he has joined the 'monkhood' in Thailand to strengthen his case. In the meantime, I have been unable to work while travelling between my hometown, Vancouver, and Thailand for trial and medical treatments. Insurance and fundraisers have covered a lot, but the bills continue pile up as I struggle to maintain my mental and physical health now newly confined to a wheelchair."

http://www.gofundme.com/66ajwg

So the shooter is on bail and awaiting trial. Also, it doesn't appear that he is currently a student at CMU.

Edited January 12, 2014 by Loaded

[Hardened Spanker]

A tragic story that just re-iterates very clearly why you should never get involved with drunken Thais or fights between locals,as a foreigner you will always be the one remembered no matter what part you played in the scene unfolding!

[elektrified]

I read about this case before. It is really heartbreaking. Nic comes off as a very decent human being. I hope there is justice in this case.

[limegreenpatato]

A tragic story that just re-iterates very clearly why you should never get involved with drunken Thais or fights between locals,as a foreigner you will always be the one remembered no matter what part you played in the scene unfolding!

This doesn't re-iterate that at all. It has nothing to do with thai people or foreingers. It has do to with one person being a jackass and shooting someone.

[haybilly]

I read about this case before. It is really heartbreaking. Nic comes off as a very decent human being. I hope there is justice in this case.

I agree, he seems a very nice young man- sadly, we are all aware how the majority of these sort of cases end up- and it may not be in Nic's favour.

Justice plays a minor role in some Thai courtrooms.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk

[sticklee]

There is a benefit for Nic at the North Gate Jazz Club, Saturday evening.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/lite/breakingnews/405689/injured-samaritan-suffers-wait-for-justice

Injured good Samaritan suffers wait for justice
Nattha Thepbamrung
20/04/2014

It began as an attempt to break up a drunken brawl at a Chiang Mai bar, but ended in Nicolas Brown losing the ability to walk.


Nicolas Brown.

The man he helped, university student Don Prawinmet, returned shortly after the scuffle and opened fire indiscriminately at patrons, wounding three people.

But nearly a year after the shooting and four months after he was released from hospital, Mr Brown is being forced to live off a dwindling supply of donated funds as he becomes increasingly frustrated in his fight for justice.

As his medical bills mount, the compensation promised to him by the shooter's family has failed to materialise, and criminal proceedings against Mr Don have made little progress.

Mr Brown said he desperately wants to return home to Vancouver, Canada, but is reluctant to leave Thailand before justice is served.

“I am in pain every day," he said. "The doctors have said I will not walk again. I was here in hospital for six months because of a pressure sore, an ulcer that developed on my back from lying still for so long.

“I also have nightmares that he will come back to shoot me.”

Mr Brown, who worked as a teacher and freelance journalist before the shooting, said he was attempting to prevent Mr Don from being assaulted at the bar on Nimmanhemin Road.

“I was out with my girlfriend and three friends at the Ban Dain Bar, and Don came to our table and attempted to join us,” Mr Brown recalled.

“He was acting inappropriately with my friends and girlfriend, and at one point he touched the waitress' behind and she was the girlfriend of Morris, the bartender.”

Soon after that, a fight broke out. Mr Don was beaten badly, and Mr Brown and his friends helped escort him outside to safety.

“He returned while we were outside and going to leave ourselves and fired his gun five times. He hit three of us: Morris, a Korean student, and myself.”

A bullet stuck Mr Brown in the back, shattering his ribs and sending bone fragments into his spine.

“I need proper treatment at home in Canada, but I am afraid to leave Thailand before I receive compensation," he said.

"The treatment here is good but better in Canada. Here it is very hard to go around, there is a lack of accessible streets and transportation for wheelchairs."

Mr Brown said the shooter's family had paid some of his hospital bills, but have so far failed to deliver on a promise of 3.5 million baht in compensation.

“At first they offered one million, but they have not paid me and they have delayed this payment. I fear they will wait until after one year to pay me. They may fear I will launch a civil suit, which I cannot do after one year.”

The delayed payment and stalling criminal case against Mr Don have left Mr Brown fearing that justice may not be served.

Pol Col Dundecha Archawasamit, former superintendent of Puping police station, said the case has already been passed over to prosecutors, but could not give any indication of when it would go to court.

