Court orders Praewa's parents to pay 30 mln baht compensation for fatal car incident in 2010

[norfolkandchance]

BT4000 baht to Bt11.8 m. Who worked that out

[TigerandDog]

30 million Baht ............ better add a couple more zeros to that sum.

The victims have received probably a lot more than other victims in similar situations... remember life is still cheap in Thailand...

She should of been banned for driving for life and sentenced to 5 years of community work including speaking to schools about what a <deleted> she was and how she ruined so many lives.

She was only doing what many others of her age do... and nobody gives a dam, if stopped maybe the odd cop gets a bribe, that's all...

As I have already said I feel the punishment fair, remember she was only 17 at the time, Thailand needs to change where such things become socially unacceptable not the norm.

There are some states in the US where she would of be tried as an adult and received 20-30yrs (if found negligent,speeding, distracted driving etc.). Justice should not be how high you're placed in society but by the impact your actions had on others. Also, there are many 17 yr old murderers, drug dealers, rapists etc that are doing time befitting of their crimes. How would you feel if you lost your brother, sister, or father due to someone driving while texting or surfing.

it's not just Thailand where bribery and corruption get hi-so's out of trouble. The USA is renowned for it's rich kids getting off lightly because the parents have the money and the political clout to get serious charges dropped against their kids. Money speaks, no matter where you live. Personally I'm finally glad to read a story where the courts have actually come down hard on a hi-so. Then again, maybe their was some coercion for this to happen, as one of the victims father was a Police Colonel. Regardless, there should be more court decisions like this one, regardless of a person's wealth. At the very least, the victims families should be compensated for the actual costs they incurred ( receipts needed for that) plus for the anguish incurred. Condolences to the families.

[smutcakes]

BT4000 baht to Bt11.8 m. Who worked that out

Maybe there was a migrant worker among them, and perhaps the 11.8 million was becuase there was a Thai person of semi good blood.

[worgeordie]

I hope there is a provision in place ,so that if the money not paid they all

go to prison for a very long time.

regards worgeordie

[AngelHeather]

Another one bites the dust ......

[Dap]

Not enough.

[casualbiker]

Being able to take a civil case against someone for a criminal offence still seems weird to me. The families are "lucky" that a tragedy like this did happen in Thailand, rather than my home country of NZ, where the families of the victims would have received nothing (Or very close to it). And even though she acted irresponsibly (Texting while driving + No licence), if she were in NZ I'm not sure if her criminal sentence (A suspended sentence + community service + forbidden to drive) would necessarily have been harsher either, given that she was only 17 & has no previous convictions etc.

When she previously appealed her suspended sentence, I was pretty appalled at her for wanting to reduce what was already a very lenient sentence, but knowing her family will also have to pay 30M THB, it actually seems pretty harsh (I know her family is rich, but the law should only give a small weight to this, imagine if it were just a family of poor or modest means instead).

It was an accident, she didn't do it on purpose.

Yes she did do it on purpose. She was too young to drive. She did not have a driving licence. She had no driving experience. She should not have been driving the car. All of these are preventable, avoidable and irresponsible things that caused the collision. All choices that were made by her, assisted by her parents.

To cause the death of 9 people and injuries to others is a very serious issue. I don't think the total sum of punishments comes anywhere near being enough. 20 years in jail + 30m would be more like it!

In most of the world civil claims for damage can be filled for financial loss where the cause is by criminal action. That is regardless of the criminal court decision. It would be NZ that is unusual if it can't be done there.

Actually according to information at the time she did have experience and a driving licence.. From the USA. She was still illegal in Thailand though.

[casualbiker]

BT4000 baht to Bt11.8 m. Who worked that out

Maybe there was a migrant worker among them, and perhaps the 11.8 million was becuase there was a Thai person of semi good blood.

maybe neither of you can read properly.. It was 1.8 million!!!

[kkerry]

Jailing the girl would serve no useful purpose other than revenge satisfaction for some of the TV members. The parents are to blame and rightfully they are being forced to part with money, something that is well understood in this culture. As for the girl 12 months minimum community service attending accidents and cleaning up the mess and looking after accident victims would be more appropriate.

Perhaps if it was someone in your family who died in such a crash, you would be happy for her to serve only 12 months community service... most people on the other hand would prefer a more substantial punishment.

