Laotian girl cut in half by speeding Porche

[Vital Spark]

Not necessary Velboy. We all know what happened.

VS

[velboy]

Not necessary Velboy. We all know what happened.

VS

Not everyone

Better know nothing than half-know many things

[Randy Cornhole]

Be warned that the video link velboy posted is very very graphic.

I couldn't watch it all. Very sad indeed.

[Frank Hovis]

Having viewed the link, I am not sure of the suitability of the video footage for an open forum. I have referred the video to Admin for a decision in the morning. If it is considered suitable, Admin will re-instate it tomorrow

The link is of a Road Traffic Accident, far and away NOT the most gruesome result of an RTA I've seen despite the obvious bizarreness of the bifurcation. Perhaps it might serve as a tiny reminder to all road users that the outcome of something moving at speed, such as a car, motorbike, train etc, hitting a living being is rarely a pretty sight. Not wearing your helmet, crossing the road as if drivers might slow down, expecting other road users to care if you live or die, is putting an awful lot of trust in other people, people who frankly don't care whether you exist or not.

As an aside, the car suffered surprisingly little damage, I once hit a mentally retarded chap with my car, I was doing 80 miles per hour and he completely wrecked my car so much so that it was written off by the insurance company (he too was sadly non-repairable but that had been his goal). It's an extremely odd set of circumstances to cut a person in half and barely damage the car.

[redzonerocker]

Send the little bastard to jail for a 10 stretch, stick daddy in the cell next door for 5 for lying to the police and hiding his son. Sieze their house, sell it and give the dosh to the Lao mother.

Court adjourned

NEXT!

Have to agree too

[Lev]

We have reviewed the video and concluded that it is very disturbing and highly disrespectful to the family of the deceased, Thai newspapers may feel comfortable publishing such gruesomeness however we like to believe that we operate with a little more civility and respect.

[MrPlum]

'Rich kid cuts innocent 17 year old in half!'.... "Russsnnn...fusssnn... rich twat... snarrrl.... slaver..."

"Wheeeee.....! KerrrTHUMP!!!" 'Predator missile cuts innocent pregnant child in two!', (on an almost daily basis)... "Hurraaay!!" "One shot. Two Kills!", "Did ya see that sucker go?" Wow!" "F**k 'em! She 'deserved' it!", hahahahaha!

Either that, or silence.

'Keyboard' warriors are ever ready to send others to fight their wars for them but ask them to sign enlistment papers and they run a mile. In a similar way 'Class' warriors are only too happy to work out their envy and malice at the wealthy and automatically condemn them, but I'll bet if they had money and influence they would be doing everything they could to keep their son out of jail.

I may be wrong and the apparent callousness of the youth attending the Ching Ming festival certainly doesn't reflect remorse but I nevertheless think some of our reactions are based on cultural differences and a failure to understand the Thai system. It is the cultural norm to pay off victims families and police. Is it really such a bad system?

What would you do if a little girl ran out between two cars on a sink estate in Tower Hamlets and was killed? You would get the hell out of there as fast as your legs could carry you before a feral Winston Silcott came bearing down on you with a machete. In Thailand you are at risk of being beaten to death. It's why train drivers leg it after train crashes. They fear the revenge of the mob. I can see MrS now, right in the thick of them... 'string the rich twat up!'

Of course he's going to call his father for guidance. You would be on your mobile to YOUR daddy. Wouldn't you?

His crime is the same as all 19 year olds, irrespective of class. They are 19. That's it. They don't yet have the wisdom we've acquired through a lifetime of making cock-ups. He MAY be arrogant but you don't know that. He MAY be spoilt but you don't know that, either. It's just an assumption. Last I heard, while obnoxious, those qualities aren't illegal. Whether arrogant, spoilt or just foolhardy, he sure as hell didn't plan to mow her down. And if his car was able to generate such speed the road was probably straight and long. So why didn't she hear or see him? If she DID see him and misjudged the speed, that's a misjudgement on her part, irrespective of whether half her body is in a ditch and the other half is in Tunbridge Wells.

It isn't murder. It is manslaughter. An accident.

Aren't Porsche to blame for producing killer vehicles? Aren't the government at fault for allowing poor driving skills and for creating a culture of immunity for the rich? Aren't the girls parents at fault for not teaching her to look, right, left and right again and keep on looking and listening until she crossed the road? Did the girl not know minivans and SUVs are tearing around the Thai roads at high speed? Where was the public crossing? Isn't 'jaywalking' a crime? How do you know he didn't try to avoid her. If he had missed her and killed himself in the process, would you be saying the 'rich git' deserved it? If it had been a cow on the road we would be complaining at farmers not keeping control of their livestock and expressing relief that the driver wasn't hurt... unless he's rich, then [insert insult here].

