Thai PM says Professor Wanchai's suicide "a lesson for Thai society"

[spidermike007]

As usual, the prime comedian is at it again. Some examples of his hollow hyperbole:

1. PM Prayut singled out the police operation and the antics of the media for special comment while also imploring families and schools to explain what had happened over the two days to young people. He also reminded the general public about controlling their emotions and resolving disputes effectively.

How is it possible to learn how to control one's emotions, if society and education does not equip you with such an ability? Just learning on your own? Just doing it because the little man says so? Again, another example of a man without vision, saying things without foundation. Sure, it is a good idea. But, as usual, he is making no attempt to get at the root cause of the problem. Face saving would be a good place to start. A nationally sponsored campaign, to teach the Thai people of the utter futility of the practice of face, and the meaninglessness of it all. So many of the incidents we read about here are due to loss of face. Only cowards succumb to that. Anyone with the slightest bit of inner knowledge, and wisdom, does not act based on a small, and insignificant transgression. You just man up and let it go.

2. Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnert was relaying the views of the prime minister on Friday in the wake of what the PM called "a very tragic event that should not have happened".

Of course it should not have happened. A teacher without credentials who was outed, should have walked away, thankful that he has spent all of those years without being discovered. Killing his associates who outed him? That was the act of a worm, and displayed the maturity and inner development of a 7 year old. But why? Again, the PM does not question that, as usual. Get to the heart of a problem. Not his style.

3. He said that what happened was an important lesson for all concerned in Thai society. He said that police dealing with such situations must have proper plans and procedures in place to minimize damaging effects. Negotiators with a background in psychology are needed along with back up plans when things go wrong.

The primary reason the police are so incompetent is that the government has been paying them a ridiculously low wage for decades now. All of the responsibility for this, fall on the shoulders of the PM, and his previous associates, who have done NOTHING to improve the police force. In addition, they are not willing to spend the money on forensics, properly CSI labs, and the skilled people to run them, proper vehicles, beefing up the highway patrol, etc. etc. This rests entirely on the government, who have more of less encouraged a quid pro quo. We pay you as if you are cleaning toilets for a living, and in exchange you can milk the public with absolute impunity. Does he seriously think you can hire a negotiator with a psychology background for 12 to 15,000 per month? Rank and file officers who have recently been hired are making 8,000 per month. That is at, or slightly less than minimum wage. Bagboys at Tesco earn more!

4. He was somewhat critical of the media saying that they need to adjust the way that such incidents are covered. The media need to behave in an appropriate manner and present the news properly for the public while thinking about the effect there actions may have on those present at such a situation, he said. They should not get in the way of authorities and never behave in a way that might be construed as breaking the law.

What he was actually saying, is please do not ignore the censorship laws. We get annoyed when you do. If you do so, we might punish you for making us look bad.

5. For families and educational establishments he said that people need to explain to young people in their care what had happened and that this was a dangerous situation that must not be copied.

Yes, you copy the movie stars, the singers, and the entrepreneurs. We know that. Please do not copy the maniacs.

6. For the public in general the PM asked people to try to control strong feelings that they might have whether these are emotions of dissatisfaction or feelings of revenge. He appealed for people to use common sense especially in resolving disputes.

Same explanation as in #1. Face. Plain and simple. Train the people not to be brainwashed by this ignorant principal. Train the people to substitute face, with self esteem. It works much better for society, when people feel good about themselves, and do not need to act out like children, in retaliation for small provocations.

Professor Wanchai Danatamonut had shot two lecturer colleagues seemingly over a personal dispute the a branch of his university in the Bang Khen area of northern Bangkok on Wednesday around 9am. He had then fled in his Nissan Almera car before he was found holed up Thursday in the motel in Saphan Kwai when the standoff began. It lasted until he shot himself at 6.43pm. He was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead.

Good. Many of us are happy he is dead. My guess is that even his mother will not miss him for long. Sounds like he was essentially devoid of redeeming qualities, and a terrible problem solver.

While I agree with the majority of your post, I think that not even his mother will miss him is a bit tough.

I suppose there is at least a possibility she will miss him. Then again, she may have been very aware of his extraordinary lack of redeeming qualities. Maybe I should have said she will only miss him for a month or so.

