Thai truck driver who knocked down and killed British couple fined just £18

[Boater]

A Thai truck driver who knocked down and killed a British couple who were on a round-the-world cycling trip was fined just £18.

Peter Root and Mary Thompson, both 34, left Guernsey in July 2011 and had cycled through Europe, the Middle East and China before reaching Thailand, their 23rd country.

But the couple were killed when they were run over by the driver of a pick-up truck while riding their bicycles on a road 70 miles east of Bangkok in Phanom Sarakham, Chachoengsao in February last year.

The truck driver Vorawong Sangkawat was arrested and charged with killing them both through negligence.

However, he was given a suspended two-year prison sentence and fined 1,000 Baht, the equivalent of just £18.

A post-mortem examination in Guernsey confirmed that the couple had both suffered severe head injuries consistent with a road traffic accident.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2640470/Thai-truck-driver-knocked-killed-British-couple-23rd-country-round-world-cycling-trip-fined-just-18.html#ixzz32ul3eWqZ
Edit: Note to members. It has been reported that the above link may be blocked by some some ISP's. There is nothing Thai Visa can do to correct this.

Edited May 28, 2014 by ubonjoe

[AhFarangJa]

Life is cheap in the L.O.S.

[kannot]

and he'll be out doing it again already

[irishsmile]

Absolute madness!! Where on earth do these crazy laws and decisions come from! £18 pounds??? Disgraceful! Freed to murder without a worry about the poor people and their families he destroyed ....

[Swiss1960]

well, if the judge sees it as an accident and judges it as manslaughter (unintentional killing), then the penalty is not much different from penalties in European criminal codes... Switzerland criminal code says that manslaughter can get up to three years of prison or monetary fine... so the Thai verdict seems not to far off, if it really was an accident without high-speed or alcohol involved...

[cooked]

'Will you promise not to do it again?'

[Swiss1960]

Absolute madness!! Where on earth do these crazy laws and decisions come from! £18 pounds??? Disgraceful! Freed to murder without a worry about the poor people and their families he destroyed ....

Have you been there? Have you seen it happen? How do you come to the "murder" conclusion when the judge comes to the accident conclusion? How comes you only mention the 18 pounds but not the 2-year suspended jail sentence attached? Did you ever bother to look at your own countries laws (as I did above) and compared what you would get for an accicent with manslaughter (assuming not being drunk or driving to fast) back in your home country?

But of course... easier to bash than think before...

[Swiss1960]

'Will you promise not to do it again?'

Do you realize that showing remorse (I promise not to do it again / to be more careful from now on) does also help to reduce sentences in Western jurisdictions, if the judge believes what you say?

[Swiss1960]

and he'll be out doing it again already

says who? Do you know the driver? Did you follow him since the accident and examine his driving pattern? Seen any other accidents he had? Did you care to read that he had a "previous good character" meaning no accidents before this tragic event?

bunch of bashing <deleted myself> on here...

[Patsycat]

I would imagine the monetary fine here in Switzerland is a bit more than 30 Francs.

[Mosha]

18 Quid? Are they serious?

[Swiss1960]

I would imagine the monetary fine here in Switzerland is a bit more than 30 Francs.

Yes it is, but my salary is also more than 9 Swiss Franc a day...

[i claudius]

I feel sorry for the poor couple ,but the roads are no place for cyclists,those days have gone. as for the driver ,as i do not know the details i will not comment.

[Mosha]

I would imagine the monetary fine here in Switzerland is a bit more than 30 Francs.

Yes it is, but my salary is also more than 9 Swiss Franc a day...

There was a post a couple of years back. One of the members had run over a chicken that hatched a champion fighting cock. The owners demanded more than that disgusting fine as compo. Your defending this guy is sick sick sick. Newspaper reports at the time said his head was down as he was searching for his frigging hat!

[ubonjoe]

Topic under review. Closed until approved.

[Scott]

Moved to Thailand News. Please exercise care in your posts.

[Lancelot]

Thailand has some fine points; however, often social justice is often not one of them...

[Swiss1960]

I would imagine the monetary fine here in Switzerland is a bit more than 30 Francs.

Yes it is, but my salary is also more than 9 Swiss Franc a day...

There was a post a couple of years back. One of the members had run over a chicken that hatched a champion fighting cock. The owners demanded more than that disgusting fine as compo. Your defending this guy is sick sick sick. Newspaper reports at the time said his head was down as he was searching for his frigging hat!

I am not definding the guy, if I am defending anything, then it is the ruling of the judge, based on what i read in the news article (accident, nothing about speed, nothing about alcohol, driver with good previous record).

sick is when

- people only read about the 18 pounds, don't read about the (suspended) jail sentences

- don't put the 18 pounds into relation with the salary of the driver

- don't bother to note that an equal accident in Europe can also lead to a monetary find also

- just start to bash around, not even for a second think about that this might REALLY have been a tragic accident only...

Would you therefore please ALSO start to bash the European judges who can even hand over suspended (!!) monetary fines for traffic accidents with manslaughter? I could give you few examples from Swiss or German courts...

[kratiam]

Absolute madness!! Where on earth do these crazy laws and decisions come from! £18 pounds??? Disgraceful! Freed to murder without a worry about the poor people and their families he destroyed ....

Have you been there? Have you seen it happen? How do you come to the "murder" conclusion when the judge comes to the accident conclusion? How comes you only mention the 18 pounds but not the 2-year suspended jail sentence attached? Did you ever bother to look at your own countries laws (as I did above) and compared what you would get for an accicent with manslaughter (assuming not being drunk or driving to fast) back in your home country?

But of course... easier to bash than think before...

Articulate, well thought out & powerful. Great post.

