Happy Sunday, Bangkok!
Another busy week in the Land of Smiles, especially on the criminal side of things.
The notorious ‘Khon Kaen Bar Girl Murderers’ were handed down heavy jail sentences, $45 million worth of crystal meth and yaba were seized in Bangkok, and a Pattaya street vendor allegedly slapped a trans woman in the face with a durian after she complained about the taste.
Let’s see what else has been entertaining and enraging Bangkok this week…
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News
Bar girl killers handed 23-34 year sentences
The four female defendants found guilty in the 2017 murder of 22-year old Warisara Glinjui, a bar girl in Khon Kaen, were handed down heavy sentences today.
Two of the women were sentenced to 34 years and 6 months for collusion in the murder, illegal disposal of a corpse and robbery, one was sentenced to 33 years and 9 months for collusion in the murder, disposal of a corpse and methamphetamine usage, and the other was handed down a 23 year, 4 month and 20 day sentence for assisting in the murder, destroying a corpse and collusion in a robbery.
They have 30 days in which to appeal.
Thailand moves to allow seizure of cryptocurrency
Government officials this week announced plans to allow law enforcement agencies to seize cryptocurrency assets of suspected and convicted criminals.
They are unable to do this at present as cryptocurrency is not currently recognised in Thailand as a regular currency or monetary asset, but will seek to change this by amending the law. This is hubristic, however, as crypto is not a regular currency and has been specifically designed in part to avoid such seizure.
Crypto experts explain that the decentralised nature of the currency means that police will not be able to seize assets without the owner’s consent, as they will need a private key in order to transfer funds out of the crypto wallet in question. Successfully brute forcing passwords to wallets has been described as ‘near impossible’.
Thailand expected to approve medical marijuana testing on humans
The cabinet is expected to authorise human testing next week as part of research into the effects of medical marijuana.
The Office of the Narcotics Control Board have drawn up a draft narcotics code allowing this medical research, which will be presented to the cabinet next week. If approved, the draft will be deliberated by the National Legislative Assembly, and if endorsed, become law within 180 days of publication in the ‘Royal Gazette’.
Panels are being drawn up to oversee each individual issue surrounding the medical use of marijuana, including plant cultivation, property extraction, and the plant’s medicinal value in convention and traditional medicine.
Blogs
Bangkok’s expat crime fiction scene is booming
A fantastic survey here of the expat writers penning Bangkok-centric crime fiction in the city, with a heavy focus on noir. Whether you’re looking for a new detective series to get your teeth into, are interested in the dark side of expat Bangkok where the men come with baggage and the women they meet are fatal, there are plenty of options in this post which should keep your Kindle chugging away for a few months.
The struggle of being a female entrepreneur in Bangkok
An interesting post here from Blair Cadet, a female entrepreneur who, until recently, was living in Bangkok. She has some insightful, possibly even controversial, views about surviving as a businesswoman in the city — including the importance of ‘dating smart’, something that male entrepreneurs need not be so concerned about, and dating within their class or upwards.
We don’t agree with everything she writes here — we refuse to believe every Western marriage is tested on arrival into Thailand because of the man’s penchant for the local women — but there’s certainly plenty of food for thought.
Forum Threads
Virgin vs Chad: Pattaya style
If you’ve ever wondered what folks on 4chan think of the Western men who visit Pattaya, take a look at this Reddit thread, where you’ll be divided into two categories: ‘The Virgin Pattaya Visitor’ and ‘The Chad Veteran Thai Whore Monger’.
They’re both awful. Although presumably not as awful as the dude at home actually creating these memes.
The Virgin is beset by such troubles as a Thai girlfriend that’s always ‘yek yek’ (nagging) with him; having to support a family, sick buffaloes and an entire village; and the horror of having to pay for every prostitute he hires.
The Chad, on the other hand, “always gets free fucks from prostitutes” (lucky him), doesn’t speak a single sentence of Thai despite living here for over 10 years and, joy of joys, “can heal a buffalo just by touching it with his hands.”
Bar girl girlfriend troubles…
If you’ve ever considered shacking up with a currently operating bar girl, you might think twice after reading about this Thaivisa member’s distressing night. DRAMA.
This chap has been in a ‘part time’ relationship with a bar girl for the past 6 years and, after taking her to a free concert along with her room mate, another bar girl, got into a spot of bother. On the walk home to the hotel, the room mate apparently started to become abusive, at which point our hero decided to act like a man and escape to 7-Eleven to buy a cheese toastie, leaving his part-time girlfriend to deal with the room mate.
On returning to their room, he finds the room mate pinning his girlfriend to the bed by her neck, punching in the side of her head. Pulling her off and kicking her out, he is upset to see that other hotel guests had taken an interest in the shenanigans and were all peering at him down the corridor. He’s wondering whether he did the right thing or should have just stayed out of it, and allowed the girls to keep fighting.
I mean, if this was just a couple of random bar girls who you didn’t know going to town on each other then, yeah, maybe it would be OK to leave them to it. But why would you leave your girlfriend of 6 years (part time or no) to continue being beat up by her room mate?! Grow a pair, mate.
YouTube
Durian vs cat 😀😀 pic.twitter.com/HVGXxUw2SU
— Thos Major (@ThosMajor) May 10, 2018
Bangkok, Live On Tour. pic.twitter.com/klRfHqSxji
— Harry Styles. (@Harry_Styles) May 9, 2018
So here we are, having Thai dinner, and they’re blasting Tupac. #SoiLife #Bangkok pic.twitter.com/V4vzFK0oqR
— Signore Sammy (@signoresammybkk) May 10, 2018
#Bangkok ‘Hi-Sos’ having a great old time at #centralembassy #Thailand, Big Bird sadly seems less impressed. pic.twitter.com/19M72ZxOVk
— mraidanjones (@mraidanjones) May 9, 2018
Just read a travel blog about a woman who went to Bangkok’s weekend market on a Tuesday and was gutted to find almost everywhere closed up.
I always think the clue is in the name.— Phil / Ajarn.com (@Ajarncom) May 9, 2018
Rare photographs of David Bowie exploring Bangkok in 1983. pic.twitter.com/w6BuzR1NNz
— Classic Pics (@ClassicPixs) May 8, 2018
On “special” at only 25,000 baht pic.twitter.com/eEoQ65qUXN
— Stickboy Bangkok (@StickboyBangkok) May 6, 2018
How I start dancing after the first bottle of samsong pic.twitter.com/UIVFZL21IY
— Chris Thomas (@miamict) May 9, 2018
Our staff bought their new pet to work today. Meet Bob the beetle…. pic.twitter.com/bG67bAsLrN
— Ian (@iamKohChang) May 9, 2018
And that’s been The Week On Sukhumvit — see you next time!
Featured photo by Joshua Rawson-Harris on Unsplash
