VIDEO of Fatal Stabbing Outside Taipan in Patong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hn6TsoSx2g&feature=youtu.be
PHUKET: When Kurt Trotnow was bashed into a deep coma in a so-called ''dog pack attack'' near the nightclub end of Patong's Soi Bangla walking street, alarm bells should have sounded for international envoys and Phuket police.
The 53-year-old German expat got into an argument over whether a tuk-tuk fare should be 100 baht or 200 baht one night in 2011. In retaliation, he was jumped by a gang of drivers. He came close to being killed.
After the brutal stomping, Kurt Trotnow required skull surgery on Phuket and later in Germany. Nobody was ever arrested for the crime.
That attack took place about the same spot in the row of parked tuk-tuks near Taipan nightclub where 59-year-old Australian expat Mark Pendlebury found himself fighting for his life last week.
The reason: he had simply been trying to use his mobile camera in a public street to record an eviction from Taipan.
There was no legitimate reason why he should have been chased up the street and attacked.
A young security guard was stabbed and killed as the Australian fought for his life. Mr Pendlebury said that he only survived because of the intervention of two tourists.
They may have been Indian or from the Middle East, he couldn't remember precisely.
We looked at his forehead last week and saw what seemed to be the marks of the sole of a boot on his forehead.
Sadly, there was no security camera footage of the attack on Kurt Trotnow.
Fortunately for Mr Pendlebury, there was one security camera version of the attack on him. The mystery is why there was only one camera trained on a section of road that has become notorious for attacks.
Since the murder of Australian tourist Michelle Smith in 2012 in Kata Noi, south of Patong, the west coast tourist nightlife hubs are supposed to have been peppered with security cameras as part of a community safety zone project.
The tragic attack that led to the death of 26-year-old Sanya Khluewaengmon last week showed that the safety zone project no longer seems as reliable as it should be.
''About 50 percent of the security cameras in Patong are out of action,'' a source with knowledge on the topic told a Phuketwan reporter. For obvious reasons, the contact prefers to remain anonymous.
Fortunately for Mark Pendlebury, the one single piece of security camera footage supports his account of what happened in the street outside Taipan and the nearby tuk-tuk rank last week.
Without that footage, he would be struggling to combat the initial reports that were quickly spread by police to an eager, accepting media: that he was drunk, and that he had attacked the security guard with a 20-centimetre knife.
There appears to be a tendency for Patong police and some Phuket media outlets to accept these kinds of biased accounts all too quickly without objective, independent research.
According to protocols agreed between the international diplomatic community and Phuket administrators and police, the Australian embassy or the local honorary consul should have been advised immediately of Mr Pendlebury's arrest.
An alleged murder is clearly a major incident.
Several hours after the attack, it was a Phuketwan reporter calling for comment who alerted envoys to the incident.
By that time, Mr Pendlebury had either already been charged with murder or was about to be charged with murder.
Police have also since told Phuketwan that they will not question the tuk-tuk drivers about the death of Khun Sanya unless Mr Pendlebury accuses the drivers of involvement.
We hope that Australian embassy officials - who flew from Bangkok for Mr Pendlebury's successful bail application - continue to suggest to Patong police that their investigation should be as fair and broad as possible.
The hope is that more security camera footage emerges and that independent eyewitnesses who are not security guards or tuk-tuk drivers will come forward.
Regrettably, many of the police now in senior positions across the holiday island are from previous posts where they had no interaction with tourists.
Those officers need to be reminded regularly about the protocols of informing national representatives immediately there's a major incident.
One of the many good points about the three-monthly meetings between the island's honorary consuls and administrators and police was the constant reminder that Phuket is an international Thai destination, with shared obligations to support the safety of residents, tourists and expats.
The fact that those meetings are not being held any more reflects poorly on the outlook of the island's present governor and his predecessor.
Both of them have proven to be extremely reluctant to listen to consuls and envoys, the representatives of the tourists and expats.
As time passes without reminders, it means that the police on Phuket will grow more ignorant about international protocols and standards.
It also means that despite the best intentions of the ''Patong Safety Zone,'' repairing or redirecting the 50 percent of security cameras that are out of action or pointed in the wrong direction is not a priority.
The cracking of Kurt Trotnow's skull and other ''dog pack attacks'' down the years should have led to local authorities peppering that part of Patong with security cameras.
There's just one that we're aware was there. Are there more?
The way Patong works, without that camera Mark Pendlebury's account that he was initially the innocent victim would have been difficult to substantiate.
Phuket's authorities must now show their commitment to the ''Patong Safety Zone'' by erecting cameras that reveal all that happens in future in that stretch of road.
Restoring the honorary consuls' meetings immediately would also be a wise initiative.
VIDEO of Fatal Stabbing Outside Taipan in Patong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hn6TsoSx2g&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hn6TsoSx2g&feature=youtu.be
PHUKET: When Kurt Trotnow was bashed into a deep coma in a so-called ''dog pack attack'' near the nightclub end of Patong's Soi Bangla walking street, alarm bells should have sounded for international envoys and Phuket police.
