Thiefs in Hua Hin

[icebear]

I am getting a bit confused reading this thread. Is it thiefs in <stealing/breaking in> or thiefs in <property developers>?

Maybe this thread should be filed under properties....

[sandman67]

it was about break ins and pickpockets but, as with most threads, has meandered off into the meadow.

My run in with crap crime was a yabba addled prat trying to get in to a bedroom window while my missus was asleep in there. He was so high he didnt notice the 2meter plus farang sneaking up behind him till he got cracked round the head and ribs with a bokken a few times till he lay down on the ground and stayed still.

Turned out he was a kid from two houses down....his papa and brothers were most apologetic and sorry. They heard him screaming and me shouting at him to get down and came to look.

I let the kid go with a warning.....and a reminder to his dad that if anything else happened the first place the police would be coming was his house. That, and next time it would not be a wooden training sword I hit his lad with

The lad looked a right mess the next day when his dad came round to apologise again and drink some Sang Som as a peace offering. Maybe his dad had kicked 10 bells out of him too. He said his mates had put him up to it .....

Anyway, I figured getting a neighbours kid in strife with the MIB, (who would probably have let him go as he didnt get in or extorted money out of his poor dad), was a better option for the sake of peace and quiet in the soi. As it is a police mate of Mrs S's went round "off duty" to wag the finger and warn him.... quiet way seemed best.

Just goes to show tho eh....even your neighbours teenage kids (or their mates) are a threat.

[Big Boy]

I am getting a bit confused reading this thread. Is it thiefs in <stealing/breaking in> or thiefs in <property developers>?

Maybe this thread should be filed under properties....

Matbe its time Angry Jennifer followed up as promised

Well this is about to change and i need your help!
Please report every break in or any other criminal act, with the stolen items or the amount of money!
More from me in the next days...
Angry! Jennifer

[redzonerocker]

it doesn't sound like it's just down to opportunist thieves to me.
removing bars from windows & night time 'occupied' break ins are more likely organised criminal gangs.
hua hin has quickly grown over recent years & the new housing developments in particular, are easy targets for these gangs.
there are a multitude of home security devices, all serve as deterrents so the more you have the better.
unfortunately, the criminals are becoming just as adept at by-passing these devices

[STEVE G]

Many Thais still build there houses up on pillars with steps up to a solid door with glass-blocks around it. This way the windows are out of reach from the ground without a ladder. It's a pretty good idea when you think about it.

[Jennifer]

Nice that so many answer appeared and happy to see that the poll is on the plus side!
5 robberies in the last 3 days in soi 88/1 again
3 break in in the area of white lotus and one guy have 3 dogs running around in the garden even, yes i just wait for the election and will speak to the mayor ...

[sandman67]

Jennifer

do you have some special access to the mayor?

If so then good luck angel. Good on you for having a go.

To sort this you would need to take the whole HH police force and give it a damn good shake by the neck. To be frank angel they would need to change almost every way they work.....

To stop this you would need a couple of active patrol cars, roaming beat routes, unmarked cars and plain clothes officers on surveillance etc....... all sadly beyond the apparent current abilities of the HH Police.

Here's an idea....if the mayor of HH asked, Im sure some UK or German force would send over an officer who was used to sorting this type of cluster crime to act as an adviser, help set up a crime unit, etc. Id be happy to pitch in and show how to set up intelligence led policing and targeting systems that would focus resources on the problem areas [if he could guarantee Immigration would not bust me for "working" ]....

...but the thing is without officers on patrol and actively responding to the situations / investigating crimes then its all pointless. And thats what HH doesn't have.

It would also cost tho...and it seems the mayor seems more interested in buying pretty neon signs and lit up arches than tackling crime properly.

Lets be frank... the police here don't Protect or Serve..... especially if you are a farang ex pat.

