This report has just surfaced...
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/a ... ng-holiday
Astonishing. Usually falang victims are young and frequently drunk. As the story stands, the attack seems without motive.
Hua Hin during Songkran
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Gaybutton
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Re: Hua Hin during Songkran
I watched the video. These people were simply walking along with the rest of the crowd, minding their own business, and they were attacked for no apparent reason - and it was a particularly vicious attack. I hope these thugs are all arrested, sent to prison, and they throw away the key.
What is just as bad is there were loads of people around. Nobody lifted a finger to try to stop the attack or help these people. They just watched. Many continued walking by as if nothing was going on at all.
What is just as bad is there were loads of people around. Nobody lifted a finger to try to stop the attack or help these people. They just watched. Many continued walking by as if nothing was going on at all.
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halfhansum
Re: Hua Hin during Songkran
If you watch the vid closely, you can see that the Son in the family starts the whole thing off , by shoving a Thai guy out of the way as the family pass through ..
The Thai guy then goes back and retaliates by pushing him over ..
What happens then is very close to attempted murder ...
The Thai guy then goes back and retaliates by pushing him over ..
What happens then is very close to attempted murder ...
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Captain Kirk
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Gaybutton
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Re: Hua Hin during Songkran
All of the attackers have been arrested. The Prime Minister has ordered strict legal action against them. Good!
Here are the latest follow-up stories:
________________________________________________________
PM orders strong action against attackers of British tourists
THE NATION
April 30, 2016
The Prime minister and his deputy have instructed the police chief to ensure that those accused of the savage attack on the family of British tourists in Hua Hin face strict legal action.
Deputy police spokesman Pol Colonel Krissana Pattanacharoen yesterday said police should investigate whether anyone other than the four suspects already in custody were involved.
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and his deputy Prawit Wongsuwan ordered the police to strictly follow up on the case and ensure the attackers face tough legal action.
A group of suspects violently attacked a British family of three, which left them seriously wounded, in the early hours of April 13. Police have arrested four Thai men in connection with the attack.
Meanwhile, one of the suspects; Chaiya Jaiboon, apologised during a meeting with deputy police chief Pol General Wuthi Liptapanlop. He reportedly confessed to his role and said that he was under the influence of alcohol after drinking many bottles of beer.
Police yesterday cancelled a re-enactment after learning that some angry people were waiting for the suspects.
Investigation so far has shown that Lewis Owen, son of the British couple, bumped into one of the suspects who then angrily knocked him to the ground. His father, Lewis, 68, and mother Rosemary, 65, then began arguing with the group. The suspects allegedly reacted violently, punching and kicking the three. A video clip of the incident that has gone viral shows the victims lying unconscious on the ground. The son who suffered head injuries has already left Thailand while the parents are scheduled to leave early next month.
Lewis, a graphic designer who lives in Singapore, was quoted by the UK's Mirror Online as saying he would never go back to Thailand. "Mum and dad won't either. Never, ever again."
However, STA, a tour agency in United Kingdom's Birmingham city, yesterday became a temporary campsite for people after it offered cheap return air tickets to Thailand.
Mirror Online reported that tickets for 50 flights were offered for the first time at as low as 49 pounds each (Bt2,500) while the normal fare is 350 pounds.
The online paper said Waheed Khan, 30, a student from Elephant and Castle, and his girlfriend, were the first in line for tickets in London Victoria. They began queuing on Tuesday morning and camped in their tent on the pavement for two nights.
"I promised my girlfriend a romantic trip to Thailand after she graduates this summer, and when we saw this 49-pound offer was available, we had to be a part of it," he said.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/nationa ... 84993.html
____________________________________________
Britons beaten up in Thailand will never go back to country, says son
by Oliver Holmes
18 April, 2016
Lewis Owen says he and his parents did not realise how badly they had been hurt until they saw CCTV footage of the incident
A British man who, alongside his mother and father, was beaten unconscious in a Thai beachside resort has said his family will never return to the country after the “out of the blue” attack.
Lewis Owen, a graphic designer who lives in Singapore, was on holiday with his parents Lewis and Rosemary Owen, aged 68 and 65, when several men attacked them this month during Thai new year celebrations in Hua Hin.
