German man brutally attacked in Udon Thani by 'Koh Tao copycats'

[IgboChief]

Suggest you use Wattana hospital far better valuew for money not AEK who consider every patient a cash cow.

Thank you Paul. Where exactly is it located please and do they speak some English at least? (The Government Hospital depressed me a lot, not only in that regard).

AEK is expensive, I know. But given that it is a bad head injury and upper face damage, he needs good treatment.

Edited November 18, 2014 by IgboChief

[loongdavid]

"what the hell is going on in Udon?"

I think the Farang who thought living in a rural area would be relatively peaceful and crime free, are starting to wake up.

Or perhaps, due to the internet, the crimes that have always happened are being reported globally...

Believe me, there's nothing whatsoever to "...wake up" to. We choose to live in remote, rural areas because we enjoy the peace and quiet without any perceived crime whatsoever. The absence of inebriated and obnoxious fools is also a big attraction. The people who should be very concerned appear to be those living in, or close to, the principal tourist areas.

[KissMyAxe]

AEK has a terrible reputation in Udon I would recommend The Wattana too !

[IgboChief]

AEK has a terrible reputation in Udon I would recommend The Wattana too !

Alright then, I will check that out tomorrow. It is on the other side of Nong Prajak, so not far -- which is also good related to transport.

Thank you for suggesting.

[Neeranam]

Many of these attacks are similar ; happen very late at night, involve alcohol and are in an isolated place. I have seen too many Thais going crazy after a few drinks. Add the other factors and it is trouble in the waiting....

I also know of some farang who can not handle their alcohol and are a$sholes but they have not killed anyone yet .... As far as I am aware.

My advise is to avoid situations that involve drunk Thais and avoid dark isolated places after dark. If you smell trouble get out of there quickly and avoid conflict. We farang have our pride but it is better to walk away and live another day.

Thailand is so disappointing now a days ....

I'm an <deleted> under you statement, but I would never get involved in a confrontation with a Thai. I'll leave that to my wife.

Stephen - How do you know you would never get in a confrontation with a Thai. I don't understand when people say this and I've heard it a few times. Would you get into a confrontation with an Australian/Swede/Cambodian?

ttthailand - I'd say people in my own country go crazier after a few drinks - where I come from the streets are lined with police when the pubs close - never seen anything like that here. People fight before, during and after football games etc.

I meet lots of foreigners that are terrified of Thais - no wonder they often take advantage of us.

[StealthEnergiser]

Suggest you use Wattana hospital far better valuew for money not AEK who consider every patient a cash cow.

Thank you Paul. Where exactly is it located please and do they speak some English at least? (The Government Hospital depressed me a lot, not only in that regard).

AEK is expensive, I know. But given that it is a bad head injury and upper face damage, he needs good treatment.

Great to see you are helping him well done .

[lostinisaan]

from a local news source -

German national attacked in Udon Thani - Udon-News visited the victim in hospital

18.11.2014 - 14:38

Michael S. (25) was sitting outdoors by a lake in Udon Thani on November the 15th at 3 o'clock in the morning, along with a Thai friend and his girlfriend. Three young Thais passed by on a moped and verbally abused the group. No one thought anything of it until they came back 15 minutes later.

2 boys dismounted and approached the group. One had a garden hoe, and he struck Michael several times on the head, with full force.

Read more here: http://udon-news.com/en/news/german-national-attacked-in-udon-thani-udon-news-visited-the-victim-in-hospital

2 boys dismounted and approached the group. One had a garden hoe, and he struck Michael several times on the head, with full force.

Which scares the shit out of me.With Full force with a "garden hoe" on Michael's head?

Oh god, that's so &lt;deleted&gt; crazy. Like slaughtering a pig. You can't be that stupid to not know what a hoe can do to a human's skull.

Killing for what reason? I think we all should hold a minute of our breath to help him. Cheers.-

[tingtongtourist]

"what the hell is going on in Udon?"

I think the Farang who thought living in a rural area would be relatively peaceful and crime free, are starting to wake up.

Or perhaps, due to the internet, the crimes that have always happened are being reported globally...

My ex, from village near Surin would go apesh#t if i would want to go out after dark. It was just because i was a farang as any member of her family had to follow this.