“We sent the case across late last year and it is now with the judge to gather the necessary documents,” he said.

“[Mr Don] confessed as soon as he was arrested that it was him who shot those people, but says he was very drunk and does not remember much.”

Pol Col Dundecha said the suspect was bailed on a 500,000-baht bond as the family took him for a mental health assessment.

“If he has a mental illness, it will probably affect the case. However, this is up to the court to consider,” he said.

Doctors at Chiang Mai's Maharat Hospital have concluded the suspect was suffering only from stress-related psychosomatic disorders, but the family is seeking a second opinion from specialists in Bangkok.

“I fear that because his family is wealthy and that he attended CMU [Chiang Mai University], he will not receive punishment and he will escape proper justice,” Mr Brown said.

“I have been told that he has attended a mental institution for a short time and he became a monk for a short time also. This is of course to make him look good for the judge.”

Mr Brown is now living off money raised from a fundraising page his friend helped set up on GoFundMe.com, but he says that money is running out and his long-term future is unclear.

Mr Brown said he wants his shooter to take responsibility for the actions which so dramatically changed the course of his life.

“I would tell him that because of his weakness, he took my normal life from me and caused me pain and suffering for the rest of it,” he said.

“I would tell him that he needs to make sure that I can live as best I can in my circumstances, that this is his responsibility now, and actually I feel sorry for him and his weakness.

“He could not be strong enough to act like a human towards others, the girls [at the bar], and now he has ruined someone's life.”

The victim's girlfriend, Sirikarn Phreenake, who has been caring for him since the shooting, still clings on to hope that technology may one day be able to restore Mr Brown's ability to walk.

“I dream that we will travel together. If he cannot walk, I will be the one who pushes his wheelchair wherever we go,” she said.

bangkokpost.com

[Gonzo the Face]

There is a benefit for Nic at the North Gate Jazz Club, Saturday evening.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/lite/breakingnews/405689/injured-samaritan-suffers-wait-for-justice

Injured good Samaritan suffers wait for justice

Nattha Thepbamrung

20/04/2014

It began as an attempt to break up a drunken brawl at a Chiang Mai bar, but ended in Nicolas Brown losing the ability to walk.

Nicolas Brown.

The man he helped, university student Don Prawinmet, returned shortly after the scuffle and opened fire indiscriminately at patrons, wounding three people.

But nearly a year after the shooting and four months after he was released from hospital, Mr Brown is being forced to live off a dwindling supply of donated funds as he becomes increasingly frustrated in his fight for justice.

As his medical bills mount, the compensation promised to him by the shooter's family has failed to materialise, and criminal proceedings against Mr Don have made little progress.

Mr Brown said he desperately wants to return home to Vancouver, Canada, but is reluctant to leave Thailand before justice is served.

“I am in pain every day," he said. "The doctors have said I will not walk again. I was here in hospital for six months because of a pressure sore, an ulcer that developed on my back from lying still for so long.

“I also have nightmares that he will come back to shoot me.”

Mr Brown, who worked as a teacher and freelance journalist before the shooting, said he was attempting to prevent Mr Don from being assaulted at the bar on Nimmanhemin Road.

“I was out with my girlfriend and three friends at the Ban Dain Bar, and Don came to our table and attempted to join us,” Mr Brown recalled.

“He was acting inappropriately with my friends and girlfriend, and at one point he touched the waitress' behind and she was the girlfriend of Morris, the bartender.”

Soon after that, a fight broke out. Mr Don was beaten badly, and Mr Brown and his friends helped escort him outside to safety.

“He returned while we were outside and going to leave ourselves and fired his gun five times. He hit three of us: Morris, a Korean student, and myself.”

A bullet stuck Mr Brown in the back, shattering his ribs and sending bone fragments into his spine.

“I need proper treatment at home in Canada, but I am afraid to leave Thailand before I receive compensation," he said.

"The treatment here is good but better in Canada. Here it is very hard to go around, there is a lack of accessible streets and transportation for wheelchairs."

Mr Brown said the shooter's family had paid some of his hospital bills, but have so far failed to deliver on a promise of 3.5 million baht in compensation.

“At first they offered one million, but they have not paid me and they have delayed this payment. I fear they will wait until after one year to pay me. They may fear I will launch a civil suit, which I cannot do after one year.”

