Tourist Shot, Killed On Phi Phi

[Maejo Man]

Tourist shot, killed on Phi Phi

Police say a 24-year-old Belgian tourist has been shot dead on Thailand's popular Phi Phi island.

Police Colonel Boontawee Toraksa says the man was gunned down in front of a budget beach hotel as he came back from a local bar with two other westerners.

"Witnesses told us three young men approached the Belgian and shot him in the head," he said.

Colonel Boontawee says the two others are unharmed.

He says the Belgian, whose identity is not clear, arrived in Phi Phi last week with a brother.

Police have declined to give further details.

Phi Phi is known for its postcard-perfect beaches and was used as the location for the 2000 Hollywood film, The Beach, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

today's bangkok post

[kurgen]

Sounds like a hit to me

[sriracha john]

It's a race to see which will put an end to Thai tourism first...

confusing new visa regulations or the increased number of rapes/murders/thefts...

R.I.P. for the dearly departed...

unfortunately, another "unforgettable" experience for his brother and all other friends/family members..

Edited September 11, 2006 by sriracha john

[Vespa]

It's a race to see which will put an end to Thai tourism first...

confusing new visa regulations or the increased number of rapes/murders/thefts...

R.I.P. for the dearly departed...

unfortunately, another "unforgettable" experience for his brother and all other friends/family members..

Must have been a reason .

I never liked Koh Pi Pi

[sriracha john]

perhaps he interupted a whiskey-drinking session by the locals, same as the other foreigner who was murdered.

[bmanly]

And if the Police can not catch the offenders on an Island then they are part of the problem. Very sad news indeed.

[Vespa]

And if the Police can not catch the offenders on an Island then they are part of the problem. Very sad news indeed.

Good point , let see how this one plays out.

[Scott]

Condolences to the family.

[terry57]

sounds like the dude had seriously pissed off one of the locals.

[Mighty Mouse]

sounds like the dude had seriously pissed off one of the locals.

Yep, but not necessarily 'seriously.' Just looking at someone the wrong way is enough to attract a bullet.

There is far too much violence in this world.

[Plus]

There is far too much violence in this part of the world.

Edited September 11, 2006 by Plus

[terry57]

sounds like the dude had seriously pissed off one of the locals.

Yep, but not necessarily 'seriously.' Just looking at someone the wrong way is enough to attract a bullet.

There is far too much violence in this world.

well micky,

its costs a fare bit of money to get a hit done on a farang, considerably more than a thai.

in all my expierience with los,

the locals are more inclined to give the farang a little warning before they pull a gun.

now if said farang is real stupid and dont run away extremely quickly, he could well indeed get a bullet sandwich.

i had a thai partner who used this very tactic when we had trouble with falang.

he had an ex policeman turned hit man on standby if needed.

as far as i know he never needed to use him but i meet this guy and he was extremely real.

in the end the mafia put my partner 6 feet under.

los can be a violent and unforgiving place if you play silly games.

that is why i always tell the punters to avoid conflict at all costs with our thai friends, and give way to them.

just a little tip that might save someones life.

anyway micky,

that's my 20 baht's worth.

cheers friend

P.S.

rambuttri st, end of november,

piss up, be there micky

[terry57]

hello plus,

see you at the piss up mate.

your welcome friend

cheers

[Samuian]

Guess, always pay your barfine!

[Briggsy]

farangbodycount.com remains available.

[sriracha john]

Breaking News:

Thai police arrest 4 suspects in murder of Belgian tourist on resort island

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Thai police have arrested four suspects in the murder of a Belgian tourist who was shot on Phi Phi island over the weekend, police said Tuesday.

Gregory Van Der Vaeren, 24, was shot after leaving Happy Bar, a bar on the island, early Sunday morning. He had arrived on the popular island in southern Thailand two days earlier.

