Party 'Mafia' Blamed for Gunplay on 'Full Moon' Party Island

[webfact]

Party 'Mafia' Blamed for Gunplay on 'Full Moon' Party Island
By Sasiwan Mokkhasen
Staff Reporter

SURAT THANI — A dispute over all-night partying led to recent gunfire which hit tourists’ rooms on the southern island of Koh Phangan, police said today.

Five gunshots fired Tuesday at the Palita Lodge on Haad Rin Nok, the site of the island’s infamous “Full Moon Party,” are thought by police to be retaliation over the bungalow owner’s complaints about a nearby bar’s noisy late night parties.

“The Russian bar owner came to see me and my wife on Jan. 9, asking me to allow him to hold the party,” Palita Lodge owner Pairot Charoenwan said. “I said, ‘I am not in charge of this, why don’t you go ask the authorities?’”

Police Col. Prachum Ruangthong said the gun was fired from outside, either on the shore or from a small boat, as muzzle flashes were seen from that direction in security camera footage. No one was injured.

Pairot said he was sleeping when the shooting woke him up on at 4:50am on Tuesday. The 57-year-old owner thought it was fireworks until his guests came to him later, saying they were scared to leave their rooms earlier.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1452754641


-- Khaosod English 2016-01-14

[NCC1701A]

"The 57-year-old owner thought it was fireworks until his guests came to him later, saying they were scared to leave their rooms earlier."

Thais need to get up to speed. Especially on the happy mafia islands.

As an American, I learned long ago the difference between fireworks, a car back firing and Mr. Nine Millimeter.

[PoorSucker]

As an American, I learned long ago the difference between fireworks, a car back firing and Mr. Nine Millimeter.

You mean Mr .38 as American.

[terryp]

its only gunplay ..anyone would think this was serious

[craigt3365]

Went to KPN one time. Thought it was a horrible place. Beautiful island ruined by people just trying to make money....any way they can. Met a Thai island couple when we were leaving who said they'd had enough. To dangerous to live on the island any more.

[LotusBoy]

infamous “Full Moon Party”......................

.................infamous as one of my farts!!

These so called party's have run their course, get rid.....

[DavisH]

infamous “Full Moon Party”......................

.................infamous as one of my farts!!

These so called party's have run their course, get rid.....

but but...where would all the quality backpacker tourists go? Way too much money is at stake...if would be like trying to shut down Waling Street or Patpong...ain't gonna happen in our lifetime.

[NCC1701A]

As an American, I learned long ago the difference between fireworks, a car back firing and Mr. Nine Millimeter.

You mean Mr .38 as American.

yes, in the states we have what we jokingly call your "Hollywood Gun", typically a Glock. 9 mm or a Glock 40 cal S&W.

you know, the gun you buy because you saw it in a movie. SIG SAUER is another one. both excellent and expensive guns.

my TV forum aviator Jack Bauer carries that one.

https://www.google.com/search?q=jack+bauer&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

mister .38 is more serious. not so much "how do i look?"

back in the 70's and 80's it was the 44 magnum. "Go ahead, make my day."

Edited January 14, 2016 by NCC1701A

[peterb17]

As an American, I learned long ago the difference between fireworks, a car back firing and Mr. Nine Millimeter.

You mean Mr .38 as American.

yes, in the states we have what we jokingly call your "Hollywood Gun", typically a Glock. 9 mm or a Glock 40 cal S&W.

you know, the gun you buy because you saw it in a movie. SIG SAUER is another one. both excellent and expensive guns.

my TV forum aviator Jack Bauer carries that one.

https://www.google.com/search?q=jack+bauer&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

mister .38 is more serious. not so much "how do i look?"

back in the 70's and 80's it was the 44 magnum. "Go ahead, make my day."

Mmm

99.999% of us lowly Brits have never actually touched a hand gun- we would have no idea whatsoever about makes and calibers.

Is that a good thing ? perhaps .

Anyway back to the OP- I have a suspicion that ( even though there are powerful Mafia families involved) at some stage the PM will close down the total banality of full moon parties.

Of course I may be wrong- all those gap years can cover themselves in toxic flourescent paint, destroy their livers with very cheap alcohol and of course endanger their lives with truly harmless mushroom shakes

[samuijimmy]

Went to KPN one time. Thought it was a horrible place. Beautiful island ruined by people just trying to make money....any way they can. Met a Thai island couple when we were leaving who said they'd had enough. To dangerous to live on the island any more.

