Armed Robbery in Kanchanaburi, Dec.99

Dear Editor,
here comes a little soft-crime story for the Thailand column:

Was mountainbiking in Kanchanaburi area, police district of Dan Makhamtia.
Took a look at the Burmese border, not a lot to see, as this consists of
mountains and forest with not much more.
At certain times, the KNU comes over to Thailand, normally if the Burmese
army puts some effort to push them back / out. This is not very dramatic, no
villages burned down and such. People of the area are familiar with the
Karen, some of them live in Thailand and they speak Thai. However, the
tension at the border doesn't really contribute to a foreigner's safety.

Last weekend was a long weekend because of the King's birthday. Saturday
evening, I was coming back from the border, pedalling towards the Huay Yai
Thong Garden, a Thai-Style Resort for wealthy Bangkok clientel, as you would
put it.

It was 6:15pm, just about getting dark, the road uphill with me going slow.
A motorbike with two guys passed by, stopped some meters ahead of me.
They got off the bike, one of them had a gun and indicated I should stop. I
did.
He spoke Thai and I didn't understand too much of what he said. I concluded
that he was one of the many soldiers who secure the area and he had the idea
I couldn't go on. I tried to make him understand that I'd have to hurry to
get on to the nearby checkpoint soon, but it didn't bring me any further.
Well, a truck came by, lots of people on it, going home from work in the
forest. The guy with the gun "interrogated" the driver and after some
minutes, the truck was allowed to go.
I was also allowed to go, though the motorbike caught up with me a few
meters later and stopped me again, now turning off the engine and the
situation looked a bit wrong.
These folks were definitely not from the Burmese or Karen army, they wore
civilian clothes and were obviously drunk. The guy with the gun asked if I
had whiskey or cigarettes, neither I had. They wanted to browse through my
luggage but I didn't like the idea. The armed man pointed out that he had a
rifle and he took it off his back and into his hands, pointing it towards
the ground. He instructed me to take my shorts off, and I felt that the
situation could get pretty much out of hand. Where was my guardian angel !
Well, I gave it a try, produced a 1000 Baht bill from my bag and passed it
to one of them. He seemed to be surprised, held it up against the last bit
of light from the sky, found he liked it and had nothing to say.
I slowly moved away and they didn't stop me. The gun was still pointed to
the ground and the one guy staring at the bill, the other guy staring at the
first guy with the gun. I moved away further, and further, and further, they
didn't move. My guardian angel had frozen them.
While I cycled up to the checkpoint, I never heard the motorcycle engine
start, they must have waited there or rolled down the hill. To my surprise,
the checkpoint was deserted, only an old man and some dogs there. I passed
unchecked and put on some speed down the hill on the other side, reaching
the resort in short time.

******* So far the first part of the story, here comes the 2nd part:

The owner of the resort urged me to report to the police as she wanted the
area to be safe. So we went.
The Kernel of the local police took care, he called the tourist police from
Kanchanaburi and they were round in half hour.
A group of inspectors toured the villages and searched for evidence.
With the Kernel and with my host and interpreter, I spent at least 3 hours
to get the report done, hundreds of questions where too often I had to say
"can't remember".
After, we drove to the spot where the incident happened (cool if you have a
GPS and can be so sure about this spot).
Well, by then, the inspectors had a good idea who could have done it and we
drove out to some villages where I could see the suspects. It was dark, the
villages were deep in the forest, lousy roads. Obviously, the folks relied
heavily on my GPS and my flashlight to come back. We came back, found
nothing but abandoned villages and everyone went home.

2 days later, I was called by the police. I shall come to Dan Makhamtia, one
suspects was arrested, the driver of the truck recognized him, the suspect
confessed, the motorcycle and the rifle were both found. The second guy was
known by name but could not be found at that time. Both folks were military,
one of them a trainee.
The story (as told by police) was that the elder was send down from the
checkpoint to the village with B300 to buy food for the checkpoint. Instead,
he bought wiskey and drank it with the second guy.
On the way back to the checkpoint, they felt pretty bad for what they had
done and tried to gather some money. They asked the driver of that truck,
but he had none. They were more successful with me and police calls it an
armed robbery, now.
It felt good to hear that the rifle was rather harmless, it was the man's
personal one for shooting birds.

That day, everyone was around. It was a major exercise. Kanchanaburi tourist
police came with the Police Colonel, and with their inspectors. They also
brought a cute translator (she was so nice). The LTC from the 109th
Artillery Batallion left me his phone number and e-mail, so I could check
with him when I come 'round for mountainbiking next time (he could update me
on landmine status and KNU acivities). All the checkpoints were overstaffed
and all soldiers properly dressed. Local Press was everywhere and shot
photos of my long nose, the suspect, the rifle, ...

Alltogether, we replayed and photographed the story. The suspect drinking
whiskey at the shop, riding the motorbike, stopping me. We visited all the
places again and took lots of photos.

Well, why was it such a big thing ? It was armed robbery, not just robbery.
It involved a tourist. It involved the military. At this police district, it
was the 2nd robbery in one year and the Kernel did not want to let this go
unpunished. Last but not least, it happened in Kanchanaburi, a heavily
touristed province that would suffer if such stories repeated.

******* And here comes the third part, rather a "hear-my-recommendations"
part:

So what are the risks in Thailand ? KNU ? Burmese Army ?
No. The major risks are drunken Thais, traffic accidents and dogs.
In 2 years, 2 dogbites and 3 incidents with drunken locals. For the traffic
accidents, my guardian angel takes care 100%.

Is Thailand dangerous ?
No. Not at all, compared to US.
My robbers were actually quite nice, did not shout at me, push me around,
beat me up and such.

In Thailand, should you report a crime to the police ?
If it can repeat, then please. Iit can help another traveller and it makes
the police feel important.
But if there is insufficient evidence or if you say you can't identify the
bad guy, police won't start working.
Also be aware that it doesn't pay. You lose time, you might miss flights,
you might have extra travel expenses. Stolen money you may not get back. In
my case, the B1000 have been drunken and eaten and the people have only
debts.

Is the Thai police any good ?
Yes, they may be a bit slow but they definitely know right and wrong. And
they are nice. Particularly the tourist police.

Should I carry a weapon ?
No. You will hardly ever need it. And if you use it in the wrong way, you
could be jailed.

eof

Regards,
Martin