Central Pattaya knife attack leaves American seriously injured

[petercool]

Despite a request to desist, a bickering post was made and now removed.

[belg]

thainess infected some farangs here, apologists ?

the man carried a knife for no reason, butcher or not, you leave that material at the work place .. so slashing and dashing is ok for you, hope you are not the NEXT VICTIM of some thai crazy BASTARD with a short fuze

[bangon04]

I cant see the article, was the attacker arrested? one thing I have noticed about thailand is that attacks like this seem to be accepted by both the public and the police

The American is probably lucky that 6 passers by didn't join in and give him a kicking too

[dagobert]

Please let them keep arguing this is great stuff.

This JacCang dude is great!

[Jim walker]

A speedy and full recovery I hope for Mr Daniel O’Neill and a hefty 500Bt fine for the knife wielding thug.

[connda]

"When in Rome"... people make mistakes, nothing bad happened and because of this the Thai would have thought it a personal attack from the American. If the opposite had happened and the American had been at fault and put his hands together and said ka toot kap the Thai very most likely would have given the same "polite" gesture and moved on. When in a country that has a "polite particle" in their language for both male and female, even if you are in the right a display of anger is considered very impolite.

So impolite it warranted attempted murder right?

You took the words out of my... fingertips, Apetley. As I started reading the replies I was wondering how long it would take before someone would start 1/ blaming the victim 2/ patronizing the victim plus the rest of us about how wrong it is to display anger in Thailand, thus implying that the rage response was somehow justified.

All I can say is I wish that Mr Sanctimonious and the rest of the Sanctimonious Club find themselves in a similar situation one day.

Human beings do NOT control their reactions at all times, that's one of the things that make them human as opposed to angels. This being said there is a thing called 'civilization' where one learns not to cross certain lines even when fueled by anger. Pulling out a knife and stabbing a guy who insulted you (for whatever reason) is way beyond this line, anywhere in the world and there is no justification for such violence.

I went through a frightening ordeal a couple of years back because I had given one angry look at a Thai driver. JUST.ONE.LOOK. The one thing I learned from that nightmare was that when Thais lose their screws, they lose them big time. The word 'amok' incidentally, comes from the Malay language, and there are striking similarities in all Asian cultures where self control (and loss thereof) is concerned, due to a background of Confucian principles which, 2500 years after the great man died, are still incredibly prevalent all over Asia.

Yes, Asians tend to keep their anger in check better than we do, but one might well ask where does all that restrained anger go ? The answer is in the news every day, as well as in collective events like the 1965 massacres in Indonesia, the Khmer Rouge genocide, the horrors perpetrated in Myanmar since Tatmadaw (the Burmese Armed Forces) took over in 1962, the Nanking Massacre in 1937 and the list goes on.

I took the time to write down my story because I felt that new expats should be warned that in the rage department, things don't work in Asia like they do in Western countries

Most importantly, there doesn't seem to be a progressive scale in anger reaction here in the Far East. Asians will either brush it off with a laugh or jetsai, mai pen rai attitude or they will flip out massively and when that happens, trust me, get the hell out as fast as you can. Some keyboard cowboys reacted to my story by implying that I was a coward of sorts because I hadn't thrown my fist in the guy's face or pulled out a knife... No comment, except that I'm leading a normal retired life here in the Kingdom and prefer my condo near the sea than the Bangkok Hilton. This may be the wild wild East and will never cease to puzzle us foreigners, but it definitely isn't the wild wild West either, and I don't live - or wish to live - in a B-series Hollywood action movie, thank you very much.

Here is the link to the post I wrote about my personal experience :

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/735264-nightmare-in-pattaya/

That's one of the problems with Thailand. Thais will use their vehicles has weapons of intimidation. I've been pushed out of lanes and literally off the road by cars while riding a motorcycle more times than I like to think about. So yeah, when someone clearly has no regard for your life and deliberately puts you in peril, the adrenaline kicks in and you go into flight or fight mode. A lot of farang express this with verbal anger, looks of anger, but not physical attacks. Thais on the other hand will go on a murderous rampage.

