5 replies to this topic

[LarryCA]

"The family of a Canadian man who died last Jan 6 in Mae Hong Son after he was shot point-blank by a policeman has demanded that Canadian authorities step up pressure on the Thai government to close the case. According to a story on the Canada.com website, the family hs been told the policeman may be prosecuted, but there has been no action on the case.

Leo John Del Pinto, 24, died after being shot in the face and chest on Jan 6, and his female friend was wounded in Pai district town of Mai Hong Son province. His friend of that night, Carly Reisig, 24, recovered from a gunshot wound near her heart at the Pai hospital.

Police originally said the shooting was accidental, but the Department of Special Investigations later ruled the shots to the head and chest were no accident.

The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs informed the family that "conditions are favourable for prosecution", but there has been no action. Ernie Del Pinto, Leo John's father, said he feels the Thai government is stalling because it hopes he'll forget the case, the Canada.com report says. But he has vowed to press the case. "All the conclusions are the same. This was not an accidental shooting - yet we do not have a court date," he is reported as saying.

He has demanded wants that the Canadian government put strong pressure on Thai authorities to take the Pai policeman to trial. Del Pinto also is asking Canadians to sign a petition at www.justiceforleo.com, and has started an advertising campaign for the Justice For Leo Fund, which he unveiled Tuesday."

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=128885

[Hedda]

What a deplorable situation for any expat or visitor in Thailand to contemplate, Thai or farang.

By all accounts, this double shooting homicide by a allegedly drunken policeman, who shot one Canadian dead and grieviously wounded his female companion, should have resulted in a trial long ago. The fact that this kind of official foot dragging is happening in a highly publicized farang case makes it all the more disturbing to those who wonder if there is any commitment to the rule of law in this country.

[Gene]

In case you missed it, the Thai authorities apparently have dropped all charges against the policeman who "accidentally" shot and killed one Canadian tourtist and seriously wounded another in Mae Hong Son in January, 2008:

'The Thai policeman who gunned down two Canadian tourists in the Northern Thai village of Pai in January this year has been released without charge by a court in Bangkok.

And the case against the police sergeant who killed Leo Del Pinto, 24, from Calgary, and Carly Reisig, 23, from Chilliwack B.C., has been brought to an abrupt halt because of ‘procedural errors.”

The case against police sergeant Uthai Dechawiwat had earlier been taken out of the hands of local police and placed in the hands of the Department of Special Investigations, Thailand’s FBI, by former Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.

The Canadian Ambassador in Bangkok, David Sproule, who has expressed the Canadian government’s ‘serious concern’ was told by SDI officials , that they had been told by the Public Prosecutor that the procedural errors were made in the early stages of the investigation.

But those errors, the DSI claimed, were not by made by them but by colleagues of the policeman, Sergeant Uthai Dechawiwat in Pai Police, whose chief has already been reported to the National Counter Corruption Commission by Commissioner Dr. Surasee Kosolnavin of the Thai National Human Rights Commission.

A DSI official said: “ The clock has stopped, but we can start it again and bring the case to court in Bangkok.”

The case has again raised concerns about the difficulty in Thailand getting police to accept culpability for their own actions.

Leo’s father Ernie Del Pinto said in Calgary: “We all know there was a cover up in Pai. That is why I believe the DSI was ordered to take over the case. They should be above all this. This is very worrying. How long does it take to get any sort of justice in Thailand.”

http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2008/11/22/...oliceman-freed/

[DOLLY]

The case has again raised concerns about the difficulty in Thailand getting police to accept culpability for their own actions.

I am shocked that the release of this killer received so little attention in the press. How can any tourist or expat feel safe in a country where policemen can kill foreigners in such cold blood and not be punished ! I hope this case gets a lot more publicity in the international press because none of us farangs are safe if we can be mowed down by drunken cops who escape all punishment. This is one part of Amazing Thailand that we can all do without. The one big lesson that it teaches is that farangs should avoid any and all contact with the police, especially one like this, who liked to "socialize" with foreigners.

[B.I.G.]

The one big lesson that it teaches is that farangs should avoid any and all contact with the police, especially one like this, who liked to "socialize" with foreigners.

It's not just farangs. Unless they are part of thefamily, most Thais who have no police connections avoid contact with the police like the plague. You will frequently hear them being referred to as "mafia" by many of the workers at the beach.

Let's hope that this Canadian case starts to get more publicity because it's really an outrageous case if you read that article. This policeman fled to Burma after shooting the two Canadians, killing one, and claimed that he didn't even know the woman he shot three times "accidentally." Then they found the woman's camera with pictures showing the policeman with the woman in a bar ! How they could dismiss these charges defies understanding. It really suggests to the world that the Thai government doesn't give a damn what happens to tourists in Thailand. They'll spend millions on promotions to get you here, but once you arrive, you're on your own.

[Bob]

It really suggests to the world that the Thai government doesn't give a damn what happens to tourists in Thailand.

I don't believe the Thai government or elite are anti-foreigner or anti-tourist at all. They really don't give a damn about anything or anybody including the locals. Their sole interest, it seems to me, is to keep themselves in power and retaining their share (most) of the wealth of the country.