‘My Mate Nate’ fined Bt5,000 for railway coin stunt

[snoop1130]

‘My Mate Nate’ fined Bt5,000 for railway coin stunt

By Kornkamon Aksorndej 
The Nation

 

 

YouTube prankster and celebrity seeker Nate Bartling, also known on Facebook as “My Mate Nate”, has been fined Bt5,000 for placing coins on a railway track in Prawes district and allowing a train to run over them.

 

He recorded the incident for a video clip in which he said he was trying to determine which coins were the strongest.

 

State Railway of Thailand (SRT) officials filed charges with Prawes police against Bartling, 24, and his friend, Nut Weerotai, 23, who also appeared in the clip. The SRT alleged that the pair had trespassed on its property.

 

Pol Colonel Alongkorn Sirisongkram, of Prawes police station, said that Bartling and Nut met police as summonsed to acknowledge the charges.

 

They were found guilty of several charges concerning acts shown in the video clip, Alongkorn said, adding that the Bt5,000 levied on both Bartling and his friend was for a breach of a law prohibiting anyone from placing things on a public byway that could create obstacles to safety and traffic.

 

“The fine of Bt5,000 is the maximum, so that young people will not try to copy or repeat it,” Alongkorn said.

 

Alongkorn said he also informed Bartling that he faced a charge of animal cruelty arising from another of his video clips that showed a cat fighting with a scorpion.

 

Bartling is alleged to have organised and recorded the fight, then posted the video clip on his Facebook page. Many cat lovers sought police action against him, alleging animal cruelty. More than 120,000 people have also signed a petition to have him arrested.

 

Alongkorn quoted Bartling as saying that he did not organise the fight. “He said that when he returned home, he saw the cat fighting with the scorpion. He said he may have been wrong to video the fight but after that, he took the cat to see a vet who found that it was not injured.”

 

The punishment for animal cruelty is a jail term of two years, a fine of not more than Bt40,000 or both.

 

A representative of a cat lovers’ group met police at the station and insisted that they further investigate the matter, as the group was concerned that others would imitate Bartling’s actions.

 

Police have about 20 days to collect information about the alleged animal cruelty. Bartling was freed temporarily as he came to see police of his own accord, officers said.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30321225

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-7-19

[Cuchulainn]

Don't see the prat wearing his backward-facing baseball cap in this photo. 

 

On another note....................

 

"The punishment for animal cruelty is a jail term of two years"   but running over and killing 2 girls in your HiSo car whilst pissed out of your tiny mind gets you only 2 and a half years AND out on bail.

 

Brilliant.

[ben2talk]

44 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

a breach of a law prohibiting anyone from placing things on a public byway that could create obstacles to safety and traffic.

Fantastic that they insist that the coins would obstruct a train with probably 20 tonnes or more on each axle. They're just desperate to kick him.

[Bluespunk]

55 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

Alongkorn quoted Bartling as saying that he did not organise the fight. “He said that when he returned home, he saw the cat fighting with the scorpion. He said he may have been wrong to video the fight but after that, he took the cat to see a vet who found that it was not injured.”

Liar. 

[richard_smith237]

There are some rather hypocritical dual standards in play here... 

 

Does it not occur to those in positions of power that those at Maeklong Market are not in far greater breech of the regulations 'Nate' has broken,  but more consistently so and placing more people in danger ?

 

I think everyone agrees that this guy is a bit of a d!ck and had this coming, however, the hypocrisy and attitude somewhat stinks when a far greater degree of trespassing occurs daily elsewhere on the railways...  

 

In fact, this comes across as highly childish and xenophobic of the authorities to even pay attention to this...

 

The response really should be "Big deal, we have greater issues to be dealing with" !!!!... 

[amdy2206]

What wonderful advertising for him. Where else could he get so much publicity - and all for 5000B? 

[masuk]

12 hours ago, ben2talk said:

Fantastic that they insist that the coins would obstruct a train with probably 20 tonnes or more on each axle. They're just desperate to kick him.

I think it was the trespass which earned him the fine.   He was obviously using foreign coins, as heaven help him if they were Thai.

[darksidedog]

I think he has to consider this a very lucky escape. Lots of people have got a hard on for seeing him in trouble and/or deported. Only time will tell if this clown now pulls his horns in.

[KIWIBATCH]

Pennies on the railway line...5000b fine...... and a media frenzy along with photo shoots of anybody with a general's insignia on their clothing........but run over and kill a cop and drag his body under your car...then abscond from Thailand...nothing..!!!!

[baboon]

15 minutes ago, KIWIBATCH said:

Pennies on the railway line...5000b fine...... and a media frenzy along with photo shoots of anybody with a general's insignia on their clothing........but run over and kill a cop and drag his body under your car...then abscond from Thailand...nothing..!!!!

You can't really blame the court for that.

Personally I salute their action in this instance. He was sentenced in accordance with the offence committed in spite of the media frenzy, Next case please. This is how justice should be carried out, not by an angry rabble with torches and pitchforks. 

[Ace of Pop]

I assume this Manboy has Parents,who he doesn't give a Rats Ass about.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[Juan B Tong]

I have actually had a change of heart about this guy.

 

Mostly because I am not subjected to his behavior in my daily life.

I am not particularly into youtube.