[norfolkandchance]

I stand corrected. Still a lot of difference though

[dotpoom]

May the victims RIP and condolences to their families and loved ones.

[Ulic]

Seems fair to me...

Though I am sure how they define reckless... did she deliberately ram the bus off the road or was it down to driver inexperience?

The people who were reckless were her parents in allowing her to drive in the first place...

Lets hope this will be a warning to other parents...

She was speeding, texting, driving underage, and without a license. She also showed

absolutely zero remorse. While her jail sentence was suspended, she had her parents

appeal the 48 hours community service which she thought was grossly unfair. The

award should have been for the full 100 million the claimants were asking for.

[LannaGuy]

she had no driving licence right? anyway let's see if they can actually GET the money as , in Thailand, saying it and doing it are totally different things

[rodroy]

No mention that the car was registered as a pickup truck and those famous pictures of her texting leaning on the wrecked Honda!

Spoiled brat living insulated from reality!

12 months working nights with Por Tek Tung might better serve as reinforcement training !

If Mommy and Daddy intend to dodge their responsibility the court should impose a lein on their assets!

Edited November 26, 2015 by rodroy

[German Viking]

I have a friend in the US who was driving down the road when, according to him, a bee flew in his open window and distracted him. He hit a cop on the side of the road who was writing a ticket and killed him. He got 12 years in jail and a huge financial fine. Millions of dollars. This was during the day and he doesn't drink nor use drugs. Bible thumper.

Jail time should have been mandatory for this accident here.

A bee is not a real excuse for an incident like this. If a cardriver is not able to handle a situation like this carefully, then he should not getting a driving licence back again. The prison sentence is to hard for this case. In germany max 3 years depending on his former crime report.

[Artisi]

Jailing the girl would serve no useful purpose other than revenge satisfaction for some of the TV members. The parents are to blame and rightfully they are being forced to part with money, something that is well understood in this culture. As for the girl 12 months minimum community service attending accidents and cleaning up the mess and looking after accident victims would be more appropriate.

Perhaps if it was someone in your family who died in such a crash, you would be happy for her to serve only 12 months community service... most people on the other hand would prefer a more substantial punishment.

I think considering her age and what looks like a complete lack of parental control and the encouragement to break the law, I would be more inclined to target the parents than the girl. Jailing her wouldn't achieve anything constructive.

Interesting that some people are making a big issue out of this yet ignoring the red bull affair which was blatantly criminal from the outset.

[rodroy]

Jailing the girl would serve no useful purpose other than revenge satisfaction for some of the TV members. The parents are to blame and rightfully they are being forced to part with money, something that is well understood in this culture. As for the girl 12 months minimum community service attending accidents and cleaning up the mess and looking after accident victims would be more appropriate.

Perhaps if it was someone in your family who died in such a crash, you would be happy for her to serve only 12 months community service... most people on the other hand would prefer a more substantial punishment.

I think considering her age and what looks like a complete lack of parental control and the encouragement to break the law, I would be more inclined to target the parents than the girl. Jailing her wouldn't achieve anything constructive.

Interesting that some people are making a big issue out of this yet ignoring the red bull affair which was blatantly criminal from the outset.

Possibly its the body count in this case?

[bangon04]

I am willing to offer a bet, that nothing even near that sum will be payed!

More appeals, delays, excuses, etc...

[lungbing]

This verdict is for public consumption only. There will be appeal after appeal after appeal and then the case will be quietly dropped after her family have paid a fraction of the money to the families of the dead. It's already taken five years to get this far.

[from the home of CC]

Jailing the girl would serve no useful purpose other than revenge satisfaction for some of the TV members. The parents are to blame and rightfully they are being forced to part with money, something that is well understood in this culture. As for the girl 12 months minimum community service attending accidents and cleaning up the mess and looking after accident victims would be more appropriate.

Perhaps if it was someone in your family who died in such a crash, you would be happy for her to serve only 12 months community service... most people on the other hand would prefer a more substantial punishment.

I think considering her age and what looks like a complete lack of parental control and the encouragement to break the law, I would be more inclined to target the parents than the girl. Jailing her wouldn't achieve anything constructive.

Interesting that some people are making a big issue out of this yet ignoring the red bull affair which was blatantly criminal from the outset.