Police arrested four Thais late Monday, including Wanchai Lertwilai, a DJ at Happy Bar, who confessed to shooting Van Der Vaeren, said Lt. Col. Vitaya Metrai of Krabi provincial police.

Wanchai said the Belgian was drinking heavily and the two got into an argument after Van Der Vaeren insulted a Thai woman at the bar, Vitaya said. Wanchai and three friends urged the Belgian to step outside, where they began fighting and then shot him at close range, he said.

Van Der Vaeren died of a single shot to the head, police said.

Wanchai was charged with premeditated murder and the three others with conspiring to murder. All could face the death penalty if convicted.

- Associated Press

-------------------------

R.I.P., Gregory

Another sad over-reaction... a perceived slight... a wrong word used... a few words misinterpreted.. a breakdown in communication... a minor translation error...

or even a blatant cuss insult

NONE of these deserve a bullet to the brain...

Edited September 12, 2006 by sriracha john

[Briggsy]

Nothing in the Bangkok Post and very curt statements from the police. Is this news being suppressed in the local English-language media or is it so commonplace nowadays that it isn't worth reporting?

[sriracha john]

Encouraging in some small way that the charges of pre-meditation are related to bringing a gun to a fight over words...

"If you bring a gun to a fight, it's pre-meditation, and if someone is killed at that fight because of the gun you brought, it's pre-meditated murder."

[sriracha john]

Nothing in the Bangkok Post and very curt statements from the police. Is this news being suppressed in the local English-language media or is it so commonplace nowadays that it isn't worth reporting?

Like a number of stories, it DOES require some searching to find updates or expanded news...

It seems it's a full-time job sometimes to find additional news ...

thankfully there are many, many news sources around the world, otherwise we'd really be in the dark on many incidents and issues....

This type of horrible slaying IS becoming more common-place...

Edited September 12, 2006 by sriracha john

[sriracha john]

Case in point...

Here's the link to an article from the Belgian Press:

http://www.hbvl.be/nieuws/Buitenland/defau...D-E4A1E8AC5B83}

in Belgian? French Belgian? German Belgian?

If any TV members could translate.... I'm not having much success with finding a Belgian =- > English online translation site.

[sriracha john]

Babel-Fish "Dutch to English" Auto-translator:

A person whose birthday it isperson whose birthday it is person whose birthday it is Belgian tourist has been shot Sunday on the Thai holiday island Phi Phi. Our compatriot became for its hotel neergekogeld, then he from a bar stepped with two other westerlingen, politiekolonel precised Boontawee Toraksa. "witnesses said that three young persons the belgian Vander Vaeren and him in the head shots" approached, added he. The two other westerlingen were not touched. The person whose birthday it isperson whose birthday it is person whose birthday it is Gregory of of the Vaeren, who two had arrived days rather in the tourist harbour, was shot with an only shot in the head after he had left around 02.45 from a bar to its hotel run. Its older brother Federic, who had left rather, said against the police force that Gregory had drunk firmly. The police force is in search of a local dive instructor with whom he had had brawl rather on the evening.

from above website....

It's the "Farang Prince Dead in Thailand" thread all over again... to find suitable information from non-Thai, non-English websites that actually print the news...

can we take the above as meaning he was murdered on his birthday????

Edited September 12, 2006 by sriracha john

[monty]

Now a human translation:

A 24 year old Belgian tourist has been shot dead on Koh Phi Phi on Sunday.

He got shot down when he left a bar together with two other Westerners specified police colonel Boontawee Toraksa.

Wittnesses said three young men approached Van der VAeren and shot him in the head. The other Westerners were not wounded.

The 24 year old Gregory van der Vaeren, who arrived two days earlier in the tourist area was shot dead with a single shot to the head, after he left a bar at 2:45 to walk to his hotel..

His older brother Frederic said to police his brother had drank heavily.

Police is now looking for a local dive instructor with whom Gregory had an argument earlier in the evening.