She say...these people are not like Bangkok. Kids here gone bad on yabba,they probably knock you off your bike and worse for even a few bottles of beer or whatever money you have on you.

personally i did not think it was so bad but i didnt challenge!

She said Udon was not so bad but man if you did mention KhonKen shed go nuts again. Listen to her and you would think these people are reptiles or aliens in disguise..they are no good and into really bad stuff according to her.

Funny thing, on another trip years later a BKK lady told me to beware of Surin woman as they have black magic and can make potions for you to fall in love, spells of khumer to really !#$/ you up if things go bad.

It struck me if people have this mentality (and also believe in ghosts) you cannot be suprised about anything they will come out with.

These attackers were probably on yabba id say. From what i hear it is destructive in young males as it fries their brain and cant tell reality or right from wrong.

Not being unkind, but these are not Oxford scholars in the first then add mind altering drugs to the mix and....

[OZEMADE]

All three attackers no excuses, should be severely punished and in the event of the man attacked dying, the person who used the hoe should be given the death sentence. That will just about stuff the European travellers to Thailand. These murders and assaults on foreigners from all over the world are now getting a lot of publicity on the media and social media. Even the Police don't go out at night. The place is that slack lately it (Thailand) is now getting what it deserves. The place has gone

[copa8]

This is very upsetting...particularly to my wife and I. We spent many mornings in that park...just before sunrise. In the 3 years that we lived there, we went every day, and saw nothing like this. There was a gruesome murder of a bar owner by his own staff, at his house...but not random violence at the park.

Police and military are helpless against this kind of violence.

I know it sounds bad....because it is.

random violence happens everywhere. just a few days ago, an elderly asian-american man (who was with his wife) in nyc, was pushed onto the path of an oncoming subway for no apparent reason.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/16/justice/new-york-subway-death/index.html?iref=allsearch

[OZEMADE]

This is very upsetting...particularly to my wife and I. We spent many mornings in that park...just before sunrise. In the 3 years that we lived there, we went every day, and saw nothing like this. There was a gruesome murder of a bar owner by his own staff, at his house...but not random violence at the park.

Police and military are helpless against this kind of violence.

I know it sounds bad....because it is.

random violence happens everywhere. just a few days ago, an elderly asian-american man (who was with his wife) in nyc, was pushed onto the path of an oncoming subway for no apparent reason.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/16/justice/new-york-subway-death/index.html?iref=allsearch

Maybe you should have added this. About five million people ride the subway every day in New York City. Every year, about 140 people are hit by city subways, many of them in accidental knocks. Fifty people have been killed by subway trains so far this year, and 55 died last year, according to the MTA.

That does not come under the heading of an admitted Copycat.

[Munger]

Well at least the cops aren't blaming the Burmese or Cambodians.

Bang goes another 10k tourist arrivals.

10000 tourist arrivals? Really?? I think our perceptions get very distorted with TV as a news source. I just did a Google news search, and this story is only being picked up in the Thai media so far. Granted, it's still hot off the press. Let's see what happens over the next couple of days, but I wouldn't be surprised if it makes barely a ripple in the international media. Hard to compete with ISIS, ebola, and the Ukraine.

This story is running like crazy around all my friends and contacts on facebook. It is presumably quite big on German news.

I find this type of daylight random attack to be genuinely terrifying. I am very glad I have left. If it means one can't walk around because as a farang you are a target, what is the point in Thailand. Plenty of places with sunshine that are safer than that.

While we can't dismiss social media as a source of news, it's not easy to assess its impact. Yes, the story might spread across your FB contacts and friends, but your online friends probably share interests with you and so are not representative of the broader (western) public. If we're to believe that this story will reduce tourist arrivals by 10,000 (as claimed here), the story would 1) have to stick in the general consciousness of the 'traveling public' in the west and 2) would have to be interpreted as indicative of the threat generally faced by foreigners in Thailand. I'm not convinced that either of these will happen (though, yes, I could be wrong).

Well my friends reach pretty far and wide thoughout Asia, UK, Europe and the USA.

I get plenty of responses around any articles I like or share. People are wondering what the hell is going on in Thailand.

People and maybe your friends, need to realise that Thailand is just like any other country - it has crime! Why is this so surprising?