Obviously you must have stayed in the south east section, Haad Rin or Ban Tai, not the north west area, Maehaad / Koh Ma area! which is still very nice ... without the rowdies!

[Basil B]

Full Moon Party???

Self-explanatory if one were to consider the origins of the word "Lunatic"

[tomacht8]

Koh Phangan is still a very beautiful island with lots of nature.
I have also no problems with the Full Moon Party once a month.

The toxic flourescent paint, the “very cheap” alcohol and of course the mushroom shakes are not the problem No.1 here.
Most of the dead we have here with the motorcycles and in traffic accidents!

The challenge for the local authorities is to organize a more "safe" party here.
So after 20 years I know many island VIPs and belief me, they have no desire to lose their cash cow.

Important measures would be:
- A general speed Limit on the island: 50 km/h
For this purpose, traffic signs should be erected around the island, and the police must also check this every day!
And they must also fine this speeding local taxi and minivan drivers.

It is always annoying to see how these drivers, rushing past with more than 100 km / h along the girlie bars in Ban Tai,
even though they know full well, that there drunken foreigners with there motorcycles like to make 180 degree U-turns!
What you then only can see, is bloody body mud.

- On the day of the Full Moon Party blocking the road between Ban Kai and Haadrin for motorcycles.
In the past, there are many (foreigners and thais) died there.
Thousands, since there is the road, are plunged and the most severe to fatal injuries.
Between 6pm Full Moon Party Day until 6am next morning, no motorbikes allowed to cross the mountains.
Party people (and all are intoxicated) need to be forced to get into taxis and may no longer be on motorcycles totally drunk arriving or departing.

- Manned police boxes on the beach all night long. One between Drop Inn and Paradise,
the other near Cactus Club and the third near Tommys.
Between 2 am and 5 am to happen most stabbings and beatings.
Small mobile police units need to show presence in this time in or near the infamous clubs.

Edited January 14, 2016 by tomacht8

[NeverSure]

As an American, I learned long ago the difference between fireworks, a car back firing and Mr. Nine Millimeter.

You mean Mr .38 as American.

Actually there is a lot of difference. A .38 cartridge is made for a revolver and the brass has a different shape than the 9mm which is semi auto and the brass is shaped for auto loading.

While the bullets are essentially the same diameter and could be used interchangeably when reloading, the 9mm round exits the barrel at a much higher speed and makes a very different sound than the .38.

With 9mm being not only a superior round but also the official NATO round, there are tons of them in the US and in Thailand. It is one of the most popular rounds. .38 is considered dated by most people.

Now, the .357 magnum is little more than a .38 that's lengthened and has a lot more powder and power, but their bullets are also interchangeable when reloading. Wow, can you ever tell the difference when one of those magnums goes off.

Cheers.

[IslandLover]

peterb17, on 14 Jan 2016 - 10:58, said:

NCC1701A, on 14 Jan 2016 - 10:17, said:

PoorSucker, on 14 Jan 2016 - 08:32, said:

NCC1701A, on 14 Jan 2016 - 08:27, said:

As an American, I learned long ago the difference between fireworks, a car back firing and Mr. Nine Millimeter.

You mean Mr .38 as American.

yes, in the states we have what we jokingly call your "Hollywood Gun", typically a Glock. 9 mm or a Glock 40 cal S&W.

you know, the gun you buy because you saw it in a movie. SIG SAUER is another one. both excellent and expensive guns.

my TV forum aviator Jack Bauer carries that one.

https://www.google.com/search?q=jack+bauer&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

mister .38 is more serious. not so much "how do i look?"

back in the 70's and 80's it was the 44 magnum. "Go ahead, make my day."

Mmm

99.999% of us lowly Brits have never actually touched a hand gun- we would have no idea whatsoever about makes and calibers.

Is that a good thing ? perhaps .

Anyway back to the OP- I have a suspicion that ( even though there are powerful Mafia families involved) at some stage the PM will close down the total banality of full moon parties.

Of course I may be wrong- all those gap years can cover themselves in toxic flourescent paint, destroy their livers with very cheap alcohol and of course endanger their lives with truly harmless mushroom shakes

Mmm

99.999% of us lowly Brits have never actually touched a hand gun- we would have no idea whatsoever about makes and calibers.