Roads are dangerous. Drivers aren't perfect, pedestrians aren't perfect, laws aren't perfect, vehicles aren't perfect. Accidents ARE going to happen.

I'm all for bankers being strung up for knowingly wreaking havoc on the planet but unless I've missed something, this lad is in the same category as young men who ride cars or motorcycles, without fear. It's a great thrill until they lose a leg. I saw many young men in Portugal, limbless. THEN they understand the dangers because they spend the rest of their lives with the consequences. How many of you have made mistakes on the road and breathed a sigh of relief, heart racing? It's easy to be wise after the fact.

It's impossible to replace a child. Just as it is normal to grieve. We sympathise. Who wouldn't? Shock, anger, rage are normal and understood. Once some measure of calm is restored, then the incident can be handled with equanimity. The family will receive monetary compensation, which they would not receive, if the boy's family had been dirt-poor peasants. And they may not have received if the boy goes to jail.

It doesn't matter if you spin it as 'blood money', or spout medieval views on crime and punishment. This is Thailand and they operate in the same way as their neighbours in this regard, in fact other nations around the world do the same. If you can afford to compensate the family financially, and they are accepting, then it's a far better solution than our taxes being used to pay for prisons, lengthy incarceration and turning people into gang-raping, degenerate beasts. Is our system of crime and punishment any better? Don't our own wealthy escape their crimes? They get Nobel Prizes for mass slaughter, don't they?

Gordon Wilson was praised as a 'Saint' for forgiving the terrorists who murdered his daughter in Northern Ireland. Cold-blooded murder, where she was blown to pieces. Instead of being torn up with thoughts of revenge, he was remarkably at peace. This was an important lesson, which many still do not grasp.

You can rise above personal pain and teach others a lesson in dignity,tolerance and forgiveness. Or you can join the slavering mob bent on revenge and class hatred.

I guess the choice is down to each individual. God forbid, if anything like this ever happened to me, I would be glad to be able to buy my way out of a prison hell-hole and provide the family with some cash.

[E-Dork]

Very Good Post Mr P

[T.I.G.R.]

"If she DID see him and misjudged the speed, that's a misjudgement on her part, irrespective of whether half her body is in a ditch and the other half is in Tunbridge Wells.

It isn't murder. It is manslaughter. An accident."

*******************************************************************************************************************

BULLSHIT.........

It's vehicular manslaughter and hit and run, both felonies in civilized countries.

Of course it was also an accident. That doesn't recuse the person responsible for the accident for behaving in a responsible manner. Nor does it excuse him for the penalties to be assigned to his behavior.

No, I wouldn't be on the phone to my daddy. Fortunately I was raised to be responsible for myself. I wonder how much money that's worth.

Not everyone with money behaves irresponsibly or teaches their children that wealth will keep them safe when they've made "mistakes"......I'm quite sure there are wealthy families in this country who are just as disturbed by this as most of us writing or reading about it are. So let's take a break and remember that it's a big world where people are killed every day. Where those who can try to keep their youngsters safe from themselves, where those who can't suffer more than those who do.

Who knows what these families will go through as they process this terrible accident. Years of misery are surely going to be at hand for many of those involved and the best we can and should do is pray that they will come out of it the best they can.....and that it doesn't happen to us.

[redzonerocker]

I find it quite sad that anyone can attempt to make a victim out of the driver

A few years in prison will give this individual time to reflect on his irresponsible & reckless behaviour.

How ever long he serves, he will always have a release date, something the victim & her family will never have

[STEVE G]

Aren't the girls parents at fault for not teaching her to look, right, left and right again...

Surely not as much as the Father who let the boy drive the Porsche!
I don't think anyone would even insure a 19 year old to drive one of those in most countries and that's because teenage boys are seen as irresponsible drivers.

[Randy Cornhole]

They probably think they are above insurance being hi-so and all.

[MrPlum]

There is a useful discussion to be had on how societies deal with these kinds of issues. If your opinion is presently inflamed by emotion, then don't read any further. I don't care to be brow-beaten for debating legitimate questions. I didn't run the girl down. Keep your misdirected anger to yourself. Ta very much.

I don't think anyone would even insure a 19 year old to drive one of those in most countries and that's because teenage boys are seen as irresponsible drivers.

It's obviously not a concern here, when the mass of the population don't wear helmets and you can get 7 on a motorbike, 3 of them babies.

Surely not as much as the Father who let the boy drive the Porsche!

I quite agree. But there is no evidence, yet, he was over the speed limit. Nor that he has committed any kind of crime. It's an accident. Right? If it's an accident, then it's not a crime. If there is no crime, then why should there be punishment?

