Samui mahout charged over inattentiveness causing death and injuries

SURAT THANI, 5 February 2016 (NNT) – A mahout responsible for the death of a Scottish tourist killed by an elephant has been charged over inattentiveness which led to death and injuries, according to the police.

Bo Put Provincial Police Station Director Pol Col Thewet Pluemsut has revealed the investigation progress of an elephant attack accident which caused the death of a 36-year-old Scottish tourist, and injuries to his daughter. Police have concluded from initial investigations, that the incident was caused from the mahout’s inattentiveness.

The responsible mahout, a Myanmar national working in Thailand, told the police he was servicing the tourists on a warm day, during which both tourists continuously fed the animal with bananas, but noticed that sometimes they withdrew their offer when the elephant put his trunk up to receive food.

He said the elephant attacked when he was helping both tourists with photography. He believes the flash from the camera caused the elephant to attack the tourists and the mahout.

The mahout is now charged over his inattentiveness which results in death and injuries, and will face further prosecution procedures at Koh Samui Provincial Court later today.

On this matter, the police station director has said images from the tourist’s camera show the moment when the mahout neglected his duty on the elephant’s neck to take photos for both tourists.


-- NNT 2016-02-05

"The responsible mahout, a Myanmar national working in Thailand..."

oh good, for a moment I thought a Thai who owns the company would be held responsible.

maybe i should hire a person from Myanmar full time to be responsible for everything I do in Thailand.

let hope the Myanmar kid does not play Bridge or it could be the death sentence.

I feel sorry for everyone involved including the elephant. The owners of the business? not so much.

Edited February 5, 201610 yr by NCC1701A

Where did they find the inattentiveness law oh yes just before the 1935 law that more than 120 cards was illegal. Don't worry they will make something stick. Like the heavy emphasis on the word Myanmar national. Was he here legally? or did he slip a border guard a couple hundred baht. Opps sorry the story ends at the word national. Case closed.

....and the company that employed him.....???

...was he legally employed....???

...do these places have insurance......???

...otherwise how are they allowed to operate....

...then blame the foreigners for 'being cruel' for riding on the elephants.....

...that's a new one though..... 'inattentiveness'...as opposed to....... 'gross negligence or misconduct causing death'....

The responsible mahout, ??? More like irresponsible! Those ultimately responsible are the owners of the company and they should face charges and be paying compensation to the bereaved family including the girls hospital bills.

Somebody is charged for this tragedy sounds good in the headlines - but would be interesting to hear about the penalty

Ahh - I forgot, he is from Mynamar

in that case double harshness instead of ... if the accused would be of another nationality (a very frequent one in this country)

Edited February 5, 201610 yr by sweatalot

Like he could've done something when that huge animal went berserk!

If it was the mating season it is well known that you do not go near the bull elephants at that time. Other than that there would nothing the mahout could do to stop it.

One thing does make me wonder is why the Burmese come to Thailand when they are first in line to be blamed for things. Sure some of them probably do things that are not good but I am pretty sure not everything can be attributed to them.

My question is about a work permit and is there no Thai person who could do this job?

My question is about a work permit and is there no Thai person who could do this job?

must be a very poor job if undocumented workers do it, not Thai.

What the "mahout" did was probably something he and others did countless times every day, if it was dangerous why had his employers not taken action to stop it?

If this happened in the UK the directors and mangers of the companies involved would be facing charges of corporate manslaughter.

hmmmh, what will be his fine? 500 or 1000 Baht....?

If it was the mating season it is well known that you do not go near the bull elephants at that time. Other than that there would nothing the mahout could do to stop it.

One thing does make me wonder is why the Burmese come to Thailand when they are first in line to be blamed for things. Sure some of them probably do things that are not good but I am pretty sure not everything can be attributed to them.

No, only the bad things of course....

Had to be from Myanmar.

Keep tourists coming. Hang him at dawn.

Sad he died, but i hope the family accept that going near a wild animal of this size is dangerous in itself and unfortunately these things do happen, not that you'd ever expect it to.

Like others more informed than I on matters about elephants say, if its mating season then people should be nowhere near these animals, but that would involve Thai business owners lising money and we can;t have that.

hmmmh, what will be his fine? 500 or 1000 Baht....?

And the icing on the cake is the Farang Bridge players in Pattaya were coerced into

signing confessions of gambling and made to pay 5k baht each.

I think when we are dealing with an Elephant it is always possible to get an injury or indeed a fatal accident. I think it is a little bit quick to point the finger at someone. I am starting to despair for this country.

hmmmh, what will be his fine? 500 or 1000 Baht....?

And the icing on the cake is the Farang Bridge players in Pattaya were coerced into

signing confessions of gambling and made to pay 5k baht each.

yeah, there is always a bunch of scammers around....

What the "mahout" did was probably something he and others did countless times every day, if it was dangerous why had his employers not taken action to stop it?

If this happened in the UK the directors and mangers of the companies involved would be facing charges of corporate manslaughter.

Get a life in a reality world, this is ?...

hmmmh, what will be his fine? 500 or 1000 Baht....?

Did you not read he is from Myanmar...

Death penalty for sure.

hmmmh, what will be his fine? 500 or 1000 Baht....?

Did you not read he is from Myanmar...

Death penalty for sure.

oh yes, but before...tarred and feathered please............

hmmmh, what will be his fine? 500 or 1000 Baht....?

And the icing on the cake is the Farang Bridge players in Pattaya were coerced into

signing confessions of gambling and made to pay 5k baht each.

F#ck the bridge players, didn't notice any of them were killed by a pack of cards.

From going to Thailand as a tourist. I had a bucket list.

Cuddle a tiger and go for an elephant ride. I never did any of that. Now, over the years and reading threads about it.

I'll just lie on a beach in future. and feed those pesky dogs!!

I did do one thing, the cuddling a monkey photo. Come on, one out of three nasty things ain't bad!!

And i looked so cute!! Sunburned, smiley and sweaty!! Forget the monkey!!

In a strange cat lover way - i still want to cuddle a tiger. My bad. I also remember being at Nana Plaza, at the entrance, and being "kissed" by a baby elephant. Silly, tourist things that you do. Without thinking about the consequences.

the only male that even liked me in Nana Plaza!!

Of course the tourists, having supported a cruel industry in which a cursory Google search would reveal, are completely blameless.

Of course the tourists, having supported a cruel industry in which a cursory Google search would reveal, are completely blameless.

You know the saying.. if no tourists it would not happen.

Mrs Higgins is from Samui and says you don't want to believe animal daling - You can ride chang but I don't... we never do this because sometimes you don't know

Somebody is charged for this tragedy sounds good in the headlines - but would be interesting to hear about the penalty

Ahh - I forgot, he is from Mynamar

in that case double harshness instead of ... if the accused would be of another nationality (a very frequent one in this country)

A Thai was in the headlines last week charged for killing his own family and 3 kids . Please do not make it look like a different story, so he was Burmese this time.

Edited February 16, 201610 yr by balo