So it was not his birthday! "24 jarige" means 24 years old.

"jarige" without a number means "the birthday person" Hence the misinterpretation by the software...

Strange where in the local Thai press it was the DJ, when in the foreign media the police was supposedly looking for a dive instructor...

[Jai Dee]

Four teens arrested in Phi Phi murder

PHI PHI ISLAND: Four teenagers allegedly involved in the murder of a 24-year-old Belgian man after a fight have been arrested, police report.

The man, Gregorey Vandervaeren, had been on the island only three days when he was shot early Sunday morning. Police said that Mr Vandervaeren was in a fight with the teens before one of them used a gun.

Krabi Police Station Superintendent Pol Col Boontawee Toruksa told the Gazette that reports by four witnesses to the attack led to the teens’ arrests.

“The problem was that the teenagers weren’t from the area,” Col Boontawee said. “People who live around here know that tourists are important for business and take very good care of them.”

Representatives from the Belgian Consulate were scheduled to arrive yesterday (September 11).

Source: Phuket Gazette - 12 September 2006

[sriracha john]

Now a human translation:

A 24 year old Belgian tourist has been shot dead on Koh Phi Phi on Sunday.

He got shot down when he left a bar together with two other Westerners specified police colonel Boontawee Toraksa.

Wittnesses said three young men approached Van der VAeren and shot him in the head. The other Westerners were not wounded.

The 24 year old Gregory van der Vaeren, who arrived two days earlier in the tourist area was shot dead with a single shot to the head, after he left a bar at 2:45 to walk to his hotel..

His older brother Frederic said to police his brother had drank heavily.

Police is now looking for a local dive instructor with whom Gregory had an argument earlier in the evening.

So it was not his birthday! "24 jarige" means 24 years old.

"jarige" without a number means "the birthday person" Hence the misinterpretation by the software...

Strange where in the local Thai press it was the DJ, when in the foreign media the police was supposedly looking for a dive instructor...

Thank you ever so much, monty...

the resources available here in thaivisa know no bounds...

and yes, a "human" version of translation is much preferred... those auto-translators give me headaches...

thank you for the birthday explanation...

if it had been, that would have been even more tragic than it already is...

and you're right... differing suspects...

Edited September 12, 2006 by sriracha john

[sriracha john]

Four teens arrested in Phi Phi murder

PHI PHI ISLAND: Four teenagers allegedly involved in the murder of a 24-year-old Belgian man after a fight have been arrested, police report.

and yet now, a third set of suspects (as I wouldn't expect a diving instructor nor a DJ to be a "teen")

[terry57]

its a tragedy that this drunken farang got a bullet sandwich for his bad manners.

but punters must learn to treat thai with respect and dont get to pissed up.

different country , different rules and it never happens to people that play within the rules.

reason being , there's plenty of pissed up farang's with bad attitudes that need sorting out.

now dont spit the dummy punters as its not good that this guy got a bullet, but we all must remember were we are, and what's going down.

[LoveDaBlues]

You get young guys coming here (think they're superman) who don't study the culture and learn about 'face'......then they get drunk...compounds the problem......<deleted> happens.

I'm guessing in his country normally when you 'step outside' to settle a beef it's done with the fists........this ain't his country.........

Extremely sad event, his family will be devastated.

R.I.P. young man.

[Tony Clifton]

Unforgiving Thailand.

[djinn]

Belgian newspaper in french:

http://www.dhnet.be/dhinfos/article.phtml?id=155786

Baically same infos as already posted here

Parents added murdered guy was a calm guy

[qualtrough]

Belgian newspaper in french:

http://www.dhnet.be/dhinfos/article.phtml?id=155786

Baically same infos as already posted here

Parents added murdered guy was a calm guy

That article mentioned that the family is trying to locate two Frenchmen who were drinking with the brothers but they have been unable to do so. A German was also there, but since he was not mentioned again presumably they have been in contact with him.