CCTV footage released on Thursday showed a vicious assault in which Owen briefly touches shoulders with a Thai man carrying a bottle who appears to push him to the ground. An argument ensues and the family are set upon, repeatedly punched and kicked in the face even as they lie on the ground.
“I’m not going back to Thailand again,” Owen was quoted in the Mirror as saying. “Mum and dad won’t be either. Never, ever again.”
Owen has already returned to Singapore but his parents, from Wenvoe in Wales, are expected to return to the UK next week.
He said his father had two black eyes and six stitches to the forehead. Owen said he had 16 stitches on his head in three areas. “Because it’s above my hairline it is not too bad, I have still got a bit of hair. They had to shave my hair off to stitch it up.”
He said hospital staff were worried about his mother who had to have several operations to deal with brain swelling.
The parents have been regular visitors to Thailand for many years and meet up twice a year with their son, he said.
The attack occurred on 13 April, in the early hours of the morning during the Thai new year’s Songkran festival, also known as the water festival where street parties turn into giant water fights. The water is a symbol of cleansing and renewal.
Owen said after a night at a bar, he was walking his mother and father back when they were attacked. “I didn’t know them, it was just random,” he said.
“It was just out of the blue. None of us were drunk. We had just had a merry night and were going home.”
He had not seen the video footage until Thursday and did not realise “how badly we were beaten up.
“We were all unconscious. My mum did not even realise she had been kicked in the face. I did not know my head had been stamped on.”
Thai police Col Chaiyakorn Siradecho said four men had been arrested and would be charged with grievous bodily harm.
A spokesman for the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said “if found guilty, the perpetrators of this incident will face full justice under Thai law.
“The Tourism Authority of Thailand would like to express our deepest sorrow to the family who were subjected to the assault … We hope that you recover from your injuries and make a swift and full recovery. TAT would like to assure international travellers that this was an isolated incident, not targeted on any group of foreign tourists in particular. The situation was exacerbated by alcohol.”
In 2015, British visitors to Thailand crossed the one million mark for the first time.
The British embassy had begun a safety campaign to make sure tourists were aware of the dangers during the Songkran festival. Car accidents spike during the event and revellers are often drunk, but attacks on tourists are rare.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/a ... n-thailand
________________________________________________________
Last Hua Hin attacker apologises as Brits prepare to leave
by Chaiwat Satyaem
29 Apr 2016
A 20-year-old arrested Thursday for his role in the brutal beating of an elderly British family in Hua Hin today apologised for allegedly putting the pensioners in the hospital.
Senior national police officers went to Hua Hin police station in Phrachuap Khiri Khan, on Friday to interrogate Chaiya Jaiboon before the Lewis Owen, 68, and his wife Rosemary, 65, return to the United Kingdom May 3.
The suspect was the fourth and final man arrested for the violent Songkran festival attack on the couple and their 43-year-old son John outside a temple in the early hours of April 13. The altercation reportedly began after John bumped into one of the drunk assailants.
Police said Mr Chaiya, arrested at his house in nearby Pranburi district, admitted he and his friends had been intoxicated and thought one of the tourists had hit one of his friends.
The suspect pressed his palms together in a traditional wai gesture and repeatedly apologised to the people of Hua Hin and Thailand, and to the foreign family. He said he regretted what he had done.
Three other suspects -- Suphatra Baithong, Yingyai Saengkham-in, both aged 32, and Siwa Noksri, 20 -- were arrested and also apologised earlier.
Deputy national police chief Wuthi Liptapallop said at the Hua Hin police station that the case was closed and the surveillance-camera footage was important evidence.
He said he ordered police to prevent such incidents from recurring in all tourist destinations, especially Hua Hin, an important attraction.
Pol Gen Wuthi admitted that officer numbers were limited in tourist resorts and that he would propose more deployments.
Hua Hin police continued to visit Mr Owen and wife Rosemary, who was resting in her hotel, recovering from a serious head injury. The couple will leave Thailand on May 3.
Their son, who left earlier as planned, told the Daily Mirror newspaper in the UK on Thursday night that he and his parents will never return to the kingdom.
"We were all unconscious. My mum did not even realise she had been kicked in the face. I did not know my head had been stamped on," he told the paper, saying they had been knocked out and didn't realise the brutality of the attack until they saw the video days later.
