viewtopic.php?f=1&t=17744
Which should be mandatory reading for anyone coming here or who is new to here. All the advice given there about swallowing your pride is spot on. That's one thing you have to just give up when you set foot in this country! It's not really important either when you think about the big picture and what really is important.
It's far better to be witty and a cunning linguist so everyone's face is saved but you still get your point across and if you're really good, make it all a joke. Not saying you'll always get what you want, you must choose your battles carefully here of course. You have to speak the language too, if you speak 10 words of Thai you've not got a leg to stand on. Imagine being home and some foreigner is getting bothered with you while you're forced to communicate only in their language of which you know only a few basic words and sentences. You would be out of there or putting them out of your place or thumping them yourself if they carried on too long!
Anyways, here's my story...
Early last November I was picking up my girl from work in the lower Sukhumvit area. I hardly ever did this because she's a restaurant manager and always the last one to leave so she's always late. I normally had to be up early for work but this day I was off the following day. I literally had 1 (one) small bottle of beer with dinner hours before. Her restaurant is a short ways down a popular soi from Sukhumvit so, after closing up, we head out to get a taxi but decide on a bus. Late at night the bus is just as fast as it's a straight shot down Sukhumvit with no traffic...
There are bars that spring up nightly on the streets in this area at about 11-12:00AM and stay open until 5:00 or whatever. Totally illegal and mafia run / BiB all paid off of course. So, my girl and a few of her staff were waiting for a bus a few month previous when she was shoved by some (I later found out personally) crazy bitch working to set up one of these bars. She wanted to put a table where my girl was standing. My girl was not pleased but doesn't get riled to violence easily so she said she shot back a reply something on the level of "you could have said excuse me bitch" or whatever the Thai equivalent is. I'm sure she was measured in front of her staff! Well, the girl at the bar was having none of it and jumped on my girl then others from the bar started in on her and her staff with the plastic chairs all and sundry! One farang, also working at the bar, got involved and somehow hit and hurt my girlfriend though she said the initial girl was the primary aggressor. Anyways, it wasn't a big thing in the end. She came home worked up and shaking, had her shirt torn but was none the worse for wear so we let it go with a mental note. She told me everything though so when I was down there in November I knew who to look for...
When I saw the farang my girl had described I recognized him instantly. He has a very distinct face, looks indian but has a big farang nose and bald. Anyways, I wanted to have a word with him and while I was stern in my approach I was in no way posturing nor trying to be aggressive. I said something to the effect of "I want to talk to you about something that happened here a few months ago where my girl got hurt..." and that was all I got out. He had reached behind the bar cart while I was talking and come out with a fat stick then started taking half-hearted swings at me without a word. I could hardly believe it was happening, it seemed surreal but I was talking him down, moving out of the range of his strike while walking away backwards. Then some of the boys, Thai and Burmese, who also work at these bars got on to me and started throwing wimpy punches a few of which landed. Also, the crazy bitch was on the scene with my girl now. This stuff all happens so fast! I want to knock one or 2 of these punks on their asses but I knew the first punch I threw and the situation was going to blow up so I clasped my hands behind my back and started shouting "Why are you hitting me?" "I am not fighting you!"...
This goes on for a bit, 2 or 3 boys and the farang with the stick on me and it's not diffusing, nobody is stepping in to help or to intervene either. I know I need to make a big scene now and bring as much attention to the people doing this as I can or they are going to get me on the ground and then I'm done and who knows what would happen to my girl then as she would go ballistic. So, I walk backwards into Sukhumvit road, stopping all lanes of traffic, and I'm still taking glancing blows but my hands are still firmly behind my back, I'm ducking and dodging and I'm shouting "I will not fight back, stop attacking me". I look to my right at some point and the crazy bitch is getting the better of my girl so I drop my guard to insert myself between them and that's when farang with the stick catches me on the head. I finally saw some stars, my knees might have buckled but, I stayed on my feet and the blood started gushing. The scalp is very vascular.