[spectrumisgreen]

'Should.. should not.. need to.. must...'.. ???.. No sh*. You'd think it had been a fistfight between kids in the playground!!!.. 'Thanks for the telling off, Sir.. won't do it again!!'

[metisdead]

Some posts containing offensive comments have been removed.

[spectrumisgreen]

Well, I would boycott this university. I would never let my kids study at such a place with hot tempered immature university professors. Imagine if innocent students were unwillingly involved into that farce..........

What are you waffling about? Anyway, glad to see how sure you are that 'boycotting' THIS particular Uni is the answer to, er.. what exactly???

Edited May 21, 2016 by spectrumisgreen

[spectrumisgreen]

I think I need the whole story. Why he was pissed off with this other guy. Why he felt violence was the only way to resolve it. He was 60, the retirement age for Thai academics. Did he have debts he needed to pay, why all this fuss over one lost job.

Pretty sure that shooting everyone, anyone, wasn't ANY answer, at all, and never could have been!! However you (or HE) look at it, pulling and firing a gun pretty well assures ALL problems and issues hitherto causing the guy to be so 'pissed off' would thereafter REMAIN UN-resolved!!!

[Artisi]

As usual, the prime comedian is at it again. Some examples of his hollow hyperbole:

1. PM Prayut singled out the police operation and the antics of the media for special comment while also imploring families and schools to explain what had happened over the two days to young people. He also reminded the general public about controlling their emotions and resolving disputes effectively.

How is it possible to learn how to control one's emotions, if society and education does not equip you with such an ability? Just learning on your own? Just doing it because the little man says so? Again, another example of a man without vision, saying things without foundation. Sure, it is a good idea. But, as usual, he is making no attempt to get at the root cause of the problem. Face saving would be a good place to start. A nationally sponsored campaign, to teach the Thai people of the utter futility of the practice of face, and the meaninglessness of it all. So many of the incidents we read about here are due to loss of face. Only cowards succumb to that. Anyone with the slightest bit of inner knowledge, and wisdom, does not act based on a small, and insignificant transgression. You just man up and let it go.

2. Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnert was relaying the views of the prime minister on Friday in the wake of what the PM called "a very tragic event that should not have happened".

Of course it should not have happened. A teacher without credentials who was outed, should have walked away, thankful that he has spent all of those years without being discovered. Killing his associates who outed him? That was the act of a worm, and displayed the maturity and inner development of a 7 year old. But why? Again, the PM does not question that, as usual. Get to the heart of a problem. Not his style.

3. He said that what happened was an important lesson for all concerned in Thai society. He said that police dealing with such situations must have proper plans and procedures in place to minimize damaging effects. Negotiators with a background in psychology are needed along with back up plans when things go wrong.

The primary reason the police are so incompetent is that the government has been paying them a ridiculously low wage for decades now. All of the responsibility for this, fall on the shoulders of the PM, and his previous associates, who have done NOTHING to improve the police force. In addition, they are not willing to spend the money on forensics, properly CSI labs, and the skilled people to run them, proper vehicles, beefing up the highway patrol, etc. etc. This rests entirely on the government, who have more of less encouraged a quid pro quo. We pay you as if you are cleaning toilets for a living, and in exchange you can milk the public with absolute impunity. Does he seriously think you can hire a negotiator with a psychology background for 12 to 15,000 per month? Rank and file officers who have recently been hired are making 8,000 per month. That is at, or slightly less than minimum wage. Bagboys at Tesco earn more!

4. He was somewhat critical of the media saying that they need to adjust the way that such incidents are covered. The media need to behave in an appropriate manner and present the news properly for the public while thinking about the effect there actions may have on those present at such a situation, he said. They should not get in the way of authorities and never behave in a way that might be construed as breaking the law.

What he was actually saying, is please do not ignore the censorship laws. We get annoyed when you do. If you do so, we might punish you for making us look bad.

5. For families and educational establishments he said that people need to explain to young people in their care what had happened and that this was a dangerous situation that must not be copied.

Yes, you copy the movie stars, the singers, and the entrepreneurs. We know that. Please do not copy the maniacs.