Is that a good thing ? perhaps .

I've held one. Fortunately it wasn't loaded

[Broeno]

Looks like the maffia who was controling the golden traingle, moved to some islands in the south and change their business from heroïn to o lot of other things. But in control they are.

[Broeno]

As an American, I learned long ago the difference between fireworks, a car back firing and Mr. Nine Millimeter.

You mean Mr .38 as American.

Actually there is a lot of difference. A .38 cartridge is made for a revolver and the brass has a different shape than the 9mm which is semi auto and the brass is shaped for auto loading.

While the bullets are essentially the same diameter and could be used interchangeably when reloading, the 9mm round exits the barrel at a much higher speed and makes a very different sound than the .38.

With 9mm being not only a superior round but also the official NATO round, there are tons of them in the US and in Thailand. It is one of the most popular rounds. .38 is considered dated by most people.

Now, the .357 magnum is little more than a .38 that's lengthened and has a lot more powder and power, but their bullets are also interchangeable when reloading. Wow, can you ever tell the difference when one of those magnums goes off.

Cheers.

It always wonders me that when there is a subject about guns, so many Americans like to show of with their knowledge about guns. They can here the differences between diiferend guns. Dus not surprises me when you here often other people get killed by all these guns in tha US.

This hotelowner did not here a diiference between a gun and firecrackers. I am happy for him.

[futsukayoi]

"The 57-year-old owner thought it was fireworks until his guests came to him later, saying they were scared to leave their rooms earlier."

Thais need to get up to speed. Especially on the happy mafia islands.

As an American, I learned long ago the difference between fireworks, a car back firing and Mr. Nine Millimeter.

But most people are from civilized countries where unlike the US and Thailand owning guns and taking potshots at your neighbors is not routine.

[craigt3365]

Went to KPN one time. Thought it was a horrible place. Beautiful island ruined by people just trying to make money....any way they can. Met a Thai island couple when we were leaving who said they'd had enough. To dangerous to live on the island any more.

Obviously you must have stayed in the south east section, Haad Rin or Ban Tai, not the north west area, Maehaad / Koh Ma area! which is still very nice ... without the rowdies!

We took the speedboat over from Samui and right off, had problems with the taxi mafia. Nasty individuals. Samui's got the same basic problems. Heck, we've got it here in Pattaya also!

Went to Thong Nai Pan Yai as I wanted to avoid the backpacker areas as much as possible. I've never seen so many men with pierced nipples as I did sitting in Haad Rin waiting for the mafia's ride. Unreal. A true human zoo of humanity. This was about 5 days after the FMP.

We got a place right on the beach. It's OK, but the long tails run in and out of that bay all day. Very loud and many times right next to where you were swimming. That night, they had the roving half moon parties. I guess each bar takes a turn during the week. Super loud music till 5am. I went out at 3am to ask them to turn it down. The DJ was so stoned, he couldn't even reply. There were only 5-6 people there and they were totally buzzed out, listening to mainly drums and bass stuff. Found a used condom right next to our patio in the morning. Checked out and left that day. Haven't been back since.

The couple we met on the boat had 2 kids and were from TNP. They told us how the drug mafia had taken over and it was too dangerous to try and raise their kids there. So they went over to the mainland. We actually followed them and rented a scooter from them at the shop they setup not far from the ferry pier.

On the way out, the dregs of the earth still on KPN from the FMP a week earlier were streaming out. I've never seen such a motley crew in my life. It was unreal.

I didn't find the value to be very good either. Yes, we paid a premium for the room on the beach. It was expensive, food was expensive, booze was expensive. IMHO, better places in Thailand to checkout. Unless you are into the FMP and hanging out with backpacker. Again, my humble opinion.

As you may know, I've been to over 80 countries and backpacked all over the world. This was truly one of the most bizarre experiences I had.

[samuijimmy]

Went to KPN one time. Thought it was a horrible place. Beautiful island ruined by people just trying to make money....any way they can. Met a Thai island couple when we were leaving who said they'd had enough. To dangerous to live on the island any more.

Obviously you must have stayed in the south east section, Haad Rin or Ban Tai, not the north west area, Maehaad / Koh Ma area! which is still very nice ... without the rowdies!