At the sight of all the blood the aggressors got a little less aggressive and the farang fled so I guess we called the police then or others already had. I continued to keep traffic on Sukhumvit stopped as I figured that would get them there the quickest, everyone seemed to be enjoying the show anyways 
So the BiBs finally arrive and take my girl and I to the station. They try to give us the brush off at first but when it's clear I need real medical attention that's seen to first. I get 8 huge stitches, with the thickest cord (not thread) I've ever seen, crisscrossing my head and an appointment with a forensic doctor the next week. Back to the police and make a report. Sun is up as we finally leave the station. The cops want to just leave it at that but when I start telling them where I work and tossing out ID cards, a 5-year driving license, Tax-ID, work ID they see they have to deal with it and of course my girl is ready to go the distance now too. Keep in mind, this is the same police station that takes the kickbacks from the bar owners who did this to us. So, the whole damn next week is full of trips to the police sub-station, the hospital and the main police station to work with the sketch artists. My girl is pretty banged up, bruised rib, and can barely eat for a week but I got the worst of it...
A couple months go by and nothing is happening so we're starting to pester the police and, with no face to lose, I let it be known that I will run it up the ladder. I also had the inside scoop that it was promotion time and the BiB didn't want the boat rocked, like a letter from my embassy to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I already had a case opened on it at my embassy in case I needed that leverage. So, we go back to the police station and I think also the sketch artist, AGAIN. The whole fracking thing is retyped and redone AGAIN and it was only at this point, in mid-January maybe, that we had an actual criminal case. It went to the court and an arrest warrant came back for the farang who bashed me and kicked my girl. So, you'd think the cops would go and pick the guy up then right? I mean on the night it happened one of the other cops at the station had the crazy bitch's mobile number and she came down to the station and gave a statement. Everyone knew everyone! Turns out, the farang is even married to the crazy bitch's daughter who handles the money at the bar...
So, I've moved to Cha Am by this point and my time in Bangkok is limited. Also, I'm not usually up late but I'm determined to see justice done to this guy. Not so much for me and my girl anymore as by this point we had been through hell with the police and we were ready to give up and walk away but, after the incident, a few of the streetwalker girls there told my girl that these people had beat up several people before. Also, an Italian guy who saw it all and owns a business nearby told me the same thing about them. It was about getting bad people off the street to protect the future CJs around there. I had tried to have him arrested before, after the reports were made but he went into hiding for a few months after the incident. Guess he didn't realize how slow the Thai "justice system" is because he came out of hiding by March or so, working as usual. I had to go down there and play detective, I could have been recognized and pummeled again, to get the guy arrested. I was so worried the cops would show up and he would flee again, I waited by a footbridge. When the cops came it was down a soi where he couldn't see them and when the BiB saw I had an arrest warrant they knew they had to take this seriously. He was put into a taxi and taken to the police station. I'd like to have seen him cuffed in front of everyone but I saw him in cuffs later at the station…
I guess with things like this the cops have the ability to set bail, amazing. You really have to bash the frock out of someone here to get into any trouble in this country. If you don't break a bone or the skin it's like a 100 Baht fine for a punch. I'm so glad I understand this now! The cops don't feel like personal disputes, even when bodily harm is done, are their responsibility. Too messy and people lose face I guess. Anyways, the guy makes bail in the morning on 20,000. That is actually considered high for his charge...
So, we have a court date either Sept. 6 or later the next week. He's facing 2-years in a Thai jail! When I heard this I asked if I could make a statement to ask for leniency as I don't think 2-years in a horrible Thai prison is fair but, I cannot now, the wheels are in motion. He is lying and trying to stick to his story that I started it, not being remorseful, admitting guilt and apologizing which would be what I would do were I him. To be honest, if I really were him, I would probably just go back to England, turns out he's a young guy (26ish) from England but with Pakistani ethnicity, and get a new passport with a new number. So, if he doesn't show at court to face the music I'll have to start looking for him again I guess…
We've been told by several people that our case is a slam dunk as he's working illegally and I have a work permit. I have a respectable job as does my girl (my witness in the case) and he's a bartender on Sukhumvit at night. I've been told the character differences alone will decide the case more than any testimony or previous statements either side has made. The pics of my head don't lie and he has no injuries nor anything to show I was the aggressor either. I'm told the only concern is if they are able to bribe the judge. Does anyone know about this? I've heard of lawyers preventing it but we're doing this all on our own. Please let me know if you have any experience with this.
Well, I hope you enjoyed my story. I've been meaning to get it down in black and white for a while now so I guess the forum is as good a place as any to do that and I always enjoy reading these sort of things. So, thanks for reading and if you have any questions I'll be around to answer. Also, if you know anything about the judge bribing thing *please* contact me or reply.
I'll keep you updated as to if the Thai justice system comes through in the end (court).
Thanks for reading…
CJ