[bangkokheat]

I would imagine the monetary fine here in Switzerland is a bit more than 30 Francs.

Yes it is, but my salary is also more than 9 Swiss Franc a day...

There was a post a couple of years back. One of the members had run over a chicken that hatched a champion fighting cock. The owners demanded more than that disgusting fine as compo. Your defending this guy is sick sick sick. Newspaper reports at the time said his head was down as he was searching for his frigging hat!

I am not definding the guy, if I am defending anything, then it is the ruling of the judge, based on what i read in the news article (accident, nothing about speed, nothing about alcohol, driver with good previous record).

sick is when

- people only read about the 18 pounds, don't read about the (suspended) jail sentences

- don't put the 18 pounds into relation with the salary of the driver

- don't bother to note that an equal accident in Europe can also lead to a monetary find also

- just start to bash around, not even for a second think about that this might REALLY have been a tragic accident only...

Would you therefore please ALSO start to bash the European judges who can even hand over suspended (!!) monetary fines for traffic accidents with manslaughter? I could give you few examples from Swiss or German courts...

i would bash any judge that handed out such a ridiculous sentence, not just the thais, the driver was negligent and took 2 innocent peoples lives, i bet if it was your family members you would be getting the oozy out

[Bkkbound]

Unless there is a comprehensive forensic analysis of how the accident happened then this is the outcome in Thailand, in the UK the Traffic police produce very detailed reports and analysis which if any blame is found is apportioned. Deaths caused on the highway have rarely resulted in a punitive sentence, we seem to kill cyclists once a month on average in London, few drivers are prosecuted. besides insurances companies pay out... Did this driver have any insurance, will the bereaved family get anything?

[promatrix]

'Will you promise not to do it again?'

they are dead, how to do it again!

[Mosha]

I would imagine the monetary fine here in Switzerland is a bit more than 30 Francs.

Yes it is, but my salary is also more than 9 Swiss Franc a day...

There was a post a couple of years back. One of the members had run over a chicken that hatched a champion fighting cock. The owners demanded more than that disgusting fine as compo. Your defending this guy is sick sick sick. Newspaper reports at the time said his head was down as he was searching for his frigging hat!

I am not definding the guy, if I am defending anything, then it is the ruling of the judge, based on what i read in the news article (accident, nothing about speed, nothing about alcohol, driver with good previous record).

sick is when

- people only read about the 18 pounds, don't read about the (suspended) jail sentences

- don't put the 18 pounds into relation with the salary of the driver

- don't bother to note that an equal accident in Europe can also lead to a monetary find also

- just start to bash around, not even for a second think about that this might REALLY have been a tragic accident only...

Would you therefore please ALSO start to bash the European judges who can even hand over suspended (!!) monetary fines for traffic accidents with manslaughter? I could give you few examples from Swiss or German courts...

People who live here know the system. 100K per victim to the police, and 100k to the victim's family.

[Fat Haggis]

It is what it is, no point in getting too worked up about it, there's nothing anyone can do or say that will make the victims come back to life, nobody knows if the driver is suffering from PTSD either, it's very quick to judge indeed, the sad thing is that in comparison to the Western Laws, it's low, but a 1000 baht to a poor Thai is quite a lot of money.

[DrTuner]

It's the criminal code, the fines are fixed baht amounts, from 1959 if I remeber correctly. Inflation has been enormous after that date. Maybe the coupsters will fix that too, bind it to an index and/or perps income level.

[crobe]

For those defending the driver here is a section of the original report "Investigating police think the accident was caused by a combination of the Thai driver speeding and his falling asleep at the wheel. The 25 year old driver from Udon Thai province claimed the accident occurred when he dropped his hat and bent down to pick it up. Police have charged him with careless driving and he's out on 300k Baht bail." So please stop with the "I defend the Thais at all costs - without even knowing the circumstance" crap

Source: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/620209-driver-in-british-cyclists-fatal-road-accident-released-on-bail/?p=6128033#entry6128033

Edited May 27, 2014 by Maestro
Added link to source.

[Loles]

My all simpathy with the victims families and I hope these young brave guys rest in peace.

BUT.

I know exactly those road where they suffered this fatal excident.

Those road is noway for bicycles.

In TH when drivers get a bit crowded traffic they start a new line immediately, and this new lane is the emergency lane.

The police don't care this, they do it also. Every-one do this especially.

We may say this is not good, what kind of moral this, but in Asia this is the traffic custom, do you like or don't, this is the fact. You have to know it when you start a trip like this. If some-one plans to long swim in ocean must to know about shark situation. This case is same.

Just imagine. 2 bicycles move in emergency lane, but cars and trucks also use it for moving, the first car can see the bicycles and turn over them, the second already almost hits them and the third will hit them sure.

If some-one asks me before about this plan I tell: sure you will die if you would like to use the "highway" emergency lane for bicycle moving.

Sorry to say but this is the fact, and this case was not the first to western bicycle tour guys, and sorry again but not was the last.

Sad story.

[JonnyF]

I would imagine the monetary fine here in Switzerland is a bit more than 30 Francs.

Yes it is, but my salary is also more than 9 Swiss Franc a day...

He was found guilty of negligence by the court. If you accept the verdict, you should also accept that 1000 baht is inadequate. Even if the guy was a minimum wage 711 clerk that's only 3 days wages for 2 lives taken. We all know what "suspended sentences" equate to in Thailand.

[surangw]

but let a farang spill one drop of thai blood and there is hell to pay.

[Loles]

'Will you promise not to do it again?'

they are dead, how to do it again!

Another situation to other people who still alive smart Neo from Matrix.

Edited May 27, 2014 by Loles