John Owen said his father suffered two black eyes and received six stitches to the forehead. He said he had 16 stitches on his head in three areas. His mother suffered fluid on the brain that needed drained.
"I'm not going back to Thailand again. Mum and dad won't be either. Never, ever again."
Story and photos: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general ... e-to-leave
Here are the latest follow-up stories:
________________________________________________________
PM orders strong action against attackers of British tourists
THE NATION
April 30, 2016
The Prime minister and his deputy have instructed the police chief to ensure that those accused of the savage attack on the family of British tourists in Hua Hin face strict legal action.
Deputy police spokesman Pol Colonel Krissana Pattanacharoen yesterday said police should investigate whether anyone other than the four suspects already in custody were involved.
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and his deputy Prawit Wongsuwan ordered the police to strictly follow up on the case and ensure the attackers face tough legal action.
A group of suspects violently attacked a British family of three, which left them seriously wounded, in the early hours of April 13. Police have arrested four Thai men in connection with the attack.
Meanwhile, one of the suspects; Chaiya Jaiboon, apologised during a meeting with deputy police chief Pol General Wuthi Liptapanlop. He reportedly confessed to his role and said that he was under the influence of alcohol after drinking many bottles of beer.
Police yesterday cancelled a re-enactment after learning that some angry people were waiting for the suspects.
Investigation so far has shown that Lewis Owen, son of the British couple, bumped into one of the suspects who then angrily knocked him to the ground. His father, Lewis, 68, and mother Rosemary, 65, then began arguing with the group. The suspects allegedly reacted violently, punching and kicking the three. A video clip of the incident that has gone viral shows the victims lying unconscious on the ground. The son who suffered head injuries has already left Thailand while the parents are scheduled to leave early next month.
Lewis, a graphic designer who lives in Singapore, was quoted by the UK's Mirror Online as saying he would never go back to Thailand. "Mum and dad won't either. Never, ever again."
However, STA, a tour agency in United Kingdom's Birmingham city, yesterday became a temporary campsite for people after it offered cheap return air tickets to Thailand.
Mirror Online reported that tickets for 50 flights were offered for the first time at as low as 49 pounds each (Bt2,500) while the normal fare is 350 pounds.
The online paper said Waheed Khan, 30, a student from Elephant and Castle, and his girlfriend, were the first in line for tickets in London Victoria. They began queuing on Tuesday morning and camped in their tent on the pavement for two nights.
"I promised my girlfriend a romantic trip to Thailand after she graduates this summer, and when we saw this 49-pound offer was available, we had to be a part of it," he said.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/nationa ... 84993.html
____________________________________________
Britons beaten up in Thailand will never go back to country, says son
by Oliver Holmes
18 April, 2016
Lewis Owen says he and his parents did not realise how badly they had been hurt until they saw CCTV footage of the incident
A British man who, alongside his mother and father, was beaten unconscious in a Thai beachside resort has said his family will never return to the country after the “out of the blue” attack.
Lewis Owen, a graphic designer who lives in Singapore, was on holiday with his parents Lewis and Rosemary Owen, aged 68 and 65, when several men attacked them this month during Thai new year celebrations in Hua Hin.
CCTV footage released on Thursday showed a vicious assault in which Owen briefly touches shoulders with a Thai man carrying a bottle who appears to push him to the ground. An argument ensues and the family are set upon, repeatedly punched and kicked in the face even as they lie on the ground.
“I’m not going back to Thailand again,” Owen was quoted in the Mirror as saying. “Mum and dad won’t be either. Never, ever again.”
Owen has already returned to Singapore but his parents, from Wenvoe in Wales, are expected to return to the UK next week.
He said his father had two black eyes and six stitches to the forehead. Owen said he had 16 stitches on his head in three areas. “Because it’s above my hairline it is not too bad, I have still got a bit of hair. They had to shave my hair off to stitch it up.”
He said hospital staff were worried about his mother who had to have several operations to deal with brain swelling.
The parents have been regular visitors to Thailand for many years and meet up twice a year with their son, he said.
The attack occurred on 13 April, in the early hours of the morning during the Thai new year’s Songkran festival, also known as the water festival where street parties turn into giant water fights. The water is a symbol of cleansing and renewal.
Owen said after a night at a bar, he was walking his mother and father back when they were attacked. “I didn’t know them, it was just random,” he said.
