Was kidnap-murder of lesbian in love triangle a hate crime?

By Teeranai Charuvastra, Staff Reporter

 

Mother of kidnap-murder victim Suphaksorn Pontaisong on Thursday wipes away tears as she waited to retrieve her daughter’s body at forensic police department.

 

BANGKOK — To police investigators, the abduction and killing of a Bangkok woman followed the familiar angles of a deadly love triangle. To some members of the LGBT community, however, it was the latest in a long history of hate crimes motivated by the victim’s gender identity.

 

The victim, 28-year-old Suphaksorn Pontaisong, was an economic migrant from Sa Kaeo province. She worked as a waitress in a restaurant until she was kidnapped close to her home last month. Her parents reported her missing. A police colonel was implicated. Her naked body was found in a shallow grave Wednesday.

 

Full Story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2017/01/13/kidnap-murder-lesbian-love-triangle-hate-crime/

 

-- © Copyright Khaosod English 2017-1-13

Any loss of life is sad. Even more sad if it proven to be at the hands of a senior police officer. What say you PM? Or are are you too busy with your photo shoots to care about the ordinary people?

She wasn't murdered because she was a "tom", so the answer is no.

A troll post and two replies have been removed

Hate crime here is very low. This case, IMO, is a pure love triangle gone deadly.

It's murder, what else needs to be said.

The evidence in this case seems very thin for calling it a hate crime. Of course, in Thailand crimes aren't legally classified as hate crimes anyway, so it's an academic question. 

There are anti LGBTQ hate crimes in Thailand and I don't know how anyone can really know how prevalent they are as reporting on them isn't exactly a social priority in this country. 

As the evidence in this case seems so thin, I think it's a mistake to make a public thing that this was a hate crime. It will make people come to the conclusion that all charges of hate crimes have no solid basis, and that is certainly NOT the truth. 

53 minutes ago, Oziex1 said:

It's murder, what else needs to be said.

Legally speaking, it's not relevant. There are no extra penalties if it was so it doesn't come up in court either way. 

I can't see it as a LGBT hate crime, but it has certainly prompted an avalanche of LGBT hate amongst the ghoulish media spectators and their followers.  Brutish, ignorant behaviour that defies any reasonable standards of compassion or empathy in the human race. So sad for the girl's family and friends. Wasn't the brutality of her death enough? No, not for the brain-dead haters, it seems.

4 hours ago, Jingthing said:

The evidence in this case seems very thin for calling it a hate crime. Of course, in Thailand crimes aren't legally classified as hate crimes anyway, so it's an academic question. 

There are anti LGBTQ hate crimes in Thailand and I don't know how anyone can really know how prevalent they are as reporting on them isn't exactly a social priority in this country. 

As the evidence in this case seems so thin, I think it's a mistake to make a public thing that this was a hate crime. It will make people come to the conclusion that all charges of hate crimes have no solid basis, and that is certainly NOT the truth. 

 

I think the point is that he most likely murdered her, because she was gay. Had his love rival been a another man, he may have felt nothing at all about that ..par for the course.  But this was a unique form of humiliation ..no?

 

So, yes, that resulted in a murder, and murder has a penalty.  But why would it be a mistake to call attention to the fact that people might react this way towards gay love triangles .. the criminal attempts to punish them for being gay?  Isn't that the same as when some men try to "rape the gay out of women" for example?

 

 
I think the point is that he most likely murdered her, because she was gay. Had his love rival been a another man, he may have felt nothing at all about that ..par for the course.  But this was a unique form of humiliation ..no?
 
So, yes, that resulted in a murder, and murder has a penalty.  But why would it be a mistake to call attention to the fact that people might react this way towards gay love triangles .. the criminal attempts to punish them for being gay?  Isn't that the same as when some men try to "rape the gay out of women" for example?
 

Aren't you making an assumption that he wouldn't have killed a male? But I see your point if what you say was true.

4 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Aren't you making an assumption that he wouldn't have killed a male? But I see your point if what you say was true.

 

I don't think it is going too far out on a limb.  How many men, go out and KIDNAP another man and then kill them?  Usually we have to make some assumptions in a case like this.  If we talk about the psychology of hate, then let's take white/black issues. When a black man would sleep with a white woman in the old days (or maybe rape her) and the white men would go lynch him ..how do you differentiate that from the white man who did the same thing and the white men who came later and killed him?  It is because they lynched him per se that tells you it was a hate crime and based on race?  If they killed the white guy with a rope also, then what?

 

You have to understand that for a MAN to lose out to a gay WOMAN is surely very humiliating, just like it was and is to some white men to lose out to a black man. I was attacked once on a dance floor, for simply saying no to dancing with a complete stranger, and then dancing later with black of friend of mine.  The stranger grabbed me, turned me around,  and screamed at me "what the hell did I think I was doing with THAT??" And we were in Los Angeles!!

 

 

OK. You may be right. At the very least it may have been an aggravating factor. But often hate crimes have no ambiguity. It's doubtful he did that only because of her orientation or was out to kill any random lesbian out of hatred towards all lesbian.

On 14/01/2017 at 5:17 AM, lemonjelly said:

She wasn't murdered because she was a "tom", so the answer is no.

How do you know why she was murdered? This is a gender-confused country and people do all sorts of strange things to defend/protect their possible inner desires. There's a multitude of possible reasons and as usual the presumption police have already decided.