A few months back some jack*ss in a Mercedes ran a red light making an illegal left turn and would have hit me with my wife on the back of my motorcycle if I hadn't make an emergency swerve into the right lane. I didn't even have time to check to see if the right lane was clear. If I hadn't swerved we would have been hit and probably severely injury. My response -- full of adrenaline at almost being killed -- I flipped him off. I looked in the mirror and could see the front end of the Mercedes lift up as he floored the accelerator. This was in the city and it wasn't difficult to keep cars between me and Mr. Elite that just about killed me and my wife. I made a quick plan and told my wife to hang on. There was a major hotel within 1/2 kilometer and I headed for it. My though was basically that if that guy pulls a weapon and I get killed, maimed, or otherwise assaulted, I get it on the hotel's CCTV system and have a score of witness. So I pulled into the hotel, stopped next to the security guard and in front of other foreigners, and turned around and waited. Mr. Elite comes screaming up to the hotel entrance and locks the brakes up when he see me waiting for him. He stayed there for about five seconds, pulled the car back on the main road, and left.

What do you do? Someone almost kills you with complete disregard and as a farang I'm suppose to kow tow and maintain a completely calm demeanor. This is why a hate driving here. Seven years of driving here and I keep modifying my own driving in an attempt to avoid situations like that, but you can't cure the culturally ingrained arrogance of individuals who believe that the higher the price of their car gives them the ultimate privilege to use it as a weapon of intimidation against anyone of lesser status (pedestrian, motorcyclist, bicyclist, etc.) It's psychopathic behavior, and it scare the hell out of me.

I don't have any answers or solutions. It just is.

[ALFREDO]

How bad is this, the guy was carrying. A knife, ??? Who in there right mind would carry a knife ???

Who would? A butcher, would carry "his beloved" Nr. 1 knife.

""Khun Prasit aged 29 works as a part-time masseur, when he is not at his full-time job as a butcher.""

Edited August 7, 2014 by ALFREDO

[pacovl46]

How bad is this, the guy was carrying. A knife, ??? Who in there right mind would carry a knife ???

I know a few things annoy us here, but it ain't worth confronting any of them, you just never know.....

Hope the guy makes a full recovery....

I carry a knife at all times and use it quite often for all sorts of things, that doesn't mean I'd go off carving people a new face!

[John Egil]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

How bad is this, the guy was carrying. A knife, ??? Who in there right mind would carry a knife ???

I know a few things annoy us here, but it ain't worth confronting any of them, you just never know.....

Hope the guy makes a full recovery....

I carry a knife with me everyday. Have done for the last 40 odd years. Obviously don't take it on planes with me, but will have one available at my destination place of work. Habitual I suppose.

He is a butcher after all, but the question would be what would he want with one doing massages?

To be clear, I don't carry a knife for self protection or to cause injury to others.

You dont have to bring a knife on the plane . Everyone gets one with the meal

[thailiketoo]

thainess infected some farangs here, apologists ?

the man carried a knife for no reason, butcher or not, you leave that material at the work place .. so slashing and dashing is ok for you, hope you are not the NEXT VICTIM of some thai crazy BASTARD with a short fuze

A knife is a tool. I use mine 5 times a day. A car is a vehicle but they murder 100 times as many people in as knives in Thailand. A 4 inch heel is a dancers tool. Would you ban autos and spiked heels because they are capable of hurting people?

The Thai guy is a nut case. If no knife he would have grabbed a rock or a two by four and whacked the guy.

So am I a Thai apologist? I think they should put the Thai male away in Jail for 20 years for attempted murder and take any property he may have and award it to the victim.

Edited August 7, 2014 by thailiketoo

[Rimmer]

Troll post removed

[asdecas]

"When in Rome"... people make mistakes, nothing bad happened and because of this the Thai would have thought it a personal attack from the American. If the opposite had happened and the American had been at fault and put his hands together and said ka toot kap the Thai very most likely would have given the same "polite" gesture and moved on. When in a country that has a "polite particle" in their language for both male and female, even if you are in the right a display of anger is considered very impolite.

What does "ka toot" mean? Is it related to that old Dustin Hoffman film?

[Alwyn]

"When in Rome"... people make mistakes, nothing bad happened and because of this the Thai would have thought it a personal attack from the American. If the opposite had happened and the American had been at fault and put his hands together and said ka toot kap the Thai very most likely would have given the same "polite" gesture and moved on. When in a country that has a "polite particle" in their language for both male and female, even if you are in the right a display of anger is considered very impolite.