“It was just out of the blue. None of us were drunk. We had just had a merry night and were going home.”
He had not seen the video footage until Thursday and did not realise “how badly we were beaten up.
“We were all unconscious. My mum did not even realise she had been kicked in the face. I did not know my head had been stamped on.”
Thai police Col Chaiyakorn Siradecho said four men had been arrested and would be charged with grievous bodily harm.
A spokesman for the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said “if found guilty, the perpetrators of this incident will face full justice under Thai law.
“The Tourism Authority of Thailand would like to express our deepest sorrow to the family who were subjected to the assault … We hope that you recover from your injuries and make a swift and full recovery. TAT would like to assure international travellers that this was an isolated incident, not targeted on any group of foreign tourists in particular. The situation was exacerbated by alcohol.”
In 2015, British visitors to Thailand crossed the one million mark for the first time.
The British embassy had begun a safety campaign to make sure tourists were aware of the dangers during the Songkran festival. Car accidents spike during the event and revellers are often drunk, but attacks on tourists are rare.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/a ... n-thailand
________________________________________________________
Last Hua Hin attacker apologises as Brits prepare to leave
by Chaiwat Satyaem
29 Apr 2016
A 20-year-old arrested Thursday for his role in the brutal beating of an elderly British family in Hua Hin today apologised for allegedly putting the pensioners in the hospital.
Senior national police officers went to Hua Hin police station in Phrachuap Khiri Khan, on Friday to interrogate Chaiya Jaiboon before the Lewis Owen, 68, and his wife Rosemary, 65, return to the United Kingdom May 3.
The suspect was the fourth and final man arrested for the violent Songkran festival attack on the couple and their 43-year-old son John outside a temple in the early hours of April 13. The altercation reportedly began after John bumped into one of the drunk assailants.
Police said Mr Chaiya, arrested at his house in nearby Pranburi district, admitted he and his friends had been intoxicated and thought one of the tourists had hit one of his friends.
The suspect pressed his palms together in a traditional wai gesture and repeatedly apologised to the people of Hua Hin and Thailand, and to the foreign family. He said he regretted what he had done.
Three other suspects -- Suphatra Baithong, Yingyai Saengkham-in, both aged 32, and Siwa Noksri, 20 -- were arrested and also apologised earlier.
Deputy national police chief Wuthi Liptapallop said at the Hua Hin police station that the case was closed and the surveillance-camera footage was important evidence.
He said he ordered police to prevent such incidents from recurring in all tourist destinations, especially Hua Hin, an important attraction.
Pol Gen Wuthi admitted that officer numbers were limited in tourist resorts and that he would propose more deployments.
Hua Hin police continued to visit Mr Owen and wife Rosemary, who was resting in her hotel, recovering from a serious head injury. The couple will leave Thailand on May 3.
Their son, who left earlier as planned, told the Daily Mirror newspaper in the UK on Thursday night that he and his parents will never return to the kingdom.
"We were all unconscious. My mum did not even realise she had been kicked in the face. I did not know my head had been stamped on," he told the paper, saying they had been knocked out and didn't realise the brutality of the attack until they saw the video days later.
John Owen said his father suffered two black eyes and received six stitches to the forehead. He said he had 16 stitches on his head in three areas. His mother suffered fluid on the brain that needed drained.
"I'm not going back to Thailand again. Mum and dad won't be either. Never, ever again."
Story and photos: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general ... e-to-leave
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Gaybutton
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Re: Hua Hin during Songkran
Many of us, including me, have encountered police who have their hands out. But they're not all like that. I've actually encountered helpful police much more often than the greedy ones.LKAsians wrote:Maybe it would work a little better if the Thai Police system worked at protecting people instead of collecting from them?????
"Sir Robert, all Communists are not good, just as all Capitalists are not bad."
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Gaybutton
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Re: Hua Hin during Songkran
Battered British couple recount assault in Hua Hin court
2 May 2016
A British couple brutally assaulted in Hua Hin testified in the provincial court on Monday, giving their account of the sensational Songkran festival crime which four men are accused of committing.
Lewis and Rosemary Owen appeared hours after PM's Office Minister Panadda Diskul met the pair at Bangkok Hospital in Hua Hin and apologised for what happened to them April 13.
