Police Seize 220M Baht in Luxury Cars, Gold, and More from 'The Icon' Group

[webfact]

Songkran hit by violence
By THE NATION

 

CCTV in front of Laemtong Bangsaen Shopping Centre in Chon Buri.

 

Gun crimes among attacks leaving several injured

 

BANGKOK: -- SOGGY SONGKRAN celebrations turned tragic in many parts of the country with fistfights breaking out between water-splashing revellers, some brawls ending up with the brandishing of weapons. 

 

In many cases, the fun-filled festival mood was filled with fear when situations turned bloody.

 

At least one man was stabbed to death during an argument in Prachin Buri on Friday night.

 

The following day, another brawl in the water-playing zone of Chanthaburi saw a stray bullet hitting Sompong Nongnua, 20, in his left leg. 

 

He said he had gone there just to have a good time but ended up getting injured. 

 

At 1.30am on Tuesday, many people were still mingling about on the street in front of the Laemtong Bangsaen Shopping Centre in Chon Buri when some gunshots were heard. 

 

When the firing died down, four people – two of them women – were found lying injured on the street. 

 

CCTV footage showed these victims were not engaged in any hostile activity. Tanawat Kingmala, a 37-year-old motorcycle taxi driver, was shot in his left eye while working to support his family. The damage is so serious that the doctor would have to remove his eye. 

 

His grieving wife said the family did not have the money to pay the medical bill and buy an artificial eye for the family’s breadwinner.

 

Deputy national police chief Pol General Chalermkiat Srivorakan said police were looking into the various bloody incidents during the Songkran Festival to catch the perpetrators. 

 

“Police will also be present at the major Songkran events next week in some parts of the country such as tomorrow and on Friday in Songkran’s Phra Pradaeng area,” he said. 

 

This past week, many pictures of gun-wielding Songkran revellers went viral. In one, a man was seen coming to prostrate himself before another man holding a gun. 

 

Fistfights were also common. Some people said they got beaten up simply because they refused to join the water wars. 

 

Foam parties caused at least two deaths during the holiday week. One man was killed by an electric shock last Thursday while partying with his younger brother at an eatery in a foam zone in Bangkok. 

 

In Udon Thani, a woman was electrocuted during a foam party on April 12. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30312740

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-04-20

[starky]

Happy New Year!!! 

[franklnooner]

There's always next year to work on the Songkran stupidity,  drunken statistics

Ect...

Pattaya will alwAys be number one in all of the above. 

[edwinchester]

This is what happens when a respectful Buddhist holiday gets turned into a money making week long piss up.

[Emster23]

Wow. Get large crowds together, people acting aggressively and drunk, and violence erupts. How is that possible?

[rodney earl]

What can I say.  AMAZING THAILAND

[klauskunkel]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

police were looking into the various bloody incidents during the Songkran Festival to catch the perpetrators. 

does that mean some police have to open their eye lids? And what's next after that? A big yawn.

[uli65]

many Thais can not behave like civilized people. they should stay in their paddy fields and play with the buffalos

[Kabula]

After 11 years living here I dread Songkron more each year.

 

One has to wonder with all the deaths, injuries, and complains why they continue it each year.

[jimstar1]

Gotta Love Thailand and there Party's

ut I don't believe these things happen in the Land of smiles

[wgdanson]

6 minutes ago, jimstar1 said:

Gotta Love Thailand and there Party's

ut I don't believe these things happen in the Land of smiles

......their parties...........

[Revolutionary]

Excuse my ignorance . What is a foam party ??

[Bluespunk]

5 minutes ago, Revolutionary said:

Excuse my ignorance . What is a foam party ??

Google is your friend. 

[Thaidream]

It gets worse every year- the amount of violence amongst both Thais and Foreigners is horrid. Why the authorities allow this carnage to continue unabated is beyond me. The 'festival' is 3 days and needs to be held during those 3 days only. Thailand now has different parts of the country with different dates of their festival plus the authorized national one. Pattaya lasts for almost 10 days. In addition to the death and destruction- Thailand must lose billions in lost productivity.

 

[toofarnorth]

25 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

......their parties...........