Our resident Thai apologist just had chime in / defend this thread. Disgusting.

[sabaitoo]

@IgboChief

It is very nice to have people like you in this world, who do more than just sit behind the keyboard..Thanks

I would be a good idea to get him out of the 15 Bed room, also infection wise, further post swelling should be expected 24 Hour surveiliance for at least 6-7 first days recommended

My brother-in-law was hit twice in the back of his head with a Hoe while he was sleeping, some years ago...took them some 3 hours to get him to a local hospital ( Uttaradit) ..from here the call the family who were told that he was expected to pass soon...the family called us here in Europe and informed us that he would be dying soon..I allowed to suggest they get him to another hospital..so they arranged a transfer and did get him into an ICU, 1 hours drive away ( Sukhothai ) as he arrived there his had a cardiac arrest..so we got a call that he was dead...and a call an hour later that he was still alive....but unconcious due to swelling...he was in coma for 6 weeks..woke up could talk but was blind...now after 6 years he can talk normally, use the internet but short-sigted with a some restrictions..can only be in known surroundings etc....but he has a life..well kind off...

Forgot to mention that the person who hit him twice with the Hoe was his wife..she got arrested and spent 1 year in jail....released due to some family arraingments (huge payment to my mother-in-law from the family)....she is now the caretaker of my brother-in-law..they now live happily together...oh well TIT

[daveAustin]

We choose to live in remote, rural areas because we enjoy the peace and quiet without any perceived crime whatsoever. The absence of inebriated and obnoxious fools is also a big attraction. The people who should be very concerned appear to be those living in, or close to, the principal tourist areas.

Methinks many of you chaps living in these remote areas were cajoled into going there by your lady. Can you honestly tell us before you came to Thailand your goal was to live in an upcountry village?

[Thai at Heart]

Well at least the cops aren't blaming the Burmese or Cambodians.

Bang goes another 10k tourist arrivals.

10000 tourist arrivals? Really?? I think our perceptions get very distorted with TV as a news source. I just did a Google news search, and this story is only being picked up in the Thai media so far. Granted, it's still hot off the press. Let's see what happens over the next couple of days, but I wouldn't be surprised if it makes barely a ripple in the international media. Hard to compete with ISIS, ebola, and the Ukraine.

This story is running like crazy around all my friends and contacts on facebook. It is presumably quite big on German news.

I find this type of daylight random attack to be genuinely terrifying. I am very glad I have left. If it means one can't walk around because as a farang you are a target, what is the point in Thailand. Plenty of places with sunshine that are safer than that.

While we can't dismiss social media as a source of news, it's not easy to assess its impact. Yes, the story might spread across your FB contacts and friends, but your online friends probably share interests with you and so are not representative of the broader (western) public. If we're to believe that this story will reduce tourist arrivals by 10,000 (as claimed here), the story would 1) have to stick in the general consciousness of the 'traveling public' in the west and 2) would have to be interpreted as indicative of the threat generally faced by foreigners in Thailand. I'm not convinced that either of these will happen (though, yes, I could be wrong).

Well my friends reach pretty far and wide thoughout Asia, UK, Europe and the USA.

I get plenty of responses around any articles I like or share. People are wondering what the hell is going on in Thailand.

People and maybe your friends, need to realise that Thailand is just like any other country - it has crime! Why is this so surprising?

Well.I would say that this type of extreme violence is on the whole quite rare in most countries. Particularly for tourists.

Then there is analysis of motive and the such. This is just a motiveless attack apparently. Then, it appears that violence is actually centred on tourists and the such.

This is in direct contrast to most other tourist destinations.

[loongdavid]

We choose to live in remote, rural areas because we enjoy the peace and quiet without any perceived crime whatsoever. The absence of inebriated and obnoxious fools is also a big attraction. The people who should be very concerned appear to be those living in, or close to, the principal tourist areas.

Methinks many of you chaps living in these remote areas were cajoled into going there by your lady. Can you honestly tell us before you came to Thailand your goal was to live in an upcountry village?

As someone who was raised on a farm and subsequently spent many years in rural areas I would not have thought of living anywhere else. Who in their right mind would want to live cheek by jowl amongst the worlds flotsam and jetsam, really! Having read most of the posts concerning this event it just reinforces my original decision to live where I do.

