A Thai court held a young Aussie Jack Hansen-Bartel in custody today on a trivial misdemeanour charge concocted by a Chinese-American millionaire whose son and one other are accused of a vicious attack on him last year in Koh Samui.
The same police force which has been involved in the investigation of the murder of Britons Hannah Witheridge has placed a misdemeanor charge – and the same court has put Jack behind bars if only temporarily.
The penalty for the offence, were he to be found guilty would be less than US$50 but Jack and his mother have appealed for leave for Jack to attend Monash University in Melbourne and have been having trouble raising the cash for international bail.
Meanwhile his accusers, Raymond Chang and Ryan Wang are on serious assault charges and have been allowed to return to the United States. Both Chang and Wang attended the Shanghai American School. Chang is now at Cornell University, New York.
Jack Hansen-Bartel from Melbourne attended the New International School of Thailand. All were on holiday on Koh Samui last June in the police controlled Green Mango Club in Chawaeng, when Jack was the subject of a serious attack, and is now undergoing a two year course of surgery.
The alleged culprits were quickly found, shopped by fellow pupils who were horrified at what went on. But shortly afterwards Chang’s millionaire father Raymond Nobu Chang, currently studying at the John f Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, arrived to bail the his son and Wang out.
They then asked police to present assault charges against Hansen-Bartel.
But police could not find the evidence, hence the misdemeanor charge. A Japanese New Zealand young woman, Tiffany Turner, was put forward as a witness claiming Jack was pestering her. But she is now refusing to give evidence after CCTV footage was discovered showing she had lied.
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| Chang (back left) Wang (right) |
Jack’s mother Annie Hansen took the matter to the military government which said it would ensure transparency – but today’s decision indicates they have little influence over the Koh Samui cartels – or simply did nothing.
On Facebook today Jack’s brother Jesse writing from Melbourne said:
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| Raymond Nobu Chang |
“Today day I learned that my brother is being held in jail on feeble, misdemeanour charges brought upon him by the defendants Raymond Tony Chang and Ryan Yunshang Wang; a ploy clearly tactical in nature, designed to detract from the severity of charges against them.
“He was pushed to the ground by prison guards once in the cell. He was put in the cell with a paedophile who raped little girls and killed them, and an ice dealer. It was reported to me via a proxy at the court that a settlement was offered by the defendants’ legal team, and that the figure promulgated was meagre and offensive, and was subsequently rejected by our legal counsel.
‘My brother faces years of reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation, and requires a formidable amount of money to complete his treatment.
”The defendants are spineless, and their families lack integrity whilst they continue to deny culpability. We will be going after them, their families and Tiffany Mariko Turner – the perfidious female antagonist who remains at the centre of this situation. We will continue to pursue legal justice for Jack. It is fortunate that there is a new public prosecutor assigned to our case (the old one was allegedly corrupt).
Annie Hansen-Bartel is reported to be trying to raise bail – but she has limited resources,
UPDATE; BAIL HAS BEEN RAISED AND JACK HAS BEEN RELEASED
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| Tiffany Turner and Ryan Wang |
COMMENT: This case happened last year. It was very straightforward. The two Chinese Americans even admitted the attack claiming that Jack Hansen-Bartel was pestering Tifany Turner. They should have pleaded guilty and taken it on the chin. But they have rich dads and Jack was a scholarship student. In flew Raymond Nobu Chang and everything changed.
But CCTV footage of which I have a copy tells a different story. Tiffany Turner was not being pestered at all. Hansen-Bartel was merely the victim of students who become thugs on alcohol.
Now Jack is charged and Koh Samui police even sent a policeman to Bangkok by plane to formally arrest him. Thai Police would not do that unless they were paid, And Koh Samui police are notoriously corrupt. I have witnessed that at first hand. Police and the courts do not care about the Hansen-Bartels who are even having trouble existing in Thailand while this case continues in a disgusting and dilatory legal system. All they care about is cash. Its Thailand’s shame.
It now looks like this case is going to take years – but that’s the norm. Seems like there’s another Embassy out there that should be more direct in its travel advisories. Jack I should imagine will be out later if not already.
Is there a fund? disgraceful! Thailand has manged to reach rock bottom!
http://www.gofundme.com/JacksMedicalFund?fb_action_ids=10152920635532518&fb_action_types=og.shares
The American authorities do seem to be having a crack down on fraud and corruption (FIFA). How about e mails to the 3 establishments currently educating this scum and also to Homeland Security?
I sincerely hope that these Chinese-American thugs go down for a very long time.
Somehow doubt it though.
This whole case changed when the large ego of the father arrived. The police then started to look for any way to put the blame on poor old Jack. In true Chinese style there was no admission of guilt, no compassion for the victim, no compensation offered, just a very dirty attempt to shift blame and worm out of the charges. If anybody thinks this wasn't just a case of bribery they are deluded. There was a very clear case of perverting the course of justice when the evidence points to a straight out ambush style bashing with a weapon. The damage done to Jack is way to excessive for a fist, you don't even see that much damage in the UFC.
If the rich father offered to foot the hospital bills for Jack it would be a different story. It seems he prefers to do deals with the police instead of taking responsibility for Jack's injuries. Why else would a Samui policeman fly to Bangkok to charge Jack? Who paid for that? Who instigated it? It all points to the father. It's disgraceful.
This Chinese father's online profile is Drew Noyes like with it's self absorbed claims of wealth and power. If the father was a man of integrity he'd put his hand in his pocket and pay for the expenses Jack faces instead of meddling in the case. He'd also make his son own up to his cowardly actions. I won't hold my breath.
I'm just catching up on this story, but why are the Thai police so interested in this clear case of foreigner on foreigner crime?
That usually isn't the case.