I quite agree.

As an American living in Asia many years, I have come to realize that Americans are prone to quick anger and

vulgarities. Americans seem to think this is normal behavior, but in Asia if you get nasty and call people dirty

names as a result of some minor incident, it is not taken lightly.

As this case demonstrates, Americans who plan to visit or live in Asia would do well to learn a bit of manners

and civility. Otherwise they would be better off to stay in America.

Really? So when a guy on a motor bike drives into you you say sorry? The guy got indignant and for his sins got cut up by a psycho and you think this is normal? If you've been in Thailand for so long you might understand about the Thainess of avoiding confrontation? I'll bet my bottom dollar that although you find this disproportionate response acceptable you think Israel's isn't? I guess Americans around the World are thankful for your hep-handy advice though.

[Jinjo14]

"How bad is this, the guy was carrying. A knife, ??? Who in there right mind would carry a knife ???"

A chef or a butcher would carry a knife, which is what he did for his full time job

Didn't know he would take his work home with him, so to speak. Also note, however, he was returning from his job as a masseur...

I agree. I'm a chef and I never carried my knives to and fro from work. I would assume he was carrying a pen knife/switchblade.

Anyway hope the guy makes a full recovery

[media]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

How bad is this, the guy was carrying. A knife, ??? Who in there right mind would carry a knife ???

I know a few things annoy us here, but it ain't worth confronting any of them, you just never know.....

Hope the guy makes a full recovery....

I carry a knife with me everyday. Have done for the last 40 odd years. Obviously don't take it on planes with me, but will have one available at my destination place of work. Habitual I suppose.

He is a butcher after all, but the question would be what would he want with one doing massages?

To be clear, I don't carry a knife for self protection or to cause injury to others.

Hey Chrisinth, Just interested, what do you carry the knife for?

[Bernard Flint]

To all those saying it happens in civilised countries too. Yes it does.

But, and this is the difference. In a civilised country, the person who attempted murder would be arrested and would most likely be facing serious jail time, not a B500 fine.

Adults have consequences for their actions. Do you think the result would be different as far as consequences if the roles were reversed?

Sir

Well let us wait to see if he has a 500 baht fine.

[hoyism]

whilst it was wrong for the American to react the way he did ( in a country where it is considered to very rude to do so) it was still wrong for the Thai to do what he did... it was a total act of cowardice to attack someone unarmed with such a dangerous weapon, in this country it does happen a lot and it must be said part of the reason why they act in this way is because they are so repressed/unable to let out emotions/feelings, they are at times like a time-bomb waiting to go off..

[AloisAmrein]

One more reason to avoid Thailand.

[thailiketoo]

whilst it was wrong for the American to react the way he did ( in a country where it is considered to very rude to do so) it was still wrong for the Thai to do what he did... it was a total act of cowardice to attack someone unarmed with such a dangerous weapon, in this country it does happen a lot and it must be said part of the reason why they act in this way is because they are so repressed/unable to let out emotions/feelings, they are at times like a time-bomb waiting to go off..

How did the American react? The quote was, "angry words were exchanges which enraged Khun Prasi." Who said what; do you know?

[newatthis]

"How bad is this, the guy was carrying. A knife, ??? Who in there right mind would carry a knife ???"

A chef or a butcher would carry a knife, which is what he did for his full time job

Didn't know he would take his work home with him, so to speak. Also note, however, he was returning from his job as a masseur...

You could have a teeny "weenie" problem if you upset him while he was giving you a massage

[hoyism]

whilst it was wrong for the American to react the way he did ( in a country where it is considered to very rude to do so) it was still wrong for the Thai to do what he did... it was a total act of cowardice to attack someone unarmed with such a dangerous weapon, in this country it does happen a lot and it must be said part of the reason why they act in this way is because they are so repressed/unable to let out emotions/feelings, they are at times like a time-bomb waiting to go off..