What IS 'sad' is this pre-judging him on the basis of constantly changing media reports. To some, he callously drove 10k, with this girl's torso sat next to him. No doubt laughing as he called his mates and chalked one up for the rich. How about he was in shock or didn't know what to do but knew he had to flee the scene. Had he stayed and been beaten to death I'm sure the responses would be different... 'Why didn't the daft twat leg it? Doesn't he know this is Thailand?'

Condemning him because he's 'rich' isn't justice. It's PREJUDICE. I've asked a few Thais what happens here and they all answered the same. If you have money you escape prison. This applies to rich AND poor. The poor have this option available to them, too, even if they can't always find the money.

Applying YOUR moral or ethical code, along with YOUR idea of punishment, to this incident isn't worth a damn. Whether you like it or not. You aren't back home any more.

The true test of your moral courage is when YOU are locked in a Thai slammer and are presented with the opportunity to buy YOUR way out for 200k. Are you really telling me you wouldn't take it? That you would say 'Nope. I deserve this, so I'm going stay in this hell-hole for the next 10 years'? How noble of you. I'll bet your moral conviction will last all of 24 hours, when the realization of what you have let yourself in for, dawns on you. Have you seen the inside of a Thai prison?

Do you really think the victim would want this for you? What if her family don't agree with such harsh punishments? What if vengeance isn't a part of their cultural upbringing? What if they believe an eye for an eye means both of you are blinded? Would they want that on their conscience? Has anyone asked them? They certainly don't have to take the money.

The sum involved perhaps should be greater. What would happen if the compensation was $1 million or $10 million or tied to wealth on a sliding scale? How many poor or desperate Thais would throw themselves in front of Porsches, sacrificing themselves to take care of their families? Are you sure this wouldn't happen in a society where life is cheap?

My wife and I were knocked off our motorbike in the UK, travelling at 60 mph by an elderly driver who side-swiped us, he was charged with 'driving without due care and attention' and served no jail time. The insurance payout was supposed to ease the 'pain and suffering' of a destroyed motorbike, injuries, ruined holiday, my wife's traumatized refusal to ever ride a bike again, the time lost off work, etc.. etc... MONEY! That's what insurance is. MONETARY compensation. Is this really so different to what happens in Thailand? MONEY is easing the pain? Without all the hassle of court appearances, re-living the trauma, being sucked dry by lawyers, waiting years for compensation. Cash in hand, both parties satisfied?

If this is morally repugnant to you, then put a value on a human life. What is your method of valuing human life? Isn't it also repugnant, for some people to place a cash value on human life? The family can go out and buy mag wheels for the truck and a new washing machine? Isn't this just a little 'tacky'? Lacking in reverence?

It isn't defending the victim to point out that his family will also suffer, if he is jailed. In what way does draconian punishment help the victim, if she's dead?

My wife and I didn't cuss and gnash our teeth because an elderly man should have been doing time. Because he was a menace to other drivers. We could have taken that line but for what? Besides the satisfaction of revenge, what good would it do? We both called him and forgave him. Because we understood it was a lapse in concentration, that's all. He was grateful. Now, if he does it again, you obviously have a problem.

I am NOT defending the perpetrator. I pretty much argue for global justice in every post I make and it is desperately sad and painful for any family to lose a loved one. In this instance, I am questioning the response of society and the seriousness of the 'crime' and its punishment. While the consequences are grisly.... how can they not be when you're hit by a speeding chunk of metal?... it is a fact (if you believe the boy's version of events) that the girl walked out from behind a bus and it was too late for him to react.

Until such time as he is proven guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt (a western standard) of breaking any law, then it remains a tragic accident.

Doesn't it?

[T.I.G.R.]

Mr. Plum -

That's twice you have attempted to place part of the blame on a victim who factually was run over by at a speed that literally tore her body in half, by a driver who factually fled the scene, taking her lifeless body with him, and then factually put his blinkers on at an undetermined distance down the road, got out of his car and called a taxi to take him home; leaving her lifeless body to whatever fate might befall it.

Let's get what facts we have at hand straight......I've seen the car; I've seen the video where the police recover the car; I've seen the victim; I've been in a car accident in a Porsche doing 80 miles an hour; I was hurled through a closed glass sunroof when the car flipped over several times; I was not cut in half, nor mortally wounded. I believe the driver was going like a bat out of hell in this case. I believe then, his careless disregard for anyone else on or off the road at the moment of the "accident" was such that he committed a felony. A serious felony that he should be held accountable for.

I don't think blaming the victim, even in part is appropriate. I don't much care about the rest of your post as we all have our own feelings and reactions to this. I do care about feeling some real sympathy for a fourteen year old girl who deserves a little bit more respect from you. Not an arguable point please.

end.

[Spitfire]

You are a silver tongued chap MrP, you could probably defend Hitler in a court of Israeli judges with some success.