Thiefs in Hua Hin

[ADW]

Has anyone every tried to arrange security guards for their village/community...

If so, any names, numbers anything....

[Sabai Jai]

I know this is getting to be quite a long thread but just thought i would add:-

I lived on Soi Rainoon shortly after it was built, late '80's with some Thai friends. They were always telling me to be careful and never to leave the door open eve n if you nipped away for a minute and that at night you had to bring everything inside, even you old flip flops and beach shoes.

They were right anything left out side got nicked and one day (i was out at the time) one of the Thais nipped to the loo and the Telly was nicked in an instant.

Any one who upgraded to posh gates and security bars got robbed the next day!

So it's not new..Hua Hin is bigger and lot's more people but it's always been going on

Regards SJ

[Big Boy]

I've had a worrying experience this afternoon.

My wife was out shopping, and my daughter's family decided to go to the music festival after all by motorbike. I was home alone tapping away on my laptop.

Within a minute of my daughter leaving the house (obviously didn't lock the gate), I heard the gate open. I looked up and there were 2 young lads aged about 16/18 coming into the house. I immediately stood up, and the sight of my Giant Haystacks figure was enough to dispatch them.

As they hurriedly left, our landlord spoke to them in Thai. I now he asked them what they thought they were doing, to which they said they had mistaken the entrance as the entrance to their house. However I watched them leave the Soi, and in the direction they left there are no similar houses.

My thoughts - they saw the family leave without securing the house properly and fancied their chances. They did not allow for the Ogre that was waiting inside. Will they return when they've changed their underwear? - I doubt it, but time will tell.

[lindosfan1]

Thought you reminded more of big daddy giant haystacks had a beard.
Seriously I think if you are living round town you are far more open to the opportunist burglar,
I am lucky I live ib a quiet soi with 4 policeman in same soi so strangers stand out like a sore thumb,

[frankbangkok]

When I was living in Bangkok several years ago it was common knowledge that once a house was targeted by kamoys they would return again and again. working for the UN at that time we all had a common practice of moving if our house had been the target of a burglery - successful or not.

It seemed that they would come back again and again robbing the place when subsequent tenants moved in or when the same tenant had replaced the previously stolen items. Everytime they needed more drugs they would strike the same places over and over again.

The advice I was given was to avoid the first attempt via good security, then move just after the attempt took place. Since then I have lived in condos.

[lindosfan1]

Jennifer would you like to let us all know how you are getting on ,you stated in the opening that more in the next few days, I think that 7 weeks is a little more than a few days.

[Super Joe]

Don't think it's improved any.

SJ

[Vital Spark]

Food for thought for anyone who's going to be living here full-time and is worried about unwanted guests.

I've just been looking at Dawn's website. I don't know if I can post a link but its the usual world bit plus headrockdogs.org. (The little long-haired one is so cute, and the others are just adorable.)

For absolutely no financial outlay at all you could re-home a lovely Thai dog who will bark - or do something - if anyone comes to the house. We have a gorgeous Thai dog who isn't dangerous, but will make a noise if anything out of the ordinary is happening. Most Thais are frightened of dogs, so they don't need to be huge snarling beasts to do the job.

The beauty of a Thai dog is they just like to eat and sleep. Mine flops around the place in between meals. They don't demand walks if you have a bit of a garden and are hugely intelligent and affectionate.

Just have a look at Dawn's site. Don't waste money on hugely expensive lights and alarms. A lovely four-legged friend will do the job for some food and cuddles.

VS

[huahindolly]

VS,

You've described our Thai dog perfectly - he eats and sleeps, he flops around the house from place to place during the day, he's hugely affectionate and fun-loving, and I believe he'd fight with his life to protect us. In fact, his furious barking several weeks ago alerted us to something that could have been a deadly disaster.

Thank you, Mufi, my hero!

HHD

[margaretcarnes]

'Scuse me if this sounds a tad naive - but re the MIBs and crime reports (this goes for both the attacks on the other topic, and the break ins) What about reporting crimes to the Tourist Police?
In my experience they listen, fill in forms, and generally have better English. OK, the outcomes might be no better, but surely they have more commitment to ensuring the safety of farangs? (Even those on retirement or marriage visas.) Just a thought.