How did the American react? The quote was, "angry words were exchanges which enraged Khun Prasi." Who said what; do you know?

in this country letting out anger or aggression to anyone is considered very rude, they don't do it so we're expected not to.. it's an emotion we're expected to hold onto/surpress..... we all know it's not a good thing to do but when living in many Asian countries that's how it is......

it's no secret, most farang know this... and most farang have been warned that getting involved in any outward forms of aggression whether it be physical or verbal can lead to seriously bad consequences in a country where the men can at times act like petulant children, where they never fight fair (almost always more of them, or/and with weapons)...

interactions here can be very testing, especially on the road.. Thais will always just pull out without looking, it can be like Russian roulette, especially with the automatic motorbikes..

Thailand on the whole is a safe country, i don't get **** i used to get in my own country, the rule is to not get involved with local politics, be careful who you deal with in business, and don't shout or show aggression towards them.. i've never had ANY trouble with Thais but i have come very close a few times when i've behaved just like the American did, and yes i'm lucky.

j

[thailiketoo]

whilst it was wrong for the American to react the way he did ( in a country where it is considered to very rude to do so) it was still wrong for the Thai to do what he did... it was a total act of cowardice to attack someone unarmed with such a dangerous weapon, in this country it does happen a lot and it must be said part of the reason why they act in this way is because they are so repressed/unable to let out emotions/feelings, they are at times like a time-bomb waiting to go off..

How did the American react? The quote was, "angry words were exchanges which enraged Khun Prasi." Who said what; do you know?

in this country letting out anger or aggression to anyone is considered very rude, they don't do it so we're expected not to.. it's an emotion we're expected to hold onto/surpress..... we all know it's not a good thing to do but when living in many Asian countries that's how it is......

it's no secret, most farang know this... and most farang have been warned that getting involved in any outward forms of aggression whether it be physical or verbal can lead to seriously bad consequences in a country where the men can at times act like petulant children, where they never fight fair (almost always more of them, or/and with weapons)...

interactions here can be very testing, especially on the road.. Thais will always just pull out without looking, it can be like Russian roulette, especially with the automatic motorbikes..

Thailand on the whole is a safe country, i don't get **** i used to get in my own country, the rule is to not get involved with local politics, be careful who you deal with in business, and don't shout or show aggression towards them.. i've never had ANY trouble with Thais but i have come very close a few times when i've behaved just like the American did, and yes i'm lucky.

j

The OP "angry words were exchanges which enraged Khun Prasi" You wrote, "whilst it was wrong for the American to react the way he did." How did the American react? Who said what; how do you know?

[BeforeTigers]

I'm curious if the farangs always lose the fight, or if it only makes the news when they do.

How many stories of some foreigner snatching one of these guys up and smashing him?
I never hear that, but it seems like the physical advantage is generally in the farang's favor, atleast a good amount of the time.

[hoyism]

whilst it was wrong for the American to react the way he did ( in a country where it is considered to very rude to do so) it was still wrong for the Thai to do what he did... it was a total act of cowardice to attack someone unarmed with such a dangerous weapon, in this country it does happen a lot and it must be said part of the reason why they act in this way is because they are so repressed/unable to let out emotions/feelings, they are at times like a time-bomb waiting to go off..

How did the American react? The quote was, "angry words were exchanges which enraged Khun Prasi." Who said what; do you know?

in this country letting out anger or aggression to anyone is considered very rude, they don't do it so we're expected not to.. it's an emotion we're expected to hold onto/surpress..... we all know it's not a good thing to do but when living in many Asian countries that's how it is......

it's no secret, most farang know this... and most farang have been warned that getting involved in any outward forms of aggression whether it be physical or verbal can lead to seriously bad consequences in a country where the men can at times act like petulant children, where they never fight fair (almost always more of them, or/and with weapons)...

interactions here can be very testing, especially on the road.. Thais will always just pull out without looking, it can be like Russian roulette, especially with the automatic motorbikes..

Thailand on the whole is a safe country, i don't get **** i used to get in my own country, the rule is to not get involved with local politics, be careful who you deal with in business, and don't shout or show aggression towards them.. i've never had ANY trouble with Thais but i have come very close a few times when i've behaved just like the American did, and yes i'm lucky.

j

The OP "angry words were exchanges which enraged Khun Prasi" You wrote, "whilst it was wrong for the American to react the way he did." How did the American react? Who said what; how do you know?

The OP " angry words were exchanged" between the two = the American man was verbally aggressive ( letting out anger ) which in this country is not a good thing to do and can lead to..... hold on a minute i seem to be repeating myself here.? do you not get it?

