The week that was in Thailand news: The worms are turning as cans of worms start opening

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The week that was in Thailand news: The worms are turning as cans of worms start opening

Since time immoral one of the tragedies of the Thais is how they have humbly accepted their lot in their perception of the grand scheme of things.

The rich and the influential are to be admired. People in white coats with glasses and letters after their name are to be believed no matter what. Money is respected and if it all goes pear-shaped we can come and put matters right in the next life.

While the education system is blamed when people fail to complain and fail to do anything about their alloted lot.

But whether it is lack of education, fear, deeply engrained social mores, or they just don’t care, there have been serious signs recently that the Thai worm is starting to turn. Especially online.

This week in Thaivisa news there was plenty of evidence that the Thais are fed up and are becoming more emboldened to do something about injustice. Sure, online comment has been vocal for some time but now we have seen ordinary people willing to stand up and be counted.

The image of 40 motorcycle taxi drivers at a police station complaining about the mafia was a case in point this week. This would have been unthinkable some years ago yet here were a large bunch of regular guys who were saying enough was enough.

They were tired of extortion and racketeering from an influential “family” in the Sukhumvit Soi 81 area.

Police – who the Thai public admittedly have pretty much always believed as much as politicians – have promised action against the mafia. We have all heard that before but it was at least heartening to see the men in their orange jackets showing solidarity against injustice.

And the almighty can of worms that is the case of “Lady Kai” is another example. It was originally busted open by none other than a young and straightforward 19 year old fed up with the wrongs that she and her parents faced at the hands of a supposed hi-so with a lot of brass.

Though in the case of Monta Yokratanakan the brass is as likely to be top brass police in her pocket. Day by day this week more sensational details were revealed about her activities over the last twenty years or so.

There is hardly a crime left on the statute books that she has not been mentioned as being involved in. Except if being drop dead ugly is a crime.

Amusingly when she was ordered held for an extra 12 days on Friday her face was obscured in a news story picture. I would like to thank Thai Rath newspaper for that bit of vaseline. Every little helps.

Hopefully the serious charge of lese majeste that Monta faces will not obscure the woman’s misdemeanors when it comes to what she has done to her decidedly lo-so but honest former employees. And not obscure the involvement of high ranking people around her who should also face the wrath of the people through the courts.

For there is always a danger in Thai society, with smokescreens and sweeping under carpets being virtually national sports, that serious issues will just get forgotten even when the questions have initially been so vociferous.

Cases in point are the Red Bull heir, who decorated his expensive bumper with a policeman in 2012, whose prosecution seemed as far away as ever this week. Not to mention the not guilty pleas of the teenagers in the handicapped bread seller’s death.

The court will of course decide the latter if maybe never the former.

The lawyer for the victim’s family said he was glad for the not guilty pleas so that a death sentence can be sought but there is anger in the air from a Thai public who are sick and tired of leniency and favor being shown to those with influence.

I hope for the public’s sake as much as the handicapped man’s family that the teenagers, four of whom are children of police, receive a just sentence and get bored with fish head soup for many years to come.

The same goes for Lady Kai though when she is jailed many will doubtless miss the daily soap opera and all those crawling worms.

There was no doubt about the most brutal murder of the week – the garotting of the British man’s unfaithful Thai wife in Udon by her drug crazed “gik”. I just hope the husband who was abroad found out about it before reading the headlines in Thaivisa. And I hope their two young children can’t even read yet.

While the British man may be musing on the word “trust” the forum was up in arms when it was reported that Thailand was 26th on a list of the most trustworthy and reputable nations on earth. How dare they be rated so high screamed the nation’s bashers – while non-Yanks secretly enjoyed the fact they were rated two places above the US.

Indeed surveys came in for as much bashing as the Thais themselves on the forum as there was uproar in the claim from an onsite survey that expats were quote “deliriously happy”. No we’re not, they screamed, we’re as miserable as sin!

Posters conveniently ignored the fact that less than 10 people out of the 884 respondents had actually said they were miserable, and surely at least nine of those were living in Britain.

Forum members claimed they had not seen the survey and demanded a recount. It sounded like Brexit all over again – how dare the majority claim they are right! Respect our right to be miserable!

Thank goodness there was the usual cache of stories this week that tickled the Thai funny bone, though I am only guessing at that - they could well have made the moaners even more unhappy for all I know.

Top of the list was the 72 year old monk going the wrong way down the highway in Pathum Thani. No not walking with his black bowl, as some I have heard still actually do, but driving his black Toyota. He had already sideswiped a parked truck and not surprisingly the cops went to his temple to beg his mates not to let him loose on the roads again.

News also came out that Chinese tourists would get their own signs in well visited places in an effort to get them to behave a little better. But the report didn’t mention what the signs actually said or if it was the locals they should emulate in their improved attitude.

I was left to muse about the potential signs – “don’t behave like monks at temples” “always take out life insurance before travelling on speedboats” “grab as much lobster at the buffet as you want, it’s rotten anyway…..” – the last of these is in reference to the German man in Pattaya who went to the cops after an unhappy dinner.

The cantankerous customer did seem to get a fair result when the health inspectors gave the restaurant a visit the next day. Our Teutonic friend had complained about the disgusting state of his lobster not the Chinese people eating at the next table, I might add.

Also worth a good schadenfreude-style-snigger were several reports coming out of the Chonburi Immigration website. No less than three 500 day over-stayers were rounded up including a Briton who had been behaving like he was a friend of the Krays and a pair of eastern Europeans who didn’t think offering 10,000 baht motorbikes for sale would attract the attention of anyone except potential buyers.

A sting was set up and the populations of Russia and Ukraine will increase by one each after a bit more of that fish head soup is consumed no doubt.

Finally it could be quite a lonely 66th birthday party for fugitive ex-premier Taksin. He was obliged to cancel a slap up party in Hong Kong for hundreds of former lackeys after the spoilsport military said they might not let people with red shirts back into the kingdom after the bash. Mr Shinawatra – if I am allowed to use such a term – will instead have a quiet family get together in Beijing.

I wonder if his sister has pledged to bring some rice for dinner.

-- 2016-07-18

[PETERTHEEATER]

Since time immoral ............??

[lamyai3]

Since time immoral ............??

No doubt helpfully autocorrected from immemorial. Perhaps the computer sensed the word immoral was more appropriate!

[Wilsonandson]

Since time immoral ............??

No doubt helpfully autocorrected from immemorial. Perhaps the computer sensed the word immoral was more appropriate!

Damn that computer!

Aristotle is turning in his grave!

[DrTuner]

The backlash from maibpenrai will be epic. Ultraconservatism on the rise, driven by youth. Won't end happily.

[dageurreotype]

Since time immoral ............??

Freudian slip.