Thailand’s Deadly Adventures

Godfree Roberts — Sat, 08 Sep 2018 00:31:06 +0000

Thailand’s Deadly Adventures Kill People Regularly.

Twice a year I run stories reminding everyone that Thailand’s deadly adventures, its rides, are nothing like Disney’s. Nothing. Note that, in Thailand The maximum penalty for negligence causing death is 10 years in jail and a fine of 20,000 baht ($600). Most offenders receive a small fine and no jail time. Here’s the most recent series of unfortunate (but avoidable) events:

A Kuwaiti tourist was killed in a bungee jump accident at the popular Patong beach in Phuket Wednesday evening, police said. Pol Maj Thirasak Boonsaeng rushed to the hospital and found the body of a Kuwaiti man on a bed. Doctors had performed an x-ray and found that he suffered broken neck and broken right lib. A hospital official said a pick-up truck delivered the tourist and the driver initially claimed that the tourist fainted and passed out. But the hospital staff did not believe him and pressed for more clarification before the driver admitted that the tourist fell from a bungee jump. The driver then sped off. Police told reporters that a link between the rope and the elastic cable of the bungee jump broke off while he was falling down. Police will investigate to determine if it was an accident or carelessness.

Elephant gores man to death at Thai beachside restaurant
“An elephant killed a 28-year-old Thai man and injured his colleague as they were eating dinner at a beachside restaurant in eastern Thailand, police said on Wednesday.

The local telecoms employee died in hospital after the elephant gored his chest with its tusk as he ate hotpot with a fellow worker in the coastal city of Rayong late Monday.

“They were talking to the mahout [elephant keeper] about buying food for the elephant when it suddenly stabbed one man in the chest with its tusk and kicked the other,” local police Lieutenant Thawat Nongsingha said.

The mahout has been charged with offences including violating animal welfare legislation and negligence causing death, Thawat said. He added the mahout had been released from custody while the elephant was still under the mahout’s care”.

Author John Stapleton, an Australian journalist who lives in Thailand, says, ‘Life in Thailand is cheap. And the deaths of foreigners often go unlamented; even unrecorded. Tourists are still given few warnings of the reality of the situation they are entering.’

Sure, the tone of the book is alarmist, but its underlying message is pretty clear: even if they appear calm (they’re often sedated) don’t approach wild animals unless you’re capable of retreating quickly. Don’t rely on gear (like bungee cords) unless you’re familiar with its correct usage and have inspected it thoroughly yourself. It’s that simple.

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Thailand’s Dangerous Elephants

Godfree Roberts — Fri, 11 May 2018 15:24:43 +0000

Beware of Thailand’s Dangerous Elephants

Thais are easygoing about personal safety. If you want to play with a tiger or a snake, they’ll let you. They assume you know the risks. If the tiger mauls you, the crocodile bites you, or the snake crushes you…that’s your business. There’s no legal recourse. No-one holds you back from taking risks, and no-one compensates you if you’re injured as a result. Last year a woman, an experienced Australian veterinarian (she worked with farm animals in the Australian countryside) approached a Thai pigmy elephant without having been introduced – and the animal charged her, gored her, and killed her. This year it’s someone who should know better: a Thai. A Thai monk, in fact.

A Buddhist monk in Khao Saming district of Trat province was killed when he tried to chase away a wild elephant entering the temple looking for food.

The incident happened Sunday night at Wat Khao Cha-om temple in Village Group 8 of Tambon Sator of Khao Saming district. However the body of the monk identified later as Phra Prasit Jakavaro.

Temple boys told the police that several wild elephants entered the temple area last night as they used to in the past few months looking for food.

Phra Prasit came out of his living place to chase the elephants as usual.

But this time one elephant didn’t go but charged into the monk. He ran around a mango tree in bid to escape but couldn’t make through.

He was pulled with the trunk and smashed at the tree, and stepped on the head by the angry elephant.

He died with his face to the ground near the tree. His face was crushed and skull and several bones were also broken.

The abbot of the temple said wild elephants coming down from mountains for food was a chronic problem of the temple and villagers.

He said two years ago a villager was also killed by wild elephants in the same area.

Source: http://englishnews.t…ant-kills-monk/

Bear in mind that elephants are highly emotional, intelligent, and proud creatures. Treat Thailand’s dangerous elephants with great respect and equally great caution and you’ll find them to be wonderful, even inspiring.

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Thailand’s Deadly Adventures