[lostinisaan]

Any news of the condition of the victim?

The Thai friends he was with - were they hurt? I thought I read that one had a broken arm? Was he attacked or was he defending the victim?

Good evening,

yesterday evening I came back and read that story today on TV, so I decided to go to the hospital in order to visit him.

The good news is While Michael suffered severe head injuries, he will survive. Michael is conscious and was able to speak with me. He is a very nice kid, was calm and only a bit surprised when I showed up (as we are not related in any way). He was in critical condition and lost a lot of blood but now seems to be stable, but weak and shocked of course. Still my impression is that he copes with it.

The bad news is He is in the public hospital beside Nong Prajak, which is not the best place. He stays in a room with around 15 other poor souls. It was even difficult for me to find him. Nobody wanted to understand my Thai.

I am trying now to get him into the Aek Udon (as these people somehow understood my Thai). Unfortunately he does not seem to have any health insurance, in fact he is just a kid, but a good one. So I will see what I can make possible.

He had contacts with his mom already. Also the tourist police spoke with him. I did not got into the details in order to give him as much rest as possible. Will visit him tomorrow again and keep you posted. Thank you for your sympathy though, Michael much appreciates it.

Regards

Thanks a lot for being such a nice guy. The German organization DHV, which helps German people, were already informed by me. Just sent them an e-mail to make sure that they send somebody to this hospital immediately.

Will keep you up to date. Please tell him that we'll do all to make it as easy as possible to get him the best possible treatment.

Again, thanks a lot for your visit.

Edited November 19, 2014 by lostinisaan

[brewsterbudgen]

Well at least the cops aren't blaming the Burmese or Cambodians.

Bang goes another 10k tourist arrivals.

10000 tourist arrivals? Really?? I think our perceptions get very distorted with TV as a news source. I just did a Google news search, and this story is only being picked up in the Thai media so far. Granted, it's still hot off the press. Let's see what happens over the next couple of days, but I wouldn't be surprised if it makes barely a ripple in the international media. Hard to compete with ISIS, ebola, and the Ukraine.

This story is running like crazy around all my friends and contacts on facebook. It is presumably quite big on German news.

I find this type of daylight random attack to be genuinely terrifying. I am very glad I have left. If it means one can't walk around because as a farang you are a target, what is the point in Thailand. Plenty of places with sunshine that are safer than that.

While we can't dismiss social media as a source of news, it's not easy to assess its impact. Yes, the story might spread across your FB contacts and friends, but your online friends probably share interests with you and so are not representative of the broader (western) public. If we're to believe that this story will reduce tourist arrivals by 10,000 (as claimed here), the story would 1) have to stick in the general consciousness of the 'traveling public' in the west and 2) would have to be interpreted as indicative of the threat generally faced by foreigners in Thailand. I'm not convinced that either of these will happen (though, yes, I could be wrong).

Well my friends reach pretty far and wide thoughout Asia, UK, Europe and the USA.

I get plenty of responses around any articles I like or share. People are wondering what the hell is going on in Thailand.

People and maybe your friends, need to realise that Thailand is just like any other country - it has crime! Why is this so surprising?

Our resident Thai apologist just had chime in / defend this thread. Disgusting.

Apologist? I'm just pointing out that violent crime happens in Thailand and people need to be aware of this. How is that apologising for Thailand?

[Lex Talionis]

The injuries sustained by Michael are not life threatening.

Good news! Here's wishing him a speedy recovery with no lasting damage. And many thanks IgboChief for going up there to check things out. Please tell Michael that there are a lot of us pulling for him. Well done!

[nontabury]

This is very upsetting...particularly to my wife and I. We spent many mornings in that park...just before sunrise. In the 3 years that we lived there, we went every day, and saw nothing like this. There was a gruesome murder of a bar owner by his own staff, at his house...but not random violence at the park.

Police and military are helpless against this kind of violence.

I know it sounds bad....because it is.

random violence happens everywhere. just a few days ago, an elderly asian-american man (who was with his wife) in nyc, was pushed onto the path of an oncoming subway for no apparent reason.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/16/justice/new-york-subway-death/index.html?iref=allsearch

"Yes" but presumably NYC does have a functioning, competent police force, unlike here in Thailand.