Yes, target the parents with criminal negligence - 5 yr. And throw her remorseless ass away for 10yr

[F4UCorsair]

Being able to take a civil case againsit someone for a criminal offence still seems weird to me. The families are "lucky" that a tragedy like this did happen in Thailand, rather than my home country of NZ, where the families of the victims would have received nothing (Or very close to it). And even though she acted irresponsibly (Texting while driving + No licence), if she were in NZ I'm not sure if her criminal sentence (A suspended sentence + community service + forbidden to drive) would necessarily have been harsher either, given that she was only 17 & has no previous convictions etc.

When she previously appealed her suspended sentence, I was pretty appalled at her for wanting to reduce what was already a very lenient sentence, but knowing her family will also have to pay 30M THB, it actually seems pretty harsh (I know her family is rich, but the law should only give a small weight to this, imagine if it were just a family of poor or modest means instead).

It was an accident, she didn't do it on purpose.

Wrong wrong wrong, it wasn't an accident- it was lack of control on the part of the parents and stupidity of the girl.

Many countries permit it.

Most 'accidents aren't true accidents; they are incidents. Without tailgating, running red lights, DUI, and myriad other actions, the road toll would be a fraction of what it is.

Drivers have choices; make the wrong choice, and it will be metal meeting metal, frequeny resulting in death or serious injury.

I'd go as far as to say that many road incidents could be seen as suicide attempts. The drivers' actions will result in a crash. If they're too stupid to see that, we're probably better off without them.

Edited November 26, 2015 by F4UCorsair

[fekman]

May as well be 300 Trillion. Good luck collecting any of that judgement. I wouldnt buy that judgement for 1 cent on the dollar.

[nithisa78]

Seems fair to me...

Though I am sure how they define reckless... did she deliberately ram the bus off the road or was it down to driver inexperience?

The people who were reckless were her parents in allowing her to drive in the first place...

Lets hope this will be a warning to other parents...

It doesn't matter and nobody could say. Interesting what you would say if it were one of yours that was killed for no Earthly reason.

[salim94]

Month ago l think korean Guy was ride bicycle around thé world . hé was kill by truck in Thailand . they ask 7500 baht for driver .

Well all thing hit this girl . no licence mean inssurance will not cover u

I stop ride motor bike in Thailand bcs l no licence and l buy car . even l dont like car but l have m'y licence car and inssurance will cover me

[SlyAnimal]

Being able to take a civil case against someone for a criminal offence still seems weird to me. The families are "lucky" that a tragedy like this did happen in Thailand, rather than my home country of NZ, where the families of the victims would have received nothing (Or very close to it). And even though she acted irresponsibly (Texting while driving + No licence), if she were in NZ I'm not sure if her criminal sentence (A suspended sentence + community service + forbidden to drive) would necessarily have been harsher either, given that she was only 17 & has no previous convictions etc.

When she previously appealed her suspended sentence, I was pretty appalled at her for wanting to reduce what was already a very lenient sentence, but knowing her family will also have to pay 30M THB, it actually seems pretty harsh (I know her family is rich, but the law should only give a small weight to this, imagine if it were just a family of poor or modest means instead).

It was an accident, she didn't do it on purpose.

Wrong wrong wrong, it wasn't an accident- it was lack of control on the part of the parents and stupidity of the girl.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accident

: a sudden event (such as a crash) that is not planned or intended and that causes damage or injury

: an event that is not planned or intended : an event that occurs by chance

This might help you with that definition for accident

She caused the accident through carelessness/negligence, but she wasn't trying to cause an accident.

[SOTIRIOS]

..finally getting tougher....I hope they uphold and enforce it....

...but her ban from driving should be 'lifetime'....

[Colabamumbai]

Yeah now force them to pay it, foolishness, the girl should spend life in prison.

[dhream]

Besides the parents also did not give testimonies that had proven that they had taken good care of their child.

That's interesting - I cannot recall such comments from the court before. There are certainly some hi-so kids here, whose parents should be held liable for their behavior - and that goes for some of those expat kids as well..

There's a limit to that. I know responsible people whove raised a bad little B. In spite of their best efforts. Some kids are going to be evil. Best not breed, like we need more humans as it is.

[Artisi]

Yeah now force them to pay it, foolishness, the girl should spend life in prison.

But what would that achieve - make you feel better?

[dageurreotype]

30 million Baht ............ better add a couple more zeros to that sum.

No. IF the Court had deemed her unable to pay this amount of money, she would already have been jailed and nothing more would have been said/published. Big difference.