Phuket bungee death jump owner to be charged Monday

[fareastguy]

The post is somewhat contradictory... either the venue has or has not got a valid licence/permit...

As for the operators I suspect it will be a 500 baht fine each with any jail time suspended..

back to work the next day with or without a licence !!

[Pib]

I have ordered that the place remain closed as it doesn't have a licence.

Initial and periodic payments to corrupt officials bypass the need for a license.

[gemguy]

The owner may not even carry a permit to operate this bungee jump site. Where were the authorities before this fatal accident???

Take your pick

Collecting tea money

busy with Mia Noi

Buying a new Mercedes

getting a Soapy Massage

Playing games on i-phone in office

Out for a long lunch

On a state paid for junket

You forgot to include

Laughing all the way to the bank....as the Bungee Jump business profits are so good

[spidermike007]

Or a 20,000 baht fine......that would be rather lenient.

How little a life is worth!

It is not even about that. It is about every official from the top down, needing to admit the judicial system is completely broken, completely ineffective, and completely bought and sold daily. There are few countries in the world where the judges, prosecutors and system are as broken and ineffective as in the LOS. Fix it. Man up. Do the right thing. Admit your faults as a nation. That is what grown ups do.

[elgordo38]

The owner may not even carry a permit to operate this bungee jump site. Where were the authorities before this fatal accident???

Take your pick

Collecting tea money

busy with Mia Noi

Buying a new Mercedes

getting a Soapy Massage

Playing games on i-phone in office

Out for a long lunch

On a state paid for junket

I racked my brain to see if you had missed any but you seemed to have covered all the bases. Do they have Siestas in Thailand?

[choff56]

Bungee over water and he died?

It is obvious he did not jump over water.

He DID jump over water; but as many of the reports state, on the rebound (going back up after initial jump), the ankle straps came off/undone and when he came back down he landed on the ground, just missing the pond by a few feet...

Missed it by "that" much.

[dirtycash]

stupid ars eholes !! like what does it take to be safe and for government to regulate these theme parks ? it just makes me think " are they really that

Lackadaisical. i hope this guy did not die, such a pity about these safety issues all the time in thailand weather theme parks or boats to koh larn etc.

be carefull here in whatever you do guys !! dont take anything for granted in thailand.

[ebcal]

Tragic. In this particular case, do not know if it was due to improper fitting and securing, or equipment that was not up to par, or just a equipment failure that could not have been known or avoided. If it is one of the first 2, then assume there should be a stiff penalty and I think that the reminder that taking more responsibility for your safety applies in Thailand.

In these types of cases, maybe there could be a severe punishment, often not, but you usually dont hear much about corrective actions to insure this does not happen again. We hear about bus crashes every week, yet nothing is done to solve the root cause. Usually, it is only about punishing after the fact.

For those that come from other countries that have higher standards and regulations, we take safety for granted in many ways. And the problem arises when we do this and go to other countries.

If you think about it, we make unconscious actions every day where we place our lives in someone else's hands by assuming there is some level of safety and some level of common sense from others. For example:

1. If we walk down the street and walk on a covered hole, manhole, metal grating, metal or wooden board. We assume that someone made sure that is secure and would not collapse, if we walk on it.

2. If we buy an electrical product, or use a electrical water heater or use a pool at a hotel, we assume that the product or building is up to electrical standards and we should not get electrocuted.

3. If we buy food, we assume it is safe to eat.

4. If we stay at a hotel, we assume people are not stupid enough to use toxic pesticides on the sheets to kill bedbugs, but might also be fatal to humans.

5. If we cross a street on a green, many assume other cars will stop on a red

6. If we ride on a bus, we assume the bus has some regular maintenance and checks, and is not running on bald tires with no brakes, and the driver has some idea of responsibility so is not reckless or got enough sleep and was not out all night partying.

7. And the list goes on and on..........................

So, we all do it every day, most without thinking. And if you live in more "safe" countries, then the risks of these are lower , but when we travel to other countries that have different culture of safety, this risk rises dramatically. The problem is when you have a culture that has insufficient safety regulations, and no monitoring even if there are regulations. And of course, all countries suffer from a culture of greed where saving money is pitted against safety. And if you dont have good monitoring and regulations, the greed will win in terms of driving actions and behavior. Yes, the offenders should be punished, but unless you enact better regulations and monitoring that they are followed, then you are not fixing the root cause and these will continue. So, knowing the risks are greater in these countries, we should give safety more thought.