[lostinisaan]

The injuries sustained by Michael are not life threatening.

Good news! Here's wishing him a speedy recovery with no lasting damage. And many thanks IgboChief for going up there to check things out. Please tell Michael that there are a lot of us pulling for him. Well done!

Great news. Still waiting for an answer from DHV ( Deutscher Hilfsverein Bangkok) if they can send somebody to Udon Thani to sort things out. Time to get him to a proper hospital without the possibility to get viruses from other patients in the ICU.

A German guy passed last year,as he caught some severe viruses from other patients in a huge ICU room.

Should any relatives read this here, please get in touch with DHV under:([email protected] phone: 022873761

They speak German, English and Thai. Might be a good one to speed things up. Should anybody go to see Michael, kindest regards from Michael from Sisaket.

I hope they'll send somebody to Udon Thani, I'll be there on the weekend. Let's just hope that he fully recovers and gets all needed help.

[mrtoad]

Here's wishing all the best to Michael and a speedy recovery. Top job from the guys that have visited him, and are also organising to get him into another hospital.

[IgboChief]

The injuries sustained by Michael are not life threatening.

Good news! Here's wishing him a speedy recovery with no lasting damage. And many thanks IgboChief for going up there to check things out. Please tell Michael that there are a lot of us pulling for him. Well done!

Great news. Still waiting for an answer from DHV ( Deutscher Hilfsverein Bangkok) if they can send somebody to Udon Thani to sort things out. Time to get him to a proper hospital without the possibility to get viruses from other patients in the ICU.

A German guy passed last year,as he caught some severe viruses from other patients in a huge ICU room.

Should any relatives read this here, please get in touch with DHV under:([email protected] phone: 022873761

They speak German, English and Thai. Might be a good one to speed things up. Should anybody go to see Michael, kindest regards from Michael from Sisaket.

I hope they'll send somebody to Udon Thani, I'll be there on the weekend. Let's just hope that he fully recovers and gets all needed help.

Good Morning,

I just came back from the Hospital. Given the circumstances Michael is doing well and I shall greet all of you. He is not sure on accepting my offer to take him to the AEK Udon due to the costs. He wants to discuss with his family first, which will arrive today. I accept that and do not want to push him into anything, luckily it is not so bad as the first news indicated -- pretty serious though.

He has my phone number and can call me at any time if anything is needed. Further I will visit him on Friday again.

Strong reminder for everyone, please check you have proper health insurance! ICU at Aek was indicated with 10500 THB/d, Wattanna indicated 20000-30000 THB (yes, I asked twice to confirm that!). Just prepare yourself for "what/if", even if the odds are small.

Take care!

BTW, there is one thing which really bugs me. At the AEK people spoke fluent English, we just switched to Thai occasionally. At Wattana they did not speak English, but understood my (broken) Thai very well and explained everything in easy language to me. At the Government Hospital though I was almost lost as people refused to understand or assist me. Only on the second visit today they opened up a bit.

Edited November 19, 2014 by IgboChief

[ExPratt]

Hope he makes a full and speedy recovery

Its good to see from some posts on this thread that there are some thoroughly decent people about. Good work the fellas helping him out

[dogleg]

I seem to be out of 'em, but "Likes" to all who have been visiting/helping/reporting. Fingers crossed for the victim Michael.

Can someone provide a link I can pass to the wife where this crime has been reported in Thai. Seems it hasn't been big in Thai news!!

Thanks.

[spidermike007]

We do not have a life. We wanted to imitate the dickwad in Tao, as we thought it was a "cool" thing to do. And we do not have any common sense, reason, intelligence, compassion, morality, ethics, free will, dignity, respect, kind heartedness, nor any shred of decency, so we committed this heinous act. We are part of the youth, and we are not being taught very well. And our parents are "absent on the job", so we do not have any guidance. Besides, we are boys, so we are told every day how "special" we are. Thats why we did it.

[lostinisaan]

The injuries sustained by Michael are not life threatening.

Good news! Here's wishing him a speedy recovery with no lasting damage. And many thanks IgboChief for going up there to check things out. Please tell Michael that there are a lot of us pulling for him. Well done!