6. For the public in general the PM asked people to try to control strong feelings that they might have whether these are emotions of dissatisfaction or feelings of revenge. He appealed for people to use common sense especially in resolving disputes.

Same explanation as in #1. Face. Plain and simple. Train the people not to be brainwashed by this ignorant principal. Train the people to substitute face, with self esteem. It works much better for society, when people feel good about themselves, and do not need to act out like children, in retaliation for small provocations.

Professor Wanchai Danatamonut had shot two lecturer colleagues seemingly over a personal dispute the a branch of his university in the Bang Khen area of northern Bangkok on Wednesday around 9am. He had then fled in his Nissan Almera car before he was found holed up Thursday in the motel in Saphan Kwai when the standoff began. It lasted until he shot himself at 6.43pm. He was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead.

Good. Many of us are happy he is dead. My guess is that even his mother will not miss him for long. Sounds like he was essentially devoid of redeeming qualities, and a terrible problem solver.

While I agree with the majority of your post, I think that not even his mother will miss him is a bit tough.

I suppose there is at least a possibility she will miss him. Then again, she may have been very aware of his extraordinary lack of redeeming qualities. Maybe I should have said she will only miss him for a month or so.

And maybe he was her sole means of support. But whatever, he was certainly a nutter with a very short fuse.

[katana]

I cannot find anything on the internet about the root of the conflict.

According to my Thai wife she heard something on a Thai TV channel that the conflict was about 'status' and that the two murdered profs had a degree from a US university while the murderer was angry that his degree from a Philippine University was considered as inferior.

Any confirmation of this?

I can only say there is a lot of snobbism in Thailand on the value of a university degree : I have Thai friends of the older generation with Philippine degrees who are brilliant company managers and I know there are Thais of a younger generation with a US degree who can hardly speak English.

My university degree comes from one of Europe's oldest universities but when I got it I was reminded that I had not "arrived" and that in fact it was only a start and performance in professional life would make the difference. In Thailand this performance has of course other standards in the private sector (based on results) and in the government sector (based on connections).

Matichon wrote a little about the root of the conflict in a news report on 19/05/16. Wanchai left a suicide note detailing his grievances against the two lecturers he killed, Drs Pichai and Nathapon.

As far as I could understand it from the article, regarding Dr Pichai, Wanchai claimed Pichai had: 1) Made a false complaint against him for grading students unfairly 2) Had encouraged students to complain about him 3) Wanchai had held a senior position since 2009 at the institute but had been replaced by someone brought in from outside, an intentional insult Wanchai couldn't forgive. 4. Wanchai had been transferred against his wishes from another institution to the Ratchapat institute after making a complaint about his treatment there (not quite sure how that relates to Pichai).

Regarding Dr Nathapon: Dr Nathapon had 1) Refused to collaborate with Wanchai in research projects and prevented others from doing so. 2) Nathapon had prevented Wanchai from examining student theses/dissertations by not passing on details to him regarding the examinations or even sending him the dissertations to read. Nathapon had also forged Wanchai's signature on one report etc.

So it looks like a bad case of office politics. I'm sure more will come out later.

Wanchai finished by saying 'you can kill me, but don't disparage or insult me'.

[moe666]

What lesson is there to learn? that you don't solve arguments with a gun? if Thai people have still to learn

such lessons, than they're much worse in human relations than I ever gave them credit for.....

Yes tell us all about the Thais and how backward they are especially when this sort of thing happens on a daily basis in the US. Of course it only gets reported in the states when it is 10 or more now days.

[ozyjon]

Hard to understand, is this the wild wild west,

guns at 6 o'clock, i don't understand where

they learn this stuff.

[mikiea]

Is the 'lesson' respect life and implement gun control.

lord i hope no one asks you what they should or should not do . respect ? after loss of face few Thais have any respect for anyone , gun control ? knife control ? poison control ? hammer in the head control ? run over control ? cradle to grave control ? ....yea yea yea .

[spidermike007]

As usual, the prime comedian is at it again. Some examples of his hollow hyperbole:

1. PM Prayut singled out the police operation and the antics of the media for special comment while also imploring families and schools to explain what had happened over the two days to young people. He also reminded the general public about controlling their emotions and resolving disputes effectively.