We took the speedboat over from Samui and right off, had problems with the taxi mafia. Nasty individuals. Samui's got the same basic problems. Heck, we've got it here in Pattaya also!

Went to Thong Nai Pan Yai as I wanted to avoid the backpacker areas as much as possible. I've never seen so many men with pierced nipples as I did sitting in Haad Rin waiting for the mafia's ride. Unreal. A true human zoo of humanity. This was about 5 days after the FMP.

We got a place right on the beach. It's OK, but the long tails run in and out of that bay all day. Very loud and many times right next to where you were swimming. That night, they had the roving half moon parties. I guess each bar takes a turn during the week. Super loud music till 5am. I went out at 3am to ask them to turn it down. The DJ was so stoned, he couldn't even reply. There were only 5-6 people there and they were totally buzzed out, listening to mainly drums and bass stuff. Found a used condom right next to our patio in the morning. Checked out and left that day. Haven't been back since.

The couple we met on the boat had 2 kids and were from TNP. They told us how the drug mafia had taken over and it was too dangerous to try and raise their kids there. So they went over to the mainland. We actually followed them and rented a scooter from them at the shop they setup not far from the ferry pier.

On the way out, the dregs of the earth still on KPN from the FMP a week earlier were streaming out. I've never seen such a motley crew in my life. It was unreal.

I didn't find the value to be very good either. Yes, we paid a premium for the room on the beach. It was expensive, food was expensive, booze was expensive. IMHO, better places in Thailand to checkout. Unless you are into the FMP and hanging out with backpacker. Again, my humble opinion.

As you may know, I've been to over 80 countries and backpacked all over the world. This was truly one of the most bizarre experiences I had.

Yeah I can imagine.... but painting the whole island with "one brush" is not right!

The east coast of KP a law unto itself, and easily avoided!!!

I still say, west coast and NW coast is much better.... you can still get a basic hut on the beach for 300 baht to 1,500 baht with AC etc (or more depending where you choose to stay! )

[Bsd]

Back to the topic at hand, the other paper (so sorry no links) has had a couple of updates in the last few of days.

Currently 4 people (3 Thai plus the Russian) are in custody and 1 is on the run. The Russian has been charged with working illegally and selling alcohol without a license and other unlisted things. 2 of the Thais have confessed to their roles in the shooting, the other is an OrBorTor from the mainland who owns bar (renting it to the Russian) and has been pointed to as the one that ordered the shooting and supplied the guns. One of the articles mentioned the charges being attempted murder.

Finally the DPM has ordered a crackdown on all "foreign mafia groups" on the three islands, it will be interesting to see how far that goes.

[Chairman Of The Board]

As an American, I learned long ago the difference between fireworks, a car back firing and Mr. Nine Millimeter.

You mean Mr .38 as American.

yes, in the states we have what we jokingly call your "Hollywood Gun", typically a Glock. 9 mm or a Glock 40 cal S&W.

you know, the gun you buy because you saw it in a movie. SIG SAUER is another one. both excellent and expensive guns.

my TV forum aviator Jack Bauer carries that one.

https://www.google.com/search?q=jack+bauer&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

mister .38 is more serious. not so much "how do i look?"

back in the 70's and 80's it was the 44 magnum. "Go ahead, make my day."

Mmm

99.999% of us lowly Brits have never actually touched a hand gun- we would have no idea whatsoever about makes and calibers.

Is that a good thing ? perhaps .

Anyway back to the OP- I have a suspicion that ( even though there are powerful Mafia families involved) at some stage the PM will close down the total banality of full moon parties.

Of course I may be wrong- all those gap years can cover themselves in toxic flourescent paint, destroy their livers with very cheap alcohol and of course endanger their lives with truly harmless mushroom shakes

So bearing in mind that some Brits do own handguns and also shoot for sport, you are stating that less than .001% of Brits serve in the armed forces.

That's quite a statement to make, care to share the source of your figures?

[les34005]

The DPM had forgotten to include the "THAI mafia" on Kho Tao (Island of Death).

[ffaarraanngg]

What a whining bunch of old f*****s you boomers are.

There are hundreds of Islands around Thailand, 1 gets used by young people for partying and you'd think they dropped the bomb on it.

Maybe they'd be better off going to Pattaya and Phuket to take advantage of poor Isaan women by offering them money to sell their bodies like you lot ... hypocritical bunch of *******.