Great news. Still waiting for an answer from DHV ( Deutscher Hilfsverein Bangkok) if they can send somebody to Udon Thani to sort things out. Time to get him to a proper hospital without the possibility to get viruses from other patients in the ICU.

A German guy passed last year,as he caught some severe viruses from other patients in a huge ICU room.

Should any relatives read this here, please get in touch with DHV under:([email protected] phone: 022873761

They speak German, English and Thai. Might be a good one to speed things up. Should anybody go to see Michael, kindest regards from Michael from Sisaket.

I hope they'll send somebody to Udon Thani, I'll be there on the weekend. Let's just hope that he fully recovers and gets all needed help.

Good Morning,

I just came back from the Hospital. Given the circumstances Michael is doing well and I shall greet all of you. He is not sure on accepting my offer to take him to the AEK Udon due to the costs. He wants to discuss with his family first, which will arrive today. I accept that and do not want to push him into anything, luckily it is not so bad as the first news indicated -- pretty serious though.

He has my phone number and can call me at any time if anything is needed. Further I will visit him on Friday again.

Strong reminder for everyone, please check you have proper health insurance! ICU at Aek was indicated with 10500 THB/d, Wattanna indicated 20000-30000 THB (yes, I asked twice to confirm that!). Just prepare yourself for "what/if", even if the odds are small.

Take care!

BTW, there is one thing which really bugs me. At the AEK people spoke fluent English, we just switched to Thai occasionally. At Wattana they did not speak English, but understood my (broken) Thai very well and explained everything in easy language to me. At the Government Hospital though I was almost lost as people refused to understand or assist me. Only on the second visit today they opened up a bit.

Please tell him my best regards and a member of DHV ( Deutscher Hiflsverein in Bangkok) will get in touch with him immediately.

They already got in touch with a member in Udon Thani. I'm in touch with the guys in Bangkok and will put some pressure on them to fasten things up.

Please just tell him not to worry about anything now, most importantly now is to get him to a "safe" hospital, where he won't catch some serious viruses, pretty much common in ordinary hospitals.

He shouldn't worry about the hospital bill, or anything else now. Only focusing to get back on his legs as soon as possible.

<<<< Although the comments were well intentioned, as the comments were in German language, the comments have been removed. >>>>

DHV will take care of any bills that will occur and help his relatives as well. They're connected with the German embassy and are very experienced with such emergency cases.

Get well soon, trying to visit you on the weekend. Cheers, <<<< German language removed >>>>

Edited November 19, 2014 by metisdead
English is the only acceptable language anywhere on ThaiVisa including Classifieds, except within the Thai language forum, where of course using Thai is allowed.

[joepattaya1961]

I may be "slightly" naive, but I can't believe that just 3 teenagers just attacked the German and his friends out of just nothing; there must be more to this story.

The reason of "like to copy the Koh Thao murder" is utter BS; a bright example of Thais coming up with some reason to let them stand out better for the media; they should have told the real reason, but that would make them loose face big time.

[IgboChief]

I may be "slightly" naive, but I can't believe that just 3 teenagers just attacked the German and his friends out of just nothing; there must be more to this story.

The reason of "like to copy the Koh Thao murder" is utter BS; a bright example of Thais coming up with some reason to let them stand out better for the media; they should have told the real reason, but that would make them loose face big time.

Utter nonsense, I met Michael and he is a very calm and reasonable guy. He also told me what happened and even taken with a big grain of salt, there would be nothing left "more to this story". I have met a lot of trouble makers and rough people in my life (as my nick might indicate) and I can assure you that your comment goes into the very wrong direction completely.

Just to add, if this happened to me and then I had to read your comment on top, I would start to doubt in mankind seriously.

Edited November 19, 2014 by IgboChief

[lostinisaan]

I may be "slightly" naive, but I can't believe that just 3 teenagers just attacked the German and his friends out of just nothing; there must be more to this story.

The reason of "like to copy the Koh Thao murder" is utter BS; a bright example of Thais coming up with some reason to let them stand out better for the media; they should have told the real reason, but that would make them loose face big time.

Why are you trying to make things up? Not in everybody's interest what you believe and what not.

Are you trying to say that he provoked them by sitting in a park?

But your username a sort of protects you, Joe.

Edited November 19, 2014 by lostinisaan