How is it possible to learn how to control one's emotions, if society and education does not equip you with such an ability? Just learning on your own? Just doing it because the little man says so? Again, another example of a man without vision, saying things without foundation. Sure, it is a good idea. But, as usual, he is making no attempt to get at the root cause of the problem. Face saving would be a good place to start. A nationally sponsored campaign, to teach the Thai people of the utter futility of the practice of face, and the meaninglessness of it all. So many of the incidents we read about here are due to loss of face. Only cowards succumb to that. Anyone with the slightest bit of inner knowledge, and wisdom, does not act based on a small, and insignificant transgression. You just man up and let it go.

2. Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnert was relaying the views of the prime minister on Friday in the wake of what the PM called "a very tragic event that should not have happened".

Of course it should not have happened. A teacher without credentials who was outed, should have walked away, thankful that he has spent all of those years without being discovered. Killing his associates who outed him? That was the act of a worm, and displayed the maturity and inner development of a 7 year old. But why? Again, the PM does not question that, as usual. Get to the heart of a problem. Not his style.

3. He said that what happened was an important lesson for all concerned in Thai society. He said that police dealing with such situations must have proper plans and procedures in place to minimize damaging effects. Negotiators with a background in psychology are needed along with back up plans when things go wrong.

The primary reason the police are so incompetent is that the government has been paying them a ridiculously low wage for decades now. All of the responsibility for this, fall on the shoulders of the PM, and his previous associates, who have done NOTHING to improve the police force. In addition, they are not willing to spend the money on forensics, properly CSI labs, and the skilled people to run them, proper vehicles, beefing up the highway patrol, etc. etc. This rests entirely on the government, who have more of less encouraged a quid pro quo. We pay you as if you are cleaning toilets for a living, and in exchange you can milk the public with absolute impunity. Does he seriously think you can hire a negotiator with a psychology background for 12 to 15,000 per month? Rank and file officers who have recently been hired are making 8,000 per month. That is at, or slightly less than minimum wage. Bagboys at Tesco earn more!

4. He was somewhat critical of the media saying that they need to adjust the way that such incidents are covered. The media need to behave in an appropriate manner and present the news properly for the public while thinking about the effect there actions may have on those present at such a situation, he said. They should not get in the way of authorities and never behave in a way that might be construed as breaking the law.

What he was actually saying, is please do not ignore the censorship laws. We get annoyed when you do. If you do so, we might punish you for making us look bad.

5. For families and educational establishments he said that people need to explain to young people in their care what had happened and that this was a dangerous situation that must not be copied.

Yes, you copy the movie stars, the singers, and the entrepreneurs. We know that. Please do not copy the maniacs.

6. For the public in general the PM asked people to try to control strong feelings that they might have whether these are emotions of dissatisfaction or feelings of revenge. He appealed for people to use common sense especially in resolving disputes.

Same explanation as in #1. Face. Plain and simple. Train the people not to be brainwashed by this ignorant principal. Train the people to substitute face, with self esteem. It works much better for society, when people feel good about themselves, and do not need to act out like children, in retaliation for small provocations.

Professor Wanchai Danatamonut had shot two lecturer colleagues seemingly over a personal dispute the a branch of his university in the Bang Khen area of northern Bangkok on Wednesday around 9am. He had then fled in his Nissan Almera car before he was found holed up Thursday in the motel in Saphan Kwai when the standoff began. It lasted until he shot himself at 6.43pm. He was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead.

Good. Many of us are happy he is dead. My guess is that even his mother will not miss him for long. Sounds like he was essentially devoid of redeeming qualities, and a terrible problem solver.

While I agree with the majority of your post, I think that not even his mother will miss him is a bit tough.

I suppose there is at least a possibility she will miss him. Then again, she may have been very aware of his extraordinary lack of redeeming qualities. Maybe I should have said she will only miss him for a month or so.

And maybe he was her sole means of support. But whatever, he was certainly a nutter with a very short fuse.

Maybe. Probably no way for us to know that. But, the reality is she raised a terribly deficient and subpar human being. She did what appears to be a terrible job. Hard to feel alot of compassion for her. He was a failed experiment in manhood.

