2 replies to this topic

[paultain]

Nation journalist held up at gunpoint by 'police'
Published on January 13, 2011

Walking along Sanphawut Road at around 4.30pm on Thursday, my son and I were stopped by a group of three men, one in uniform, standing opposite the Chinese temple.

They nodded at each other then stopped us and asked whether we were Indians. Assuming they were policemen, I answered yes and showed them my driving licence and ID card for The Nation, where I work. One of the group then snapped: "You don't talk anymore. We are from Immigration. We want your passport." Another man emerged from the rear seat of a Toyota Vigo pickup and pushed us into it, taking away my wallet with ID card, driving licence, credit card, debit card and money, while two of the original group got in the front.

We told them our passports were at home, and they said they'd take us there. Instead, they sped past our building, telling us to "shut up" and that they were taking us to Immigration. After demanding my wallet, I succeeded in snatching it back. Instead of taking a right-turn for Suan Plu and the Immigration Department, the pickup went left to Thanon Thangrot Fai Sai Kao and towards Samrong. I said I needed to call my office and inform them I was being taken to Immigration, but they would have none of it. In the commotion I realised that the man next to me was trying to prise the wedding ring off my finger. It was obvious that all of them were drunk and looking to make a quick buck from innocent foreigners.

I managed to get the ring back, then, as I tried to call my office, the man in the back grabbed at my cellphone. My son protested, and was told that he was "talking to much" by the driver, who threatened he would be shot. His partner in front then produced a gun, cocked it and pointed it at my son.

I told them they didn't look like real policemen (two were in plain clothes), and asked to see some ID. Simultaneously they produced their cards, saying: "How dare you ask such questions. We don't like The Nation. You are against the police. You'll be taken to Pattaya and shot."

We asked what they wanted. The "policeman" beside us produced a cellophane bag and ordered us to put our belongings in it, then grabbed at the wallet belonging to my son, who resisted. The man responded by trying to put handcuffs on my son. The front-seat passenger again pointed his gun at my son, barking that he "deserved to die".

Looking for an exit, we wound down the windows. The pickup then slowed as we reached an intersection, and we took our chance, struggling desperately with the "policemen" in an effort to open the doors. I cranked open my door, which was immediately nicked by another car, causing the driver of our vehicle to scream at his colleagues to stop us. At this point we began yelling for help to attract attention.

The spooked driver swerved towards the right kerb, and we managed to jump out. The pickup, with number plate Cho kacher O ang 5342, then sped away against the traffic in the wrong lane.

We were shaken up, but knew we could have suffered much worse at the hands of three out-of-control, drunk, gun-wielding thugs calling themselves policemen. It was a hair-raising ordeal and my 17-year-old son is already having nightmares. This is Bangkok, not the badlands of Pakistan or Iraq, and yet men in uniform are able to roam the streets preying on foreigners. I dread to think what the outcome would have been had something similar happened to my wife or any woman less able to defend herself.

George Cherian
Sports editor (The Nation)

[male4ladyboy]

I read about this on ThaiVisa, but the whole story sounds suspicious. "I realised that the man next to me was trying to prise the wedding ring off my finger...I managed to get the ring back" There are enough nerves in the fingers to be instantly aware that someone is 'trying' to take a ring off your finger. Oh, in one breath he was only 'trying'... but in the next, 'I managed to get it back'. Also to open the windows and then to open the door and for two people to manoeuvre enough to jump out while a gun was being pointed at them is ludicrous. The writer watched too many pathetic Thai movies, he is desperate for attention, or The Nation just hasn't changed as far as accurate reporting goes...?

lmao...

[paultain]

male4ladyboy, on 13 January 2011 - 02:04 PM, said:

I read about this on ThaiVisa, but the whole story sounds suspicious. "I realised that the man next to me was trying to prise the wedding ring off my finger...I managed to get the ring back" There are enough nerves in the fingers to be instantly aware that someone is 'trying' to take a ring off your finger. Oh, in one breath he was only 'trying'... but in the next, 'I managed to get it back'. Also to open the windows and then to open the door and for two people to manoeuvre enough to jump out while a gun was being pointed at them is ludicrous. The writer watched too many pathetic Thai movies, he is desperate for attention, or The Nation just hasn't changed as far as accurate reporting goes...?

lmao...

Yes MALE4,
I agree with you, as he was a 'professional journalist' his writing didn't quite make the mark!
"Trying to get the ring off!" and "getting the ring back!" made me wonder what happened in between. Also the "handcuff" bit, did they escape with them on? or was the cops not able to get them on?

Why did the cops mention taking them to PATTAYA to blow them away, when all they had to do was just drive to a remote area on the outskirts of Bangkok?

Edited by paultain, 13 January 2011 - 02:38 PM.