[mok199]

thais harbour rage internally ,like most,but unlike most,thais have a sense of ownership in thailand,forigners are just toursits and as tourists we have no rights.you will never win in thailand,if you are LUCKY you may break even..but that is rare'...'its the thai way or the hiway''..

Edited August 7, 2014 by mok199

[hoyism]

I'm curious if the farangs always lose the fight, or if it only makes the news when they do.

How many stories of some foreigner snatching one of these guys up and smashing him?

I never hear that, but it seems like the physical advantage is generally in the farang's favor, atleast a good amount of the time.

i do not think a farang can do things like that here and get away with it... not to say it hasn't ever happened...

[thailiketoo]

How did the American react? The quote was, "angry words were exchanges which enraged Khun Prasi." Who said what; do you know?

in this country letting out anger or aggression to anyone is considered very rude, they don't do it so we're expected not to.. it's an emotion we're expected to hold onto/surpress..... we all know it's not a good thing to do but when living in many Asian countries that's how it is......

it's no secret, most farang know this... and most farang have been warned that getting involved in any outward forms of aggression whether it be physical or verbal can lead to seriously bad consequences in a country where the men can at times act like petulant children, where they never fight fair (almost always more of them, or/and with weapons)...

interactions here can be very testing, especially on the road.. Thais will always just pull out without looking, it can be like Russian roulette, especially with the automatic motorbikes..

Thailand on the whole is a safe country, i don't get **** i used to get in my own country, the rule is to not get involved with local politics, be careful who you deal with in business, and don't shout or show aggression towards them.. i've never had ANY trouble with Thais but i have come very close a few times when i've behaved just like the American did, and yes i'm lucky.

The OP "angry words were exchanges which enraged Khun Prasi" You wrote, "whilst it was wrong for the American to react the way he did." How did the American react? Who said what; how do you know?

The OP " angry words were exchanged" between the two = the American man was verbally aggressive ( letting out anger ) which in this country is not a good thing to do and can lead to..... hold on a minute i seem to be repeating myself here.? do you not get it?

OP. ""angry words were exchanges which enraged Khun Prasi" You don't know what was said or how it was said. You are assuming the American said something. You know what they say about, Ass u me. If you want to find out what the American said call him and ask him. He may have been asking for help or for someone to call an ambulance. The reporter obviously can't write English very well. Perhaps the Thai yelled something in Thai and the American yelled back get me some help. You don't know do you?

Edited August 7, 2014 by thailiketoo

[hoyism]

thais harbour rage internally ,like most,but unlike most,thais have a sense of ownership in thailand,forigners are just toursits and as tourists we have no rights.you will never win in thailand,if you are LUCKY you may break even..but that is rare

i have been told and heard MANY TIMES the following;

if you ever get in an altercation with a Thai; do not shout at them or show any aggression or anger... back-off slowly and hope for the best.

Edited August 7, 2014 by hoyism

[jaywalker]

"When in Rome"... people make mistakes, nothing bad happened and because of this the Thai would have thought it a personal attack from the American. If the opposite had happened and the American had been at fault and put his hands together and said ka toot kap the Thai very most likely would have given the same "polite" gesture and moved on. When in a country that has a "polite particle" in their language for both male and female, even if you are in the right a display of anger is considered very impolite.

I quite agree.

As an American living in Asia many years, I have come to realize that Americans are prone to quick anger and

vulgarities. Americans seem to think this is normal behavior, but in Asia if you get nasty and call people dirty

names as a result of some minor incident, it is not taken lightly.

As this case demonstrates, Americans who plan to visit or live in Asia would do well to learn a bit of manners

and civility. Otherwise they would be better off to stay in America.

Could replace your word "Americans" by Westerners

Why does this article even address a person's nationality? Are we not all humans first?

It was an incident between a bicyclist ant a motorcyclist, that escalated into attempted murder.

[Bernard Flint]

Not defending a thai in any way shape or form, but many need to put things into perspective.

read the daily mail from today,on internet, there are some very vile killings,rapes etc etc in the uk, very gruesome indeed, one first page,includes the eastender star( dont know her) who was brutaly murdered by her brother and body cut up, pure evil..5kids age 13- 15, raping a girl etc etc