 

I've noticed my kid watches various youtube video channels.  You got parents giving their kids little tests about foods, you got kids doing the Mentos and soda pop.  Lots of silly stuff.  Also got some nordic type hacking into stuff with homemade swords and homemade automatic crossbows.  Lots of Russians shooting various types of guns, There is an mazing amount of ths crap on youtbe.

 

So here is this guy and I become aware of him on this forum.  If not on this forum, then I don't know about him.

 

Well so, here is a young guy.  Does stupid mostly harmless stuff and is making money with it.

Got a goofy wise ass personality, speaks Thai, got a lot of people clicking on him.

 

You know, he is a bloody genius.

 

He is no Red Skeleton or Lenny Bruce, but so frigging what.

 

He is not in my consciousness unless I let him in.

 

So good on ya Nate.

 

Now if he would only disappear from Thavisa....

 

Just saying...

[scotchonrocks]

Surprised they are not charging him for defacing coinage. It's quite serious in many countries and I cannot imagine it is not in this country especially given whose head is on the coins. 

[mtls2005]

4 minutes ago, scotchonrocks said:

Surprised they are not charging him for defacing coinage. It's quite serious in many countries and I cannot imagine it is not in this country especially given whose head is on the coins. 

 

It was well-documented that he avoided using Thai coins, for the reason you mention (lese majeste).

 

I'm still trying to figure out how he got a non-imm b visa (which I think I saw mentioned in an article?)? Is he a teacher, or a "digital nomad"? I saw some articles where the "authorities" were interested in his income and tax situation.

[ldiablo72]

How could they have been found guilty at the police station? That's up to the courts to decide.

[ben2talk]

2 hours ago, masuk said:

I think it was the trespass which earned him the fine.   He was obviously using foreign coins, as heaven help him if they were Thai.

No. Trespass was only 100 baht fine. They droned on a while about the damage to the tracks, but finally we read (you should try 'reading' sometime') 

Quote

the Bt5,000 levied on both Bartling and his friend was for a breach of a law prohibiting anyone from placing things on a public byway that could create obstacles to safety and traffic.

 

He was nowhere near the tracks when the train arrived, it is only the coins and tape 'blocking' the train which he got fined for. Have you seen the video? A heavliy laden goods train, travelling very slowly over the coins and completely oblivious to their existence... 

 

Basically they used the law to achieve their ends. It's Thai style - just like the police we accuse of corruption for taking 400 baht off bikes that are not in the gutter, maybe in the right hand lane coming up to a U-turn on Sukhumvit, or in the middle lane avoiding busses pulling in and out of the bus stop...

 

In Thailand, it's fine to use any rule to make your point - even if it's irrelevant. Now the courts take on the same appearance as the lynch mob.

[Foozool]

He will make a bad face for all farang in Thai media. 

He must be blacklisted and kicked out of Thailand. 

[wow64]

51 minutes ago, ldiablo72 said:

How could they have been found guilty at the police station? That's up to the courts to decide.

 

Don't think about it too hard as nothing makes sense. 

 

 

[YetAnother]

And this idiot is laughing his ass off

[wirat69]

฿5,000.... same for not wearing a seatbelt.... hmmmm....

[Ceruhe]

Coins on a railtrack that has 0.0000000% chance of derailing a train, 5000 Baht fine.

Random no-so killing somebody, regardless the circumstance of it happening, 1000 Baht fine. Or was it 500?

 

I'll save any connotations in regards to any sort of double standards, the punishment not fitting "the crime" and so forth, but dayum those 5000 baht were but a penny he just picked up from all the clicks that he got through all this publicity.

[YetAnother]

26 minutes ago, 1024 said:

Yes, the guy is a classic fool and he tarnishes everyone with white skin here

[williamgeorgeallen]

sweet. cost 5000thb and earnings in the thousands of dollars. good job. might be a good job to lay low for a while now though.

[Foozool]

52 minutes ago, 1024 said:

I guess there are more "Clowns" in town. 

 

 

 

 

[anon789561]

1 hour ago, YetAnother said:

Yes, the guy is a classic fool and he tarnishes everyone with white skin here

He tarnishes everyone with white skin here!!??? Haha. Are you for real? Jesus I love TVF.

[how241]

3 hours ago, ldiablo72 said:

How could they have been found guilty at the police station? That's up to the courts to decide.

Because this happened in Thailand.  Not unusual.

[anon789561]

So. I just watched the cat video as that seems to have caused quite the uproar. Pains me to have put money in his pocket but oh well. If you deem that as cruelty then look all around you. The bloody cat wouldn've killed that scorpion had it got too annoyed. This a land where they still fight chickens <deleted>. Leave the knob alone. If you think he affects the ways thai see you, then you have some strange paranoia that you need to get over. Most Thais don't even know who he is. He's loving the clicks. Remember that. Might even get a permit out of this in the end

[OJAS]

2 hours ago, wirat69 said:

฿5,000.... same for not wearing a seatbelt.... hmmmm....

As well as the equally "serious crime" of being overdue on one's 90-day report to Immigration!

[kannot]

18 hours ago, Cuchulainn said:

Don't see the prat wearing his backward-facing baseball cap in this photo. 

 

On another note....................

 

"The punishment for animal cruelty is a jail term of two years"   but running over and killing 2 girls in your HiSo car whilst pissed out of your tiny mind gets you only 2 and a half years AND out on bail.

 

Brilliant.

needs more "enraged netizens"

[Jingthing]

Perhaps Nate is so bad he's good?