Dozens die in night club fire

[Just-1-Voice]

SOMEWHAT RELATED.

SOMEWHAT RELATED.

Last night around 11:30 I had a man ring the bell outside my gate, which immediately set my 4 dogs on alert. I go out and he tells me, in very limited and broken English that Kae has been "kicked" by a car and for me to take motorbike and follow him. I do and we rush back to the hospital where she is in the emergency room being treated by doctors. Her body is covered in bruises, cuts and swelling, and blood coming from a huge gash in the back of her head.

From what the police who spoke English told me, and the man who came to my house told him, a woman on a motorbike was hit by a car that was swerving from side to side on the highway. Drunk more than likely. After hitting the motorbike, the car sped away. Kae stopped to help the woman, using her phone to call the police, and then yet ANOTHER car swerved into the motorbike lane and struck her, knocking her about 50 meters!!! The man who came to my house saw it and stopped to help, while another car sped off after the driver of the car who hit Kae and apparently got the license plate number and called the police and gave it to them. The police said they are trying to locate the owner and track down the car now. If they find the man, I’d gladly “donate” 50 – 100,000 baht to whatever “charity” the police want for 5 minutes alone in a room with the driver. I may have problems walking more than 100 meters without pain in my right hip, but there’s nothing wrong with my upper body, and I doubt if I’d need 5 minutes.

The doctor I spoke to said he’s amazed that nothing is broken, and that, in his opinion, she’s lucky to even be alive. They are going to keep her in the hospital for 4-5 days to make sure there is no swelling of the brain. She’s barely conscious and can manage to talk in a whisper. I spent the night with her, then came home a few minutes ago to take care of the dogs, shower, shave, change clothes and take her some things she wants/needs, but only after her son came to stay with her while I am gone.

So, if this is my only post for the day, you’ll know why.

[pachangamac042]

Just-1-Voice, when I came first to Thailand 1990, an Austrian restaurant owner told me, that if you have an road accident in Thailand and you injured somebody, then run over that person again to make sure she/her is dead. He said it is cheaper to pay for a corpse than an injured person. Rule number 2, if you have an accident, then you run if you can.

Back then, I was shocked to hear his words, thinking that he may have spent too much time in Thailand and on the booze already. Nowadays..?

I do not have a Thai driver licence, but I wonder if they teach you, that if you have an accident, best thing is to run? An English pub and guesthouse owner told me not long ago, that he made a special car insurance, which allows you to drive away from an accident and to the next police station. I do not really believe that there is such an insurance, because I thought, that you are not supposed to even move your cars or bikes after an accident. On the other hand, I know about people beeing linched by relatives and friends after a mortal road accident. Sad, sad.

My best wishes for Kae and the other person.

[Voice]

Hi Just-1-voice, Sorry to hear about what happened to Kae I hope they will find the person responsible for that soon. I wish she do get well soon with good recovery.

[pachangamac042]

“Meanwhile, the Administrative Court yesterday said the Santika pub was allowed to operate without a licence because police had unfairly delayed a decision not to issue a licence to the operator.”

The police blames the Administrative Court, the Court blames the police and nobody will be blamed or made responsible at the end. The argumentation from the court could not be more lame. The ball is now with the police again. The police arrested the owner but what happened then? How much did the owner have to pay them for his freedom?

Full report on; http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/9 ... -for-blaze

Why do I have the feeling, that with all the backhanders the owner may have had to pay to all the authorities, he could have installed proper safety measures in the club?

[Just-1-Voice]

Pach & Voice

Thank you for your concern. My wife is doing much better, but will remain in the hospital for a few more days yet. Yesterday I had her transferred to another hospital which is better for the type of head injury she received. As for the other woman on the motor bike, she is going to survive, but has multiple broken bones, contusions and some internal injuries. Thanks to the people who followed the car that struck my wife, the police were able to arrest the driver and he is now in jail. He is a business owner and sent one of his employees to check on my wife and has agreed to pay all medical expenses. I told the employee to go back and get it in writing, for the owner to sign it, with witnesses NOT associated to him, and then bring it back. He said he would do that, but we'll see.

There has been a non-stop procession of family, friends, co-workers, even the owners of the housing development we live in. From what I understand, sometime today around noon something like half a dozen people (female relatives & friends) are supposed to show up here at the house to clean it and cook for me, and I'm supposed to just get out of the way and go play with the dogs till they are done.