Good luck angel and I hope you get somewhere....because if you don't then the next development will be armed private security firms patrolling these developments like in South Africa and "gated communities" in America....not good for a lot of reasons.... mainly that the people who can afford it get protected, and everybody else isn't.

[dtaai-maai]

Lets be frank... the police here don't Protect or Serve..... especially if you are a farang ex pat.

Sandman, the constant use of 'angel' comes across as a bit patronising, although I'm sure it's not meant to be. Just haven't seen you using it before.

But the main point of my post is that I rather suspect that the "Protect (oneself) and Serve (oneself)" applies all round, not just to farang ex-pats.


Jennifer, good luck to you. Can I ask what nationality you are?

Incidentally, I remember a recent spate of stickers on lampposts around Hua Hin castigating the police for their inaction in burglary cases. They were posted by a Thai national, not a farang.

[DawnHRD]

Lets be frank... the police here don't Protect or Serve..... especially if you are a farang ex pat.

Sandman, the constant use of 'angel' comes across as a bit patronising, although I'm sure it's not meant to be. Just haven't seen you using it before.

Sandman has used that term to me before & I'll admit that I didn't find it patronising. Hey, I have to take my compliments where I can get them.


Jennifer, good luck to you. Can I ask what nationality you are?

Sorry, I agree completely with Sandman's post. If Jennifer is lucky enough to actually get an audience with the mayor, it will be all smiles & sincerity & absolutely nothing will change. I apologise for anyone that thinks I'm being unduly cynical, but I have very good reasons for being of that opinion, which I'm not really willing to go into.

Incidentally, I remember a recent spate of stickers on lampposts around Hua Hin castigating the police for their inaction in burglary cases. They were posted by a Thai national, not a farang.
And they were all ripped down within a couple of days.

My answers in bold.

[icebear]

Go and see the mayor...

Jennifer, I would look at your own security arrangements and make sure that those are of high quality, such as motion detectors/lamps, etc. maybe even patrolling security guards if the neighbours are willing to chip in.

Your case has nothing to do with the mayor's office. Better make reports to the police directly or attend to the complaints office-tourist police.

Can you imagine if every foreigner living here would go with his/her own concern to the top administation office?

After living in Thailand for many years may I give you the advise to live here quietly, peacefully, pay your dues and enjoy what HH has to offer. Do not mix into politics, police matters, etc. and keep out of trouble. The end of the day we can be lucky to still be around for a few years if they let us living here.

By the way, HH is not the only place with burglaries. Look at Phuket. The season for burglaries has just started again with the up-coming low season. And this is due because many workers are laid-off or paid half salaries during this period. I bet that in other provinces in Thailand it'll be similar.

[Super Joe]

re: police not caring about farang burglaries

my missus and another thai has spoken to police that have been called out repeatedly

they consider many farangs (not all obviously) are wasting their time, as they do not use the security facilities in the house, and do not take precautions like leaving 6 months thai wages sitting on a coffee table

they've got a point imo, and im guilty of it too, left a laptop on a table, if i wasnt so lazy i could have locked it away

if there were towns in europe where people knew there would be 6 months money conveniently hanging around, then it would be burglary city

.

[kendo]

[quote="buksida"]I think a lot of these break-ins are being carried out by opportunist, transient, layabout builders. Most sois in Hua Hin have several houses under construction or renovation and hence the pack of Issan builders. We have a number of them in our soi and you can just see them nosing into other peoples houses during their 4 hour lunch break. Doesn't make one feel very secure having to leave the house for a couple of days.

i agree with this, my wife has just spoken to family back in our village and we have had three atempted breakins since mid march, but only now have i been told, the reason they have failed is when i built the house i had it elevated by 1 metre so the bottom of the windows is just above head hight so maybe thats a factor to not getting turned over properly so if you intend to build think about security.I feel very pissed off that i have only now been told but my wife said "Ken you dont understand,the price of rice has doubled and every thing go up in price so much everyone is starting to have very bad times houses are getting broken into every where not just down in rich areas like HH in our village at least five other houses that i know about have been turned over.People are getting hungry and will do anything to look for money".So i think that everywhere the problem is going to get worse it's not just because of construction site's and more people in one area,if you really are that despirate you will travel to farang area's and do bad things in order to feed your family so up grading your security would be a wise idea.On the news here last week In Haiti they are having riots and in the Philippines, the rice is going to market under armed guard this is really becoming a global problem and i think it will get far worse than this,it's not just money for songkran drinkie's or for the low season there is a far bigger picture here.