[Dodgydownunder]

More appropriate headline that actually focuses on the crime:

Thai PM says Professor Wanchai's pathetic loss of face and murder of two colleagues "a lesson for Thai society"

Tomorrow's headline:

Thai PM says Thailand needs strict gun control. ( lol )

[Dodgydownunder]

'... viewers looked on at the body in a pool of blood.' Only in Thailand. Chastising the media is a waste of time; the RTP should have kept them away, though presumably money came into it.

I bet the photos are already doing the rounds on Thai social media...............or do Thais only do this for foreigner deaths, such as the Koh Tao murders?

[Winniedapu]

While I agree with the majority of your post, I think that not even his mother will miss him is a bit tough.

I suppose there is at least a possibility she will miss him. Then again, she may have been very aware of his extraordinary lack of redeeming qualities. Maybe I should have said she will only miss him for a month or so.

And maybe he was her sole means of support. But whatever, he was certainly a nutter with a very short fuse.

Maybe. Probably no way for us to know that. But, the reality is she raised a terribly deficient and subpar human being. She did what appears to be a terrible job. Hard to feel alot of compassion for her. He was a failed experiment in manhood.

And very far from being alone in TL.

Sadly there will be more.

Winnie

[Moonmoon]

its time to outlaw all guns in Thailand. This country is just not ready to have this kind of freedom yet.

Look at the news. Its almost everyday that someone is killed with a gun. I understand that it's not a gun that can kills but the man pulling the trigger.

But at least weapons of other choices still offer a better chance of escape with less damage than that of a gun.

And for Thailand where it takes almost nothing to spark an outburst of madness resulting in murder its better to outlaw guns.

[fusion58]

His lesson would be 'do not lose face when confronted with situations in life'.

I reckon, the percentage of people who will listen, and learn from his lesson will start with a decimal point,

i.e., less than 1%, if that.

True that is.

They don't know what they don't know, and they're not interested in finding out.

[MickRobbo]

Not bad coming from someone with a reputation for a hair trigger temper and who regularly explodes in public and isn't above making threats to people, especially journalists, who annoy him.

Don't let the truth stand in the way of a good story, the guy is psychotic.

[nausea]

Outlaw guns, that'll solve the problem, you're crazy. Every second person here has a gun, or access to a gun, legal or not. Well, in the circles I move in, anyway. Knives are, of course, ubiquitous. And it ain't only the guys.

[Daryle]

Is the 'lesson' respect life and implement gun control.

lord i hope no one asks you what they should or should not do . respect ? after loss of face few Thais have any respect for anyone , gun control ? knife control ? poison control ? hammer in the head control ? run over control ? cradle to grave control ? ....yea yea yea .

I don't buy into the BS called face the Thais and some farangs keep ranting on about. Assault and murder are illegal and loss of face is not a defence in Thailand. Back in your box like a good jackass.

[Artisi]

While I agree with the majority of your post, I think that not even his mother will miss him is a bit tough.

I suppose there is at least a possibility she will miss him. Then again, she may have been very aware of his extraordinary lack of redeeming qualities. Maybe I should have said she will only miss him for a month or so.

And maybe he was her sole means of support. But whatever, he was certainly a nutter with a very short fuse.

Maybe. Probably no way for us to know that. But, the reality is she raised a terribly deficient and subpar human being. She did what appears to be a terrible job. Hard to feel alot of compassion for her. He was a failed experiment in manhood.

And very far from being alone in TL.

Sadly there will be more.

Winnie

Let's hope he hasn't added anything to the gene pool.

[NongKhaiKid]

Not bad coming from someone with a reputation for a hair trigger temper and who regularly explodes in public and isn't above making threats to people, especially journalists, who annoy him.

Don't let the truth stand in the way of a good story, the guy is psychotic.

Possibly too just a typical hiso, VIP Thai with the attitude that goes with his belief of being a somebody.

Rules for him and for others not up to his perceived level.

Edited May 21, 2016 by NongKhaiKid

[greenchair]

I thought what he had to say was fair and compassionate to all sides. Unlike most of the posters on here. They are worried about having copy cats, and have encouraged the media to use disgretion and not sensationalise this tragic event.

