i wonder if Police start to take this gang related violence serious enough now to start special unit to track them down and understand what happens. it will take proportions soon that can be overwhelming.. as in Rio, LA, Soth Africa and so on... and what about the guns on the streets?

Posted by Frog on January 29, 2015 14:11

Saphan Hin has seen it's fair share of shootings between rival gangs. I would not characterize it as "usually quiet".

Certainly more incidents there than in most other parts of Phuket town, albeit usually night time.

That aside, I wonder how many mindless killings it will take before the local police force gets serious about getting guns off the streets.

Posted by Herbert on January 29, 2015 14:11

What is it with these gangs of youths from colleges all over Thailand going out mob handed to chase after petty grudges and 'face' issues? This has been a huge problem in other parts of the country and it now seems to have arrived in Phuket. This was one of the things the PM was keen to stamp out so maybe we can get the Army back to Phuket to finish the job it abandoned. It still won't bring K Golf back though.

Posted by Mister Ree on January 29, 2015 15:11

I don't know the boy who passed, but I do know dozens of his friends and hundreds of the 15-19 year old students who witnessed the aftermath and saw a young boy die in the street.

Somewhere is a mother who has just lost her son, but the suffering is certainly felt by many.

Posted by Nearby on January 29, 2015 17:02

Mister Ree, have you been brought up in a sterile environment of an upper floor Manhattan flat with atrium ceilings?

Adolescent hooliganism in a form of "gangs" that are set up either by pure territorial principle of a local district or by association with their school, or whatever other connection, is so wide-spread across developed , developing and third world countries.
They usually operating within their microcosm and their set of informal rules.
The only cure is keep teens busy with something , but usually it requires middle-class parents, who are able to pay for vocational activities of sport, music classes etc.

Phuket youth bands are really widespread , and they are looong time here.
They are widespread , especially those on territorial basis, but good things that they are mostly continued to themselves.
I'm sure there ones also in Kamala/CherngTalay (just take a careful look on the lateral side of Fantasia in the evening ..) everywhere where are living quarters of local population.

About gangs who are firmly attached to their alma-maters in Thailand, I strongly believe that instigators, organizers and abettors of this shxt are entirely management of these colleges, as they see it as a way of affirming standing of their managed enterprises by such means , not by quality of tuition or employment rate of graduates. It is evidenced by reports that during classes encourage students of that kind of rivalry, by ranting on and insulting competitive establishment, not doing even a minimum to prevent keeping weapons on campus etc.
If street gangs is of global pattern, these "technical colleges" rivalry-up-to-death is so Thai event, I never heard about something like this in Europe.
Obviously , those colleges should be dissolved and restructured en masse, or, as a very minimum top and middle-to-top management should be changed to ppl not from the System.

Posted by Sue on January 29, 2015 21:01