[sandman67]

Kendo

gotta agree mate....differentials in living standards are particularly acute here, and the resultant social problems aren't helped by the constant barrage of shitty soap operas showing urban Thais living in designer houses etc, car ads, etc that are the staple of evening Thai TV. There is also a general perception that ex pats / farangs are all rich....Mrs S cant understand why back in the UK I cant afford a decent house in London despite owning a company.

One tip that does work is to plant thorny bushes under ground floor windows...Mrs S has installed a few real buggers round our widows now with thorns an inch long. Natures own razor wire.

If you can get the pull pin siren rape alarms here a cheap alarm system can be cobbled together by buying a few, connecting the pull pins to window latches and fixing the alarm to the wall. Once the window opens the pin gets pulled out and the siren goes off instantly, scaring the willies out of any potential intruder.

Laptops? BIOS password lock them so even if stolen they are useless and need new hard drives installing. Put em away when you go out somewhere daft like the cupboard you keep pans in. Burglars are usually in a hurry and don't look in the kitchen cupboards.

Valuables? Stick em in a secure box and put it in the loft.....again burglars never look in the loft do they? Alternatively one of those fake "bean can safes" is a good option here....again kitchens are rarely raided.

Jennifer, I would guess by her posts and wording, is Thai. If she gets anywhere at all with the mayor or his cronies, and that then gets translated into a swift kick up the collective MIB arses Id be amazed.

Im with Dawn on this one.

The police in Thailand would have a problem catching a cold, never mind a real criminal. The fact they ignore evidence at a scene, such as finger/shoe prints etc says it all. Sad, but true.

The fix for these cluster crimes is relatively simple but would require radical changes in the way the police in HH work....and that aint gonna happen now, tomorrow or in the foreseeable.

So at the end of the day it is, as usual, down to us to "Protect" ourselves and "Serve" the community by keeping an eye out for your neighbours.

DM I call ladies "angel" or "love" because I grew up near Wigan, and have worked with a cockney partner for the past 15 years....I'm not being patronising at all....its just how I speak. (Thanks Dawn....you actually are an angel I think - hope the dogs are OK).

Sorry if it offends but Im too old and set in my ways to change the way I talk.

[kendo]

Sandman the wife said to me that people ar even breaking into houses to steal rice and food that how bad things are getting up in the village.Two of her coussins are coppers and live on the same soi but they have no intrest in catching anyone they just expect this to happen from time to time, some other family live next door and behind are house, and hearing the thud of people jumping over the 1.8 metre wall they were alerted so the thiefs did not have much time to have a really big go at the window frames, thanks for the top tip spikey bushes under windows.Has anyone else got any top tips on theft prevention.

[sandman67]

yeah...

...if they are climbing over your walls try adding some small jaggy bits of broken glass, broken tile, rusty barbed wire etc along the top of the wall....small so you cant see em when you look at the wall from below. About an inch or so sticking up is enough.....2 or so inches in from the outside edge of the wall. Cue sliced fingers.

Then plant thorny bushes around the outside/inside of the wall for good measure. There are some with pretty flowers...the ones Mrs S used have small sunflower like yellow flowers on em....very pretty. She got them from a plant place down on the canal road...

Im shocked that the rice/food problems have got so bad so quickly.... those poor sods must be real desperate....... as the "worlds rice bowl" Thailand should be ashamed of that.