Mother of German killed by a Thai driver in Phuket begs for justice

[thhMan]

My condolences to the family of the young man. No justification for folks to run from the scene of an accident.

Sadly the use of motorbikes by many is really the major catastrophe to be found in Thailand. Why tourists continue to take their lives in their hands riding there is beyond me. Motorbikes are "death machines."

The only "death machine" is the idiot riding or the one behind the wheel..... Only naive people would blame a vehicle.....

[goodheart555]

Driving in Thailand is insane, If you drive here you have a very high chance of never going home again. Just going near the road, walking riding a bike whatever, where Thai people are driving is taking a great risk, and the chance of getting justice slim to none.

Edited June 20, 2016 by metisdead
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[The Old Bull]

Being that the perp is a honda driver they will get more justice than they would get if he drove a benz

[Dogmatix]

Very sad. Condolences to his wife and family.

This seems to be premeditated murder. There can be no other plausible explanation for driving over the victim three times. He must have thought the victim's wife was already dead, so no need to finish her off. One can only presume that he wanted to eliminate the witness to his dangerous driving or had been paid to kill him.

Presumably the Thai court will take the usual view on the death of a foreigner without wealthy or powerful connections in Thailand and award the murderer a B500 fine.

[chrissables]

My condolences to the family of the young man. No justification for folks to run from the scene of an accident.

Sadly the use of motorbikes by many is really the major catastrophe to be found in Thailand. Why tourists continue to take their lives in their hands riding there is beyond me. Motorbikes are "death machines."

The use of any vehicle here is dangerous, just look at recent news.

He was not a tourist, he lived here and was a partner in a business here.

Motorbikes are not death machines, what an uneducated and stupid statement to make.

In this case it's obvious the car caused it but if you were to go to any hospital in Thailand where they devote entire wards for those injured on a motor bike your opinion about motor bikes would change.

If you have an accident on a motorbike you are a lot more vulnerable, that is obvious.

Regarding calling them death machines, in the sense that nobody should ride them, is totally wrong.

I like many people have ridden all over the country and further without incident.

[elgordo38]

Thais do often confess to crimes as a jail sentence will be halved. That's the only reason.

Would a hit and run of this nature warrant a jail sentence in a typical Thai Court? Sadly it might not, in which case a confession is unlikely.

I think this is why the sentenced is halved. The BIB sit back and wait for a confession. Saves a lot of legwork.

[elgordo38]

"She continues to run the business the couple ran together, the Café Elephant in Karon, however she wishes to have no more to do with the case and move on with her life."

Says everything you need to know about his 'beloved' wife. Presumably now she has full ownership of the cafe, she doesn't need to have the killers of her husband convicted and the cause of the crash involving her husband come to light. Suppose the court needs her as a witness or they might deem it her husband's fault? Some wife.

I think she has a better understanding of the workings of the Thai justice system than us TV armchair critics. She understands that that part of her life is over and she is young and must pick up the pieces life is harsh here. Mourning and grieving in a lot of cases is not an option. I agree with one poster that someone got to her with threats or money.

[elgordo38]

''His Thai wife stayed in Phuket hospital for two days prior to being released and today can live a normal life.

She continues to run the business the couple ran together, the Café Elephant in Karon, however she wishes to have no more to do with the case and move on with her life.''

Wow... understandable on some levels but you'd think she wants to see justice done for her husband.

This is all terrible, but we are in Thailand, lets not judge his lady badly, she lives in Phuket, pretty lawless at best, and if she said anything the local mafia would probably, do her no good to say the least

We do not know what she wants, she has not told us, but her approach is sensible and realistic

I wish her and the family all well, so sad

May the perpetrator rot in hell, unfortunately probably not, remember Truck drivers in Thailand are notorious if they knock a motorcylist down they will often reverse the truck and run over the victim, it is cheaper to kill than pay damages for the rest of someones life

This was a standing joke in Mexico when I lived there. If you hit a Mexican and he is not dead you better run over him again as its much cheaper in the end. He could become a life time liability. Again a joke not in good taste but a joke never the less.

[elgordo38]

I dont get the negativity towards the wife. Many Thais and also farang would follow the line of thought "nothing you do will bring him back"

so whats the point? She knows her own countries justice system

Had she had been more active in the legal proceedings all the TV parade would be branding her a heartless wife trying to gain compensation from farangs death.

Had she become extremely pro active in the legal proceedings she might have just turned herself into a target. Everything here depends on the pecking order of things.