The 53-year-old German expat got into an argument over whether a tuk-tuk fare should be 100 baht or 200 baht one night in 2011. In retaliation, he was jumped by a gang of drivers. He came close to being killed.
After the brutal stomping, Kurt Trotnow required skull surgery on Phuket and later in Germany. Nobody was ever arrested for the crime.
That attack took place about the same spot in the row of parked tuk-tuks near Taipan nightclub where 59-year-old Australian expat Mark Pendlebury found himself fighting for his life last week.
The reason: he had simply been trying to use his mobile camera in a public street to record an eviction from Taipan.
There was no legitimate reason why he should have been chased up the street and attacked.
A young security guard was stabbed and killed as the Australian fought for his life. Mr Pendlebury said that he only survived because of the intervention of two tourists.
They may have been Indian or from the Middle East, he couldn't remember precisely.
We looked at his forehead last week and saw what seemed to be the marks of the sole of a boot on his forehead.
Sadly, there was no security camera footage of the attack on Kurt Trotnow.
Fortunately for Mr Pendlebury, there was one security camera version of the attack on him. The mystery is why there was only one camera trained on a section of road that has become notorious for attacks.
Since the murder of Australian tourist Michelle Smith in 2012 in Kata Noi, south of Patong, the west coast tourist nightlife hubs are supposed to have been peppered with security cameras as part of a community safety zone project.
The tragic attack that led to the death of 26-year-old Sanya Khluewaengmon last week showed that the safety zone project no longer seems as reliable as it should be.
''About 50 percent of the security cameras in Patong are out of action,'' a source with knowledge on the topic told a Phuketwan reporter. For obvious reasons, the contact prefers to remain anonymous.
Fortunately for Mark Pendlebury, the one single piece of security camera footage supports his account of what happened in the street outside Taipan and the nearby tuk-tuk rank last week.
Without that footage, he would be struggling to combat the initial reports that were quickly spread by police to an eager, accepting media: that he was drunk, and that he had attacked the security guard with a 20-centimetre knife.
There appears to be a tendency for Patong police and some Phuket media outlets to accept these kinds of biased accounts all too quickly without objective, independent research.
According to protocols agreed between the international diplomatic community and Phuket administrators and police, the Australian embassy or the local honorary consul should have been advised immediately of Mr Pendlebury's arrest.
An alleged murder is clearly a major incident.
Several hours after the attack, it was a Phuketwan reporter calling for comment who alerted envoys to the incident.
By that time, Mr Pendlebury had either already been charged with murder or was about to be charged with murder.
Police have also since told Phuketwan that they will not question the tuk-tuk drivers about the death of Khun Sanya unless Mr Pendlebury accuses the drivers of involvement.
We hope that Australian embassy officials - who flew from Bangkok for Mr Pendlebury's successful bail application - continue to suggest to Patong police that their investigation should be as fair and broad as possible.
The hope is that more security camera footage emerges and that independent eyewitnesses who are not security guards or tuk-tuk drivers will come forward.
Regrettably, many of the police now in senior positions across the holiday island are from previous posts where they had no interaction with tourists.
Those officers need to be reminded regularly about the protocols of informing national representatives immediately there's a major incident.
One of the many good points about the three-monthly meetings between the island's honorary consuls and administrators and police was the constant reminder that Phuket is an international Thai destination, with shared obligations to support the safety of residents, tourists and expats.
The fact that those meetings are not being held any more reflects poorly on the outlook of the island's present governor and his predecessor.
Both of them have proven to be extremely reluctant to listen to consuls and envoys, the representatives of the tourists and expats.
As time passes without reminders, it means that the police on Phuket will grow more ignorant about international protocols and standards.
It also means that despite the best intentions of the ''Patong Safety Zone,'' repairing or redirecting the 50 percent of security cameras that are out of action or pointed in the wrong direction is not a priority.
The cracking of Kurt Trotnow's skull and other ''dog pack attacks'' down the years should have led to local authorities peppering that part of Patong with security cameras.
There's just one that we're aware was there. Are there more?
The way Patong works, without that camera Mark Pendlebury's account that he was initially the innocent victim would have been difficult to substantiate.
Phuket's authorities must now show their commitment to the ''Patong Safety Zone'' by erecting cameras that reveal all that happens in future in that stretch of road.
Restoring the honorary consuls' meetings immediately would also be a wise initiative.
VIDEO of Fatal Stabbing Outside Taipan in Patong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hn6TsoSx2g&feature=youtu.be
Sorry to say I doubt the Police or their bosses, the tuk-tuk drivers, would ever accept a "safety zone" that would record their actions. This is a job for the big boy's in BKK to implement.
Posted by hotgem on March 16, 2015 12:48