Please forgive jimstar , his strongest subject at school might of been sport  , a bit like Beckham .

[Destiny1990]

How about adding another Songkraam day?

[thecyclist]

This is why I have been fleeing Thailand for a safe zone(Cambodia,Vietnam, Philippines etc) on Songkran for over 15 years.This and the sheer tedium and idiocy of the seemingly never ending watersplashing and powder smearing.

[hobobo]

1 hour ago, Revolutionary said:

Excuse my ignorance . What is a foam party ??

Google it! The Stones did it back in the 1960s!

[JayBird]

Need t-shirt: I survived Songkran

 

Soon to make Guinness record for most dangerous holiday?

[NoshowJones]

3 hours ago, franklnooner said:

There's always next year to work on the Songkran stupidity,  drunken statistics

Ect...

Pattaya will alwAys be number one in all of the above. 

That's because there are so many stupid Farangs there, the Thais are not always the stupid ones with the very low mentality.

IMO, I think if all Farangs kept out of the Songcran festivities, it would be back to the days of about 20 years ago, with only a little splashing

of water, but that does not excuse the drunken Thai drivers and motorbike riders, who are mainly responsible for the dreadful road carnage.

[Bluespunk]

4 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

That's because there are so many stupid Farangs there, the Thais are not always the stupid ones with the very low mentality.

IMO, I think if all Farangs kept out of the Songcran festivities, it would be back to the days of about 20 years ago, with only a little splashing

of water, but that does not excuse the drunken Thai drivers and motorbike riders, who are mainly responsible for the dreadful road carnage.

Yeah, right.

 

Those pesky foreigners, eh.

 

Mind better have a word with those pesky foreigners who have clearly taken over TAT's marketing of songkran to overseas tourists, just to let them know that they have got their message wrong.

Edited April 20, 2017 by Bluespunk

[NoshowJones]

2 hours ago, Emster23 said:

Wow. Get large crowds together, people acting aggressively and drunk, and violence erupts. How is that possible?

I think the stupid Farangs are mainly responsible for being aggressive and drunk in Pattaya at Songcran.

[NoshowJones]

2 hours ago, uli65 said:

many Thais can not behave like civilized people. they should stay in their paddy fields and play with the buffalos

Don't always blame the Thais when there are so many stupid drunken Farangs around.

[NoshowJones]

5 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

Yeah, right.

 

Those pesky foreigners, eh.

Yes, you can say that again.

[DLang]

Must be the foreigners. 

 

Thais have no violence issues in their society. 

 

 

Somebody's been taken in hook, line and stinker. 

[Bluespunk]

6 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

Yes, you can say that again.

I don't enjoy songkran, I'll be honest about that.

 

It is a nightmare if you don't want to play and wonder into the wrong area. You are unable to object without causing offence. And to be honest that's fair enough, songkran is what it is. If I don't want to take part there are places to avoid and I do. [Tend to hunker down in a nice resort for the duration].

 

However it is what it is because of Thais, not foreigners.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 20, 2017 by Bluespunk

[WhizBang]

TAT must be so proud in what they have achieved with their marketing of Songkran, especially in places like Pattaya.

 

Songkran has become a nationwide 'full-moon' party on steroids.   Well done TAT.

[mercman24]

and there was a headline post on here recently saying, "why cant us farangs be like thais and enjoy ourselves more" i did comment on the rest of the year they are killing each other now it would seem they are doing it 365 days of the year lol !!

[elgordo38]

3 hours ago, edwinchester said:

This is what happens when a respectful Buddhist holiday gets turned into a money making week long piss up.

Yes this holiday always ends up different than the highly praised beginning. Before it started the posters were here in droves shouting "party pooper" Once the mayhem is over the "what the hell happened" crowd appear. Same thing next year and each year thereafter. How soon we forget. 

[sandemara]

Meanwhile, on the eve of annual national celebrations in other countries around the world, where exemplary human beings live, mother's last job before switching the lights off is to ensure the best china is ready for each family's  eagerly anticipated  get-together for a nice cup of tea and iced Vo-Vos the following day. More modern families might even allow males in the household to smoke tobacco inside the house on such a special occasion.