[ste860]

'Scuse me if this sounds a tad naive - but re the MIBs and crime reports (this goes for both the attacks on the other topic, and the break ins) What about reporting crimes to the Tourist Police?
In my experience they listen, fill in forms, and generally have better English. OK, the outcomes might be no better, but surely they have more commitment to ensuring the safety of farangs? (Even those on retirement or marriage visas.) Just a thought.

i thought about this last night too,they might understand ,because the police vi spoke to took about 15 mins to finally get the message,and even though they looked ,everyone knows they only really care if there is something in it for them

[David Nears]

Hi All,

I run a property management company, therefore we see many break-ins.

Personally we were broken into 3 weeks ago, we lost a laptop computer. They were asked to take finger prints, they did not. They tried to rent me a house and took more photos of my wife than the crime scene. We have been broken into before at another previous occassion.

We told them that we had a strong suspicision that the thiefs are working with the internet company as they were the only maintenance people to have been in the house and know exactly where to go to get the computer. They replied that this could not be possible as this was a government company and all employees for the government as trustworthy!!!!!!!!!!!!

My customers have been broken into regularly and there is very little done on the police side of things, little or no reports, no follow ups.

I don't really expect them to do very much but I think that if crime is so high there must be areas where items are fenced regularly and this would be common knowledge to Police therefore they could disrupt the black market sales of stolen goods, but can anyone see the police doing such a thing?????

The only way to combat this is to increase your home security and protect valuable items, through safes or insurance policies.

[Wanderlust]

Part of the problem is that there is a higher than average proportion of Thai police actually involved in crime themselves, even if it is only taking bribes to look the other way when investigating anything. This is due to both the concept of the 'old boys network' that is prevalent in Thai society as well as the low pay for the police force, and when it comes to farangs, unless they are known and well connected there is nothing in it for the police; we can't vote so there is no electoral pressure on their bosses from us, we often don't participate in 'doing them a favour' or the brown envelope scenario (either through ignorance or morally) and at the end of the day we are outsiders. The only pressure that might be brought to bear is if the town starts attracting bad press and puts tourists off coming here, and then the cogs might start to turn at higher levels and eventually result in something being done for us.
Having said all that though, there are good cops who do their job, so all crimes should still be reported so that at the very least the police have an idea of the scale of the problem, and gives them a chance to take some action. What everyone should bear in mind is that most of the police we encounter are beholden to someone superior to them, and if they do something that displeases that person they can be shipped off to another district without a moment's notice. To complicate matters further, the politicians are heavily involved in the police, and if something changes at either local or national level as regards who is in power, this normally involves police of all ranks being shifted left, right and centre; from everything i have seen and heard it is a thankless job which has only one upside; the status it endows, which leads to the opportunity to make extra on the side, be it free food or drinks wherever they go, or something more sinister.

[Super Joe]

We have been involved in a few break-in aftermath's, the development without security has had problems the one's with security not problems.
My Thai missus was chatting with one of the coppers that attended the house that had been broken into and she said he was giving her a bit of a 'telling off' for our customers wasting their time. Their view was that as farangs had cameras, laptops and other valueables in view in the house (on coffee tables or whatever) and because the farangs were not always using padlocks on the security gates, that they were asking for it.
As a result police time is being wasted. Obviously if that is how they feel then we all know what level of follow-up work will be done. So that avenue as a preventitive option is erased from my mind, never to return.

Dogs are good, we have the noisiest animals in the world, poodles, they let you know when two ants are making love in next doors garden, they never heard the burglar who nicked a laptop from a separate room to the lounge where they stay.
Alarms - Don't know, presumablya good quality one may do the trick, they often work as deterrants alone. Big initial outlay.
Securitymen - The most effective prevention IMO. 1 man for a 50 house development is not enough, maybe 2/3 is required.
We got broken into, non-development house, and now me and othershave taken on a local man, night time only, 6k a month between 'x' number of houses, to camp outside at night. Worked so far touch wood. If you had 6 neighbours that's only 1k per month each, best grand we'll spend IMO.

Good luck,

SJ

[ozuncle]

I think the police have a point there about wasting time.
These days just about any where in the world you need to keep valuables out of sight and make sure that you lock up whenever you are not there.
20 years ago Perth used to be the safest place. Never bother to lock cars or houses.
Now its as bad as anywhere.
And as for the police.
Nowdays you are lucky if they even bother to check out the crime scene. And they certainly dont bother to try and solve the crime.
Sometimes they get lucky and stumble on a pile of loot whilst investigating something else.
Not just Hua Hin folks.