[sawadee1947]

my impression is the German was brutally killed. A jealousy drama? Hope the driver will spend the rest of his life in jail. Probably dreaming. RIP Andreas

[richard_smith237]

Thais do often confess to crimes as a jail sentence will be halved. That's the only reason.

Would a hit and run of this nature warrant a jail sentence in a typical Thai Court? Sadly it might not, in which case a confession is unlikely.

It should...

The first part may have been and accident... Careless driving... Manslaughter...

The second part when the driver attempted to escape is Murder.

[mesterm]

this does not sound like a road accident.

it needs to be investigated why the driver drove over the victim 3 times.

Knowing you killed someone can be a very stressful experience. People panic under a lot of stress.

How would he know, the German was under his car, and he only died because the Thai driver ran over him three times, so c'mon, you'll have to do better than that.

He surely knew he hit the guy. And then he was trying to get away. Actually you'll have to do better than that.

[LostTourist]

My condolences to the family of the young man. No justification for folks to run from the scene of an accident.

Sadly the use of motorbikes by many is really the major catastrophe to be found in Thailand. Why tourists continue to take their lives in their hands riding there is beyond me. Motorbikes are "death machines."

The "death machine" was the Honda Civic, not the motorbike.

More so the single celled organism sitting behind the steering wheel

[giddyup]

this does not sound like a road accident.

it needs to be investigated why the driver drove over the victim 3 times.

Knowing you killed someone can be a very stressful experience. People panic under a lot of stress.

How would he know, the German was under his car, and he only died because the Thai driver ran over him three times, so c'mon, you'll have to do better than that.

He surely knew he hit the guy. And then he was trying to get away. Actually you'll have to do better than that.

You suggested that he panicked under stress because he killed the guy. My question is how did he know he killed him, did he get out and feel his pulse? Of course he didn't, ergo he didn't know if he was dead or not.

[dick dasterdly]

''His Thai wife stayed in Phuket hospital for two days prior to being released and today can live a normal life.

She continues to run the business the couple ran together, the Café Elephant in Karon, however she wishes to have no more to do with the case and move on with her life.''

Wow... understandable on some levels but you'd think she wants to see justice done for her husband.

This is all terrible, but we are in Thailand, lets not judge his lady badly, she lives in Phuket, pretty lawless at best, and if she said anything the local mafia would probably, do her no good to say the least

We do not know what she wants, she has not told us, but her approach is sensible and realistic

I wish her and the family all well, so sad

May the perpetrator rot in hell, unfortunately probably not, remember Truck drivers in Thailand are notorious if they knock a motorcylist down they will often reverse the truck and run over the victim, it is cheaper to kill than pay damages for the rest of someones life

This was a standing joke in Mexico when I lived there. If you hit a Mexican and he is not dead you better run over him again as its much cheaper in the end. He could become a life time liability. Again a joke not in good taste but a joke never the less.

Whereas working in the claims dept. of a large insurance company, I knew that a death would result in a far lower pay-out than being left with a serious injury that precluded work...

But that has nothing to do with case where the car driver was so determined to run, that he ended up running over the victim multiple times .

[WhizBang]

Asking, or expecting, a Thai to own up and take responsability is a lost cause, unfortunately.

[Roomuck]

RIP to the young man, you can only imagine what his family are going through, you know he is having a nice time with his wife, then you are told that he has been killed in such a tragic way, very sad.

"Mother Helga Walter writes to Jakarin and begs him to confess and tell the whole truth about this dreadful and tragic night in Karon"

I have lived in Thailand for many years and I can say with certainty that I have never witnessed a Thai admit to or confess to any wrong doing, even something as trivial stealing a banana at the market.

You have never been amazed by the way the cops get criminals to confess to the crime that they were caught for and also previous crimes? Happens all the time.

[razer]

What's the guy charged with? Is it a serious charge like manslaughter or just driving under the influence?

[lvr181]

Justice is a distant bell, rarely heard in Thailand!

And never to be heard outside of Thailand! One can only hope that the mother can accept anything else but western style first world justice. Sad really.

May he rest in peace and condolences to his wife, family and friends.

[mcfish]

Reasons to ride a motorbike in Thailand.

You have to in Bangkok if your miles away from a BTS.

You live anywhere in Thailand and cant afford a car.

RIP gone to early

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Re the victim's Thai widow:

She continues to run the business the couple ran together, the Café Elephant in Karon, however she wishes to have no more to do with the case and move on with her life.

If accurate, what an odd statement...

I've never lost a loved one under such circumstances. But if I did, I think the last thing I'd have on my mind is ignoring the criminal case against the perpetrator and instead "move on" with my life.