No details on the court session were released.
The family, including their son Lewis Owen Jr, was on vacation in the resort town and were seen on security-camera video being brutally punched, kicked and stomped on by four young Thai men.
Rosemary Owen suffered a serious head injury while her husband and son, Lewis Jr, needed multiple stitches. The son has since left Thailand for Singapore, where he works.
Orasa Awutkhom, chief of the Prachuap Khiri Khan tourism office, said the pair stressed to her that those who attacked them must be punished and hoped that what happened to them was the last incident of its kind for foreigners visiting Thailand, according to the Prachachat Thurakij website.
Thailand has seen a number of violent crimes against foreign tourists, including the murder of two British backpackers on Koh Tao in September 2014 and the rape of two French women at knifepoint on Koh Kut in February. Assaults on tourists in Pattaya, by individual or groups of Thais, seem to occur at least monthly.
Suspects Suphattha Baithong, Chaiya Jaiboon, Siva Noksri and Yingyai Saengkhamin were arrested in the days after the assault, with the last suspect taken into custody after the video went viral.
They are charged with physical assault causing severe injuries, which carries a jail term of six months to 10 years.
Pol Maj Gen Kasana Chamsawang told Spring News that the case will be forwarded to court this week. The couple's testimony was taken early as they were scheduled to leave Thailand on Tuesday.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general ... -hin-court
2 May 2016
A British couple brutally assaulted in Hua Hin testified in the provincial court on Monday, giving their account of the sensational Songkran festival crime which four men are accused of committing.
Lewis and Rosemary Owen appeared hours after PM's Office Minister Panadda Diskul met the pair at Bangkok Hospital in Hua Hin and apologised for what happened to them April 13.
No details on the court session were released.
The family, including their son Lewis Owen Jr, was on vacation in the resort town and were seen on security-camera video being brutally punched, kicked and stomped on by four young Thai men.
Rosemary Owen suffered a serious head injury while her husband and son, Lewis Jr, needed multiple stitches. The son has since left Thailand for Singapore, where he works.
Orasa Awutkhom, chief of the Prachuap Khiri Khan tourism office, said the pair stressed to her that those who attacked them must be punished and hoped that what happened to them was the last incident of its kind for foreigners visiting Thailand, according to the Prachachat Thurakij website.
Thailand has seen a number of violent crimes against foreign tourists, including the murder of two British backpackers on Koh Tao in September 2014 and the rape of two French women at knifepoint on Koh Kut in February. Assaults on tourists in Pattaya, by individual or groups of Thais, seem to occur at least monthly.
Suspects Suphattha Baithong, Chaiya Jaiboon, Siva Noksri and Yingyai Saengkhamin were arrested in the days after the assault, with the last suspect taken into custody after the video went viral.
They are charged with physical assault causing severe injuries, which carries a jail term of six months to 10 years.
Pol Maj Gen Kasana Chamsawang told Spring News that the case will be forwarded to court this week. The couple's testimony was taken early as they were scheduled to leave Thailand on Tuesday.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general ... -hin-court
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lvdkeyes
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Re: Hua Hin during Songkran
These thugs need to get a stiff sentence if Thailand wants to show the world Thailand is a safe place to visit and crimes like this are not tolerated.
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Gaybutton
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Re: Hua Hin during Songkran
I think they will. The question is how much of that sentence will they actually serve? I hope they get the max and serve every day of it, but I can't help but think that won't happen. Quite often I see sentences reduced by half if the criminal simply admits to the crime in court. And even then, I often see news items about some thug arrested and it turns out he has been repeatedly arrested and convicted for the same types of crimes.lvdkeyes wrote:These thugs need to get a stiff sentence
Why are violent criminals so often released from prison long before even coming close to completing their sentence?
Re: Hua Hin during Songkran
Because Thai prisons are overcrowded and violent criminals aren't excluded from summary pardons?
I'd feel tempted to say most drugs should be legalized, which would free up valuable prison space for those who really need to be locked away. Seeing that it's the legal drug alcohol that gets the blame for most violent incidents anyway, what could possibly go wrong...
I'd feel tempted to say most drugs should be legalized, which would free up valuable prison space for those who really need to be locked away. Seeing that it's the legal drug alcohol that gets the blame for most violent incidents anyway, what could possibly go wrong...