Mercedes killer Honda girl Red Bull heir

[stilljustbrowsing]

If this guy evades imprisonment, I would suspect that he will have his car(d) marked and it will only be a matter of time before he gets his "just" rewards. (That,s what I would do anyway)

[Renaissance]

What this thread shows is that people are fed up with the rich having one system of justice for themselves while the rest of the population have an inferior kind. It also shows how people expect rich criminals to get away with their crimes, either completely, or with a small prison sentence until the dust settles and everyone forgets about the crime.

Personally, I think that there will be another major incidence of this when Taksin is invited to lead the next government after the next election. In exchange for a few Baht, his crimes will be declared as having been politically motivated and unjust and the sentences will be dismissed; his money will returned to him; all the poor officials who made decisions against him will be exiled to Nakorn Nowhere and to the southern provinces; the 5-year ban of the 101 politicians who were involved in vote-buying will be cancelled as being politically motivated, in exchange for a few Baht; they will all join Taksin's parties and take advantage of the opportunities again; systems will be changed back to serve the rich better; and the traditional status quo will finally be restored.

People will complain on the Bangkok Post's Forums about how it is so unfair that the rich have one system of justice for themselves, etc., but nothing will change, and really, I think we all know this. Moo Ham's case is just a reflection of how corruption has eaten through the fabric of the country. Indeed, maybe if his father pays enough, Moo Ham will be made a Minister.

[spacehead]

well folks, nothing is different here in austria, absolutely not. if you got a name, reputation, fame and enough money to be considered one of the "upper ten thousand" of the country you will not serve a long time in prison, even if you are found guilty of any crime. if guys like these trespass the law, it´s a "gentleman´s delict", not a crime in the real term. so lets hope next time there´s some concrete pole or brigde pillar around when he´s out speeding.

[villager]

well folks, nothing is different here in austria, absolutely not. if you got a name, reputation, fame and enough money to be considered one of the "upper ten thousand" of the country you will not serve a long time in prison, even if you are found guilty of any crime. if guys like these trespass the law, it´s a "gentleman´s delict", not a crime in the real term. so lets hope next time there´s some concrete pole or brigde pillar around when he´s out speeding.

Hey Spacehead why are you so sure the maniac,s not in the slammer?, if you have some evidence I,m sure not only myself but many others would like to read it, and if he,s been found guilty of such madness why should he ever hold a driving license again.

[burinkan]

It's now been several months since the Benz bus stop killer got a 10 year sentence. I haven't seen any news that he's actually served any jail time yet, though. Anybody know the status of this case? Is he free on bail, so he can kill again?

[foreign_observer]

Although this is a bit of an old thread now, I still find it incredibly amusing that some people have initially assumed that this guy will even see the inside of a jail room - albeit a limited period of time. You have to understand what is actually at stake here. One of the worst, possible loss of face to any Thai 'Clan leader' is having a member of your clan spending time in jail as a result of a sentence handed down by the judge - regardless of what he or she did (The absolute worst loss of face is losing all your inherited wealth and having to downgrade your social status). To the Thai people, being convicted of a crime is not that big of a deal, because nobody cares whether you committed the crime or not. Thai people are very forgiving/apathetic that way. However, being in jail, is an ENTIRELY different story. Getting the sentence reduced, to a few months, weeks or even days, is not good enough. To understand this, you have to put yourself in the Clan Leader's shoes. Just think what your golf buddies or business partners will say at the next round of tee off if you fail to keep your charge out of jail. They'll say: "oh look at him, he can't even keep his son/daughter/cousin/brother/sister/nephew/grandson etc etc out of jail despite his position of power. May be he's too selfish to pull strings to help even his own flesh and blood. May be he's out of favor with The Man and no longer has the 'MoJo'. May be we shouldn't hang out with him anymore because he' probably won't be able to help us if we get in trouble for accidentally killing someone, because you know, accidents happen all the time". Gosh, how embarrassing and damaging would that be to your reputation?? Clearly, the Clan Leader must keep his charges out of jail - no question about it. A reduced sentence is not good enough.

How can this be done? Remember that the Thais are masters of twisting facts around. Even though a sentence has been passed, it is the job of the police to see to it that he goes to jail. The police might then come out and say something along the line of 'Oh, but we don't know where to find him, he hasn't shown up at prison like he was supposed to... so there'. And that will be the end of it. I would encourage you to read 'Sri Thanonchai' chronicles - it offers a very interesting insight into the Thai culture and justice. Actually, for a more contemporary example, you can even look at the PAD seizure of various places last year and how the authorities came up with all sorts of excuse to not arrest them / throw them in jail. Now that, was a prime example of the Sri Thanonchai culture at work.

In all honesty, the only reason why this case was allowed to get this far is because the media (ah, those pesky media and their constant search for the next big headline!) has shone too much spotlight on it. The 10 year sentence (originally 15) is excessive - agreed, but it was designed to make it appear that the court is not under the influence of the Clan - thereby demonstrating to the general public that the sacred Thai legal system is 'preserved'. However, this is just about as far as it goes for the circus show in my opinion because at the end of the day, the police will not force him to serve his sentence. What will most likely happen is that he will continue to walk free and drive his Mercedes around Bangkok, though the Clan leader would very likely institute a domestic version of a 'house arrest', which involves putting up a curfew, limiting pocket money etc etc. If the curfew is repeatedly broken, then he may be exiled to the UK or (gasp) some mid west state in the US - which by the way is the absolute WORST thing that can happen to any young Thai Socialite! The threat itself should keep him relatively calm until he finally grows out of this 'I must crash my car into people' phase. The fact that he hasn't killed anyone lately, shows that it is working! You see, the Thai's have a way of resolving things...

Compensation to the vics' family are peanuts indeed from a Western perspective. But the truth is that life is truly cheap around this part of the world, just like food here is cheap. So three humans really are worth a lot less than the inflated cost of a high-end Mercedes (keep in mind you have to pay triple digit import tax for cars in Thailand - although there's no tax on human lives). Nonetheless, I would say that the compensation that was paid out to the vic's family is fairly decent by Thai standard and these victims will, in the end, be thankful that they've even gotten anything out of this. Also, the Thai public will eventually forget about the case, or blame the outcome on some karmic forces at work; for example - the victims must have done something wrong in their past life for this to happen to them. See, problem solved. Case closed.

[NangrongJ]

Sulasno...it is NOT an accident it is NEGLIGENCE, an avoidable death has happened and 10 years is about right!

[kokok]

Well, I think you people should know that this is the case with not just Thailand, America or any other country for that matter (Don’t know about England!) but the whole world. Money is power. We can literally do anything with money. Money is what we all want. Right? Same goes with anyone and is it not obvious that we are living in an era of complete bribery? I do hope he had insurance though!

[kokok]

I do not think anything else should happen. I totally agree with you guys say. Money is definitely the key to open whatever we want in this world. Time and time again we have seen that! In Thailand, in America, in India! The place does not matter. What matters is whether you have money. However I do not think that is not the case with the Middle East (Probably because they are already rich!). I hope he had insurance to pay up for what he has done to those people!

[travis]

Mr. Ham is still driving around Bangkok in a Mercedes.