The delayed payment and stalling criminal case against Mr Don have left Mr Brown fearing that justice may not be served.

Pol Col Dundecha Archawasamit, former superintendent of Puping police station, said the case has already been passed over to prosecutors, but could not give any indication of when it would go to court.

“We sent the case across late last year and it is now with the judge to gather the necessary documents,” he said.

“[Mr Don] confessed as soon as he was arrested that it was him who shot those people, but says he was very drunk and does not remember much.”

Pol Col Dundecha said the suspect was bailed on a 500,000-baht bond as the family took him for a mental health assessment.

“If he has a mental illness, it will probably affect the case. However, this is up to the court to consider,” he said.

Doctors at Chiang Mai's Maharat Hospital have concluded the suspect was suffering only from stress-related psychosomatic disorders, but the family is seeking a second opinion from specialists in Bangkok.

“I fear that because his family is wealthy and that he attended CMU [Chiang Mai University], he will not receive punishment and he will escape proper justice,” Mr Brown said.

“I have been told that he has attended a mental institution for a short time and he became a monk for a short time also. This is of course to make him look good for the judge.”

Mr Brown is now living off money raised from a fundraising page his friend helped set up on GoFundMe.com, but he says that money is running out and his long-term future is unclear.

Mr Brown said he wants his shooter to take responsibility for the actions which so dramatically changed the course of his life.

“I would tell him that because of his weakness, he took my normal life from me and caused me pain and suffering for the rest of it,” he said.

“I would tell him that he needs to make sure that I can live as best I can in my circumstances, that this is his responsibility now, and actually I feel sorry for him and his weakness.

“He could not be strong enough to act like a human towards others, the girls [at the bar], and now he has ruined someone's life.”

The victim's girlfriend, Sirikarn Phreenake, who has been caring for him since the shooting, still clings on to hope that technology may one day be able to restore Mr Brown's ability to walk.

“I dream that we will travel together. If he cannot walk, I will be the one who pushes his wheelchair wherever we go,” she said.

bangkokpost.com

This entire happening is just a sad, sad, sad story from the beginning. But I would like to just make one positive comment to Ms Sirikarn Phreenake, young lady you have my utmost respect and admiration for your actions . Stories abound on this forum about those of opposite actions, but you have shown that all young ladies are not of that vein. I hope that the two of you do ultimately find long and true happiness.

[Awk]

There is a benefit for Nic at the North Gate Jazz Club, Saturday evening.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/lite/breakingnews/405689/injured-samaritan-suffers-wait-for-justice

Nice to see this still getting some coverage in at least one major news paper, and hopefully others too.

What time is the Saturday event, if you know? I'd like to drop by with a small contribution. Hopefully others here will too, as this by all accounts looks like a very decent person.

An interview with him was also posted before:

[Frank James]

Mr. Brown is handling this appalling situation much better than I would. I find it impossible not to think in terms of a wrathful payback, because it seems quite clear Don's family are not going to do the right thing here.

[Chicog]

He's wasting money sitting in Thailand waiting for a payoff. Might as well go home where the medical treatment and the whole disabled thing is in a different league.

[junglechef]

Most admirable young man and kudos to holding to his convictions in the most difficult of times, I can't imagine how I'd deal. As an outside observer, and acknowledging that nobody asked for my opinion, I think I'd also go home and take care of myself first and foremost, esp. as it is apparent that the powers that be here aren't that concerned. The lesson in life, no matter how hard it was delivered, might be that life is not fair and that looking for a little of it with justice might just be frustrating and cause more pain and suffering, if that is even possible. Karma, if one believes in such things, will take care of the rest. I wish Nick, Sirikarn and all thier loved ones good luck!

[sticklee]

A recent post on our Chiang Mai Highlanders Facebook page has included the following link. In the Facebook post it was stated that a generous donation has been made by the Chiang mai governor in the amount of $10,000. http://www.gofundme.com/66ajwg

[Oscar2]

A recent post on our Chiang Mai Highlanders Facebook page has included the following link. In the Facebook post it was stated that a generous donation has been made by the Chiang mai governor in the amount of $10,000. http://www.gofundme.com/66ajwg

i'm guessing that's THB 10,000 and not AUD, SGD ($) 10,000, etc.