[mcfish]

Re the victim's Thai widow:

She continues to run the business the couple ran together, the Café Elephant in Karon, however she wishes to have no more to do with the case and move on with her life.

If accurate, what an odd statement...

I've never lost a loved one under such circumstances. But if I did, I think the last thing I'd have on my mind is ignoring the criminal case against the perpetrator and instead "move on" with my life.

I was actually going to comment on that as well however, there isn't anything shady going on since she would have inherited his estate anyway. She isn't blood family so its not necessary for her to nail the driver and its quite possible she scared to and its quite possible they were having marital problems and she is happy now..to many variables here.

[D3030]

RIP to the young man, you can only imagine what his family are going through, you know he is having a nice time with his wife, then you are told that he has been killed in such a tragic way, very sad.

"Mother Helga Walter writes to Jakarin and begs him to confess and tell the whole truth about this dreadful and tragic night in Karon"

I have lived in Thailand for many years and I can say with certainty that I have never witnessed a Thai admit to or confess to any wrong doing, even something as trivial stealing a banana at the market.

You must never watch the news!

Everyday, a Thai is on the news confessing to a crime..

Edited June 20, 2016 by D3030

[Roomuck]

so sad very sad beyond words. what type of culture, society does not accept responsibility for its wrongs but wants to be lavished for good deeds? sounds like a very immature society that should never be allowed to spread to the rest of humankind. can not live in our humankind community doing things like this. failed society not today or tomorrow but soon,eventually it will fail into chaos.

Wow, the thaibashers are having a field day on this thread.

Doing a runner? Thainess?

Failing to take responsibility. Thainess.

There have been two case this year of Benz drivers killing two people in Thailand.

The first one was a Thai. He has shown up to court, and he has also attempted to show remorse by ordaining as a monk. He has apologized to the families.

The second one, was a farang. Simon Wellings in Chiangmai.

Simon fled the scene. Simon is still on the run. Simon rang the police a couple of days after the incident, claiming a German or an Australian was driving his car. But he couldn't name them. And they unsurprisingly never showed up to the police as Simon said they would.

Chaiangmai police are still looking for Simon. One would think that if Simon was innocent as he is claiming he would have come forward now to clear his name. But no. It was over six weeks ago.

Where are you Simon? Are you going to take responsibility for what you have done? Scumbag.

[D3030]

Asking, or expecting, a Thai to own up and take responsability is a lost cause, unfortunately.

I recall the Thais that beat up the Wales family of 3.. Took responsibility, even apologized..

The Wales family took zero responsibility for their part in starting that fight..

They just sucked up all the sympathy they could from the Thailand haters..

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Re the victim's Thai widow:

She continues to run the business the couple ran together, the Café Elephant in Karon, however she wishes to have no more to do with the case and move on with her life.

If accurate, what an odd statement...

I've never lost a loved one under such circumstances. But if I did, I think the last thing I'd have on my mind is ignoring the criminal case against the perpetrator and instead "move on" with my life.

I was actually going to comment on that as well however, there isn't anything shady going on since she would have inherited his estate anyway. She isn't blood family so its not necessary for her to nail the driver and its quite possible she scared to and its quite possible they were having marital problems and she is happy now..to many variables here.

So apparently, she took it literally with the part in the marriage vows (assuming they did any) where it says... until death do us part.

I wasn't suggesting there was anything "shady" going on ... just a seemingly amazing lack of feeling / fidelity / commitment to one's spouse...whatever you want to call it.

Edited June 20, 2016 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[dunroaming]

Justice and Thailand are rarely seen in the same sentence. RIP

[Franky Bear]

What's the guy charged with? Is it a serious charge like manslaughter or just driving under the influence?

That's my thought mate. Driving over someone three times isn't an accident.

[off road pat]

Justice is a distant bell, rarely heard in Thailand!

lets see what does happen after the trail, as for the wife, maybe someone got to her, (money) the German mother will never get that coward to confess as it is the thai custom and has been for the forty five years that I have known thai's to run away from any accident! it is in their genes! same as ganging up on a thai or falang. I have never seen a one on one fight between a thai and a falang! NEVER!

It's not in there genes, tha'ts a lot of bull......it's in there education, or lack of it .!!!

[MissAndry]

I wasn't suggesting there was anything "shady" going on ... just a seemingly amazing lack of feeling / fidelity / commitment to one's spouse...whatever you want to call it.

Do you think a 30 year old attractive woman has feelings for her 50 year old 'sugar daddy'?

I guess some of them might.

A sad accident for the German and his German family.

Edited June 20, 2016 by MissAndry