Anyway, I just got home from the hospital (I spend the nights with her) and need to eat, take a shower and get some sleep.

[pachangamac042]

Dear Just-1, I was worried, that Kae may be your wife. Well please send her my best regards and I really hope that she and that other injured person do get well soon.

[villager]

Just 1 Voice , it go,s without saying that all members of this forum wish your wife and her friend a speedy recovery , the second most important thing is to try and bring the driver to justice, paying compensation is just not good enough, i,m sure all will agree, there is far to much of ok i,ll pay for damages, what about your damages,mental stress is a terrible thing and you must have been worried out of your mind not knowing the full facts of your wifes medical problems, others from the west are in no doubt that the driver should have his licence revoked and a very stiff fine indeed , hit and run is a very serious offence, and there is far far too much of"the driver fled the scene" here in Thailand,for all the driver knew both could have bled to death at the scene of the accident , sorry , this is just not good enough by far.

[pachangamac042]

Villager, this is Thailand. Business owner, police, backhander, compensation, case closed. Unfortunately that is the way it works often in Thailand.

Not sure how it would be in England, but in Spain you do time in jail for hit and run.

[villager]

Villager, this is Thailand. Business owner, police, backhander, compensation, case closed. Unfortunately that is the way it works often in Thailand.

Not sure how it would be in England, but in Spain you do time in jail for hit and run.

In regards to Thailand Mac, yeah i have to agree, the "Mercedes Driver" in BKK is a classic example , as i wrote before HIT AND RUN is a very serious offence ,in the west that is, here its just run of the mill stuff and an every day occurrence, and this is the very reason why i wrote to Just 1 Voice that he should go all out to seek "justice", like you i have a very pessimistic view, but surely both of us will not "put him down" for trying to achieve it.

[pachangamac042]

Not really sure how it works here. But I think that, if Just-1 would sue this guy who committed the accident, then they would have no other chance then to trial him. Probably, they would try to solve it out of court but I guess that you could refuse to accept and insist on a trial.

Problem, you would have to pay big money for a good lawyer. Other problem, who are the business owners friends? Does he have powerful friends in the police for example, then maybe even your lawyer or a judge would recommend you to take the compensation and forget about it, for your own safety.

You may say mac is loosing it here, but listen; an English friend, retired and living in Phuket was involved in a accident. Three kids age 7, 8, and 10, on a motorbike, hit his car on the side, back door. The kids came out of a little soi, he was on a main road. One kid died, the other two were badly injured. The friend tried to call his insurance but could not reach them straight away. So, by the time the police and ambulance arrives he is already surrounded by an angry mob.

The police take my friend into custody for his on safety. It is on a Friday evening and for unknown reason the insurance company can not be contacted. Even it was obvious, that it was not his mistake, he has been put in jail. Later that night, his Thai wife was worried, starts making phone calls and finds out about the accident. She goes to the police to see her husband, just to be told that it was too late for visiting.

The wife goes back home and tries desperately to contact the insurance, she leaves messages with them but is contacted only the next day, Saturday. Together they go to the police, she speaks with her husband who is shocked to have spend a night in jail. The insurance guy talks to the police, tells them that the foreigner had proper insurance, witch would cower all expenses but being it obviously not his mistake, he should be released immediately and should not have been put in jail at all. Police said, that the English friend could not be released until Monday, when he could be put in front a judge.

On Monday he finally gets to see a judge, who decides that he should be released until the trial, but he would have to pay 500,000 Bath bail, which the insurance paid for him. Until trial, he would have to report once a week to the police and his passport was taken away from him.

Three month later, the trial. He is found not guilty and his passport had been returned to him. But now comes the best; the judge tells my friend, that he should pay 20,000 Bath to the family of the kid who died and 40,000 Bath for each of the injured kids. So my friend asked why he would have to pay them money if it was not his mistake, and the judge told him, that it would be for his own sake, because the families of the kids could go after him if he did not pay.

My friend went back home, the insurance would not pay that money of course. Neither did him, he went on the next plane to Bangkok, back to England and has never been back to Thailand since.

A damaged car which has not been paid for, as the families did not have any money or insurance. Three nights in jail for nothing. And the dream of live in a peaceful paradise gone for ever. Better not to ask him what he thinks about the Thai legal system or the Thai police.