We all can use the phrase

"in hindsight, I should have " .

It is a pointless phrase which is better replaced with

" I have learned from these mistakes , in future I will have a better plan to deal with these situations . Well done Prayuth.

[River7471]

What lesson is there to learn? that you don't solve arguments with a gun?

You can only solve arguments with airplanes and you were a turban and a robe. This is the only way God will look past your violation of the 10 Commandments and get the Pakistani government to give you your own private compound.

[Caveat Emptor]

I thought what he had to say was fair and compassionate to all sides. Unlike most of the posters on here. They are worried about having copy cats, and have encouraged the media to use disgretion and not sensationalise this tragic event.

We all can use the phrase

"in hindsight, I should have " .

It is a pointless phrase which is better replaced with

" I have learned from these mistakes , in future I will have a better plan to deal with these situations . Well done Prayuth.

Well done Prayuth but for what ?

Telling Thais how they should behave etc while being the poster boy for the exact opposite ?

[hawker9000]

No concrete measures only didactic advice from the PM as usual.

'Apparently one of the few who understands that Thai society "needs lessons" though...

[anto]

What lesson is there to learn? that you don't solve arguments with a gun?

You can only solve arguments with airplanes and you were a turban and a robe. This is the only way God will look past your violation of the 10 Commandments and get the Pakistani government to give you your own private compound.

Except it was iSRAEL DONE 7/11 ALONG WITH INSIDERS IN THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT ITSELF .Thought most people accepted that by now .

[gemguy]

Outlaw guns, that'll solve the problem, you're crazy. Every second person here has a gun, or access to a gun, legal or not. Well, in the circles I move in, anyway. Knives are, of course, ubiquitous. And it ain't only the guys.

Here is something to ponder.

It is more or less argued that Americans, for example, buy guns and have them on hand for protection because there is so much crime out there they actually do need to buy a gun as one more form of personal protection.

Here in Thailand it turns out many people own guns legally and illegally as there seems to be a legal gun trade and illegal gun trade.

What I am wondering is: Here in Thailand, amongst the said to be law abiding citizens, what is the purpose of buying that gun and what is on their minds and the reasoning behind the purchase of a gun while how many of those gun owners by that gun with personal protection on their mind???

Besides the fact that guns are seen as generally interesting technological instruments that are fun to shoot and target practice with and believed to be fascinating and cool objects to own....more so by men than women

I have this feeling that the ownership of the gun is often based on having the upper hand on other people rather than self protection of life or property or family.

I have this feeling that many Thai people, mostly men of course, want to have a gun on hand so that they can win their argument, so to speak, and use it to intimidate others and have a form of power over others and or used for retribution when there is a loss of face or lose of significant amounts of money ( business gone bad ) or they feel the need to shoot someone if the circumstances are such that they feel the other person deserves to be shot and justified, in their minds.

I do not think ( but I could very well be wrong ) that people here in Thailand need to buy guns for self protection.......so what are the motives behind buying and owning and or carrying a gun and the reasons for owning one......other than the gun being a universally interesting object to own while always present to be marveled at its mechanical and technological aspects and some enjoyable target practice every so often.

I wonder, I wonder.... I do, I do

Cheers

[anto]

If i lived in a remote rural area ,then yes i would get one if i could ,no matter what Country i lived in .Other than that i would not want one in the house .

[aneliane]

Training police forces in psychology to handle and minimize damages in such cases, is not about Thai society.

Society has been saying loud and clear that police forces are not up to scratch for a long time.

[Winniedapu]

I thought what he had to say was fair and compassionate to all sides. Unlike most of the posters on here. They are worried about having copy cats, and have encouraged the media to use disgretion and not sensationalise this tragic event.

We all can use the phrase

"in hindsight, I should have " .

It is a pointless phrase which is better replaced with

" I have learned from these mistakes , in future I will have a better plan to deal with these situations . Well done Prayuth.

And you believe that?

Really?

The little general steadfastly searches for the right words to say (or has his mouthpieces do it because he's ver capable himself), while steadfastly avoiding taking the right actions. He's a straw man, no substance.

Winnie

Edited May 22, 2016 by Winniedapu