Of course, it is impossible to eliminate these risks completely. We have to put our safety in other's hands and there is no getting around this completely. e.g. we have to eat, have to take some mode of transportation. But, we can keep safety more in our thoughts than in the safer countries. We can choose where we buy from, or the mode of transportation, that may better the odds. We can walk across the street defensively and not assume anyone will stop. We can avoid walking on a wooden board covered hole, as not to trust someone else's work to fix the hold. We can make a choice that it is better not to do extreme sports in a country like Thailand. If we do choose, then at least we know there is more risk and made a conscious decision to take the higher risk.

And I am not saying we should live life so paranoid that we cannot enjoy ourselves in these other countries. But, we should just remember that we should take a little more control of our own safety by giving safety more thought and not taking all the risks that we might otherwise. Be safe out there.

Or of course, there is the other line of thought that we all got to go sometime, and when our time is up, it is up, so just do your thing, and if S--T happens, it happens, and I aint gonna worry about every little danger, otherwise I would be paralyzed. So, to each their own.

[Tchooptip]

copy/paste of the Bungee company Website: http://www.sunrise-divers.com/bungy_jump.php

The Phuket bungy jump and the staff are certified to International standards. The owner is a Kiwi jumpmaster with experience of bungy jumping worldwide. The same bungy company also operates jumps in Chiang Mai and Pattaya, and are often consulted for expert advice by other bungy jump operators all over Asia.

certified to international standards + The owner is a Kiwi. Is it the same company ?

[stevenl]

copy/paste of the Bungee company Website: http://www.sunrise-divers.com/bungy_jump.php

The Phuket bungy jump and the staff are certified to International standards. The owner is a Kiwi jumpmaster with experience of bungy jumping worldwide. The same bungy company also operates jumps in Chiang Mai and Pattaya, and are often consulted for expert advice by other bungy jump operators all over Asia.

certified to international standards + The owner is a Kiwi. Is it the same company ?

This has been discussed many times in the original thread: not the same company.

[Gandtee]

So they have given the accused two days notice of being charged? Ready, steady, go! Why didn't they turn up to be charged???

[spidermike007]

The owner may not even carry a permit to operate this bungee jump site. Where were the authorities before this fatal accident???

What authorities? Who are you referring to? The National Public safety association? The consumer safety commission. Who? Where? There is no regard for the public on the part of the Thai government. Maybe the big man cares, but can he rescue these poor souls in time? Just do not do anything very risky here. The safety standards are minimal is any, and the risk is all yours.

[wowfactor10]

Now if the Bunjee jump owner was a Farang and the jumper who died was a Thai person now then it would be another cup of tea!

High and endless victim compensation payments, long jail sentence, bribes etc etc...

[cracker1]

Can the Phuket Governor please confirm that from today, ALL Phuket bungee jump sites in his province are Licenced and are Safety

Approved by Him ?

[Travelman868]

The "or a 20,000 baht fine" is what renders the punitive system completely useless. In a country where judicial corruption seems to be rampant, this renders the system useless. Best thing to do with the owner is to tie him by the ankles and push him off

They have 3 days head start, if they don't think they can get out of it with a slap on the wrist or bribes then they can leave till the statute of limitations runs out like the Red Bull killer.

He had a week or so to sort out the tea money, so it's his own fault. Red Bull boy's daddy was on the ball.

[NamKangMan]

The "or a 20,000 baht fine" is what renders the punitive system completely useless. In a country where judicial corruption seems to be rampant, this renders the system useless. Best thing to do with the owner is to tie him by the ankles and push him off

They have 3 days head start, if they don't think they can get out of it with a slap on the wrist or bribes then they can leave till the statute of limitations runs out like the Red Bull killer.

He had a week or so to sort out the tea money, so it's his own fault. Red Bull boy's daddy was on the ball.

Better to be "on the ball" than "on the bail."

[cookee68]

One minute they say they want to check to see if he has a license, then he does not have one, all they have to do is pull a few strings and they will be fine, no pun intended.

[flyingdoc]

Howe does the question of whether he had a Licence or not, only arise AFTER there is a death?

[jackanapes]

is this a joke a man dies doing a bungee jump from faulty equipment or just sheer negligence the venue itself was not licenced but if they do get a licence they can start operating again what the hell is happening here if these people are found guilty they can face up to ten years in jail or a fine of 20,000 baht it could only happen in Thailand .

[NamKangMan]

Howe does the question of whether he had a Licence or not, only arise AFTER there is a death?

So they know if they have to back date the issue of the licence.

[oldsailor35]

Bungee over water and he died?

Read the facts, he actually landed alongside the pond on solid ground !