LOL Emma - the authorities don't need to do that - Thailand has a worldwide reputation for having the best penis re-attachment surgeons in the world - it's commonplace for Thai wives to perform the amputation whenever infidelity is suspected (note - suspected, not proven). Also never forget the "third sex" make up 2% of the population here - women who were once men and have had the full series of operations .... if you think that's worrying - consider Malaysia has over 100,000 true bi-sexuals - born with both sets of genitals (never surgically corrected) and elevated to priesthood during puberty when their breasts begin to develop.
Is rape commonplace in Thailand? Unfortunately yes, ranking only slightly above violent murder in the crime tables - and both are all over the Thai language newspaper front pages daily
Fairywishes - the bump was to give info about the outcome of the trial - to show that at least a sentence was confirmed. I know the original report of the crime got a lot of peoples hackles raised and thought they'd like to know the outcome.
Minyrra - the bit you missed - don't worry - there's a lot of the facts that didn't make it into the news reports in the English language papers, because the source articles are mainly written by Thais (who don't think like westerners) and a lot of what is / was relevant to western observers is seen as irrelevant by Thai reporters (and officials).
- the Thai press are Reporters - they Report (with capital R) verbatim what they are told - they're not known for investigative activity or interpretation of information - in the universities, teaching trend analysis and prediction skills remains one of the hardest tasks a teacher can be given. The concept of cause and effect does not exist in Thailand.
DM - in this country, for any woman to dress in any manner other than what would be polite in front of her parents automatically gets her labelled as "available and willing" in the Thai male psyche - something that almost every western tourist does not understand.
Wearing a short skirt and shorter top (especially spaghetti strap tops) displaying her midrift is like hanging out a neon sign saying "I WANT SEX" to a Thai male, and they will damm well make sure they get it with the advertiser - especially on the southern islands where they tend to be bolder and less intimidated by whiteys.
So far in 2006, dozens of tourists (mainly Brits but including some Aussies & Euros) have been reported in the papers as raped by locals in the general area south of Bangkok (southern peninsula and islands) - none have been reported up here in the North (this year). Remember not every case gets reported, so there may be many more. There has also been some tourist women shot in drive-by incidents (too teasing and refused to play?).
In every incidence of rape reported, the woman forgot her basic self-protection skills (carried away with the Land of Smiles image and "ooh aren't Thai people friendly" mentality comes through in each report). It's no excuse for the actions of the men involved, but again I want to remind people that throughout Asia, women are often less than second class citizens, and they can be regarded as mere chattels in some cultures.
I'm not saying I agree with the mentality, but that's how it is - recognise it and survive, or ignore it and put yourself in danger.
Another factor is what I call the "Passage to India" mentality - think of the Brits portrayed in that movie and analyse how they treat, or act towards, the locals (Edward Fox excepted) - many western tourists, especially Brits, still display that colonial arrogance and it really gets up the locals' noses, especially as Thailand was never subjected to colonial rule.
Enuff - I have to get some work done.
Sorry I wasn't around most of the week - Tan's mum died last saturday and I had to shoot through to Bangkok for the funeral midweek. Still catching up now.
Gaz
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