POLICE FAIL TO FIND ATTACKERS
THEN VICTIM WAS PENALISED FOR WANTING TO GO HOME!
Three young British women tourists were attacked so savagely on their first night in Bangkok that a British newspaper has refused to publish full details of their injuries.
Megan Ogden, 26, and two of her friends were followed to their hotel room where Megan was repeatedly struck in the face and needed stitches, her friend had her jaw broken and the other had serious injuries, and two of the three women were left unconscious.
Said Megan: ‘My face was so swollen, I was in shock and terrified. I just wanted to go home.”
The woman were taken to hospital. The incident was reported to Thai police who never caught her attacker .
‘And, as the police hadn’t been caught the attacker, I just didn’t feel safe. No one with any human decency would have expected me to stay in Thailand after such a horrifying attack,” said Megan, from Bristol.
This report was not on the front pages of the British press because like most attacks in Thailand it was not reported at the time.
The Embassy knew of course, but whichever police station was involved, did not make the attack public.
Even after being discharged from the hospital Megan and her friends paid to stay longer because they felt unsafe going out.
The report was in ‘Money Mail’ a subsidiary of the Daily Mail, but this publication is not yet banned in Thailand. The link is here. No details are given of when and where the attack was.
Why did Money Mail take up the story? Well when she returned home Megan made an insurance claim.
It included a £124.95 for her medical bill, £37-worth of dental treatment, £109.60 to cover the fee she paid to change her flight, a £171.19 refund for internal flights that had been pre-booked and a hotel stay she wouldn’t use, and £181.75 for call charges she’d incurred phoning family after the attack.
That seemed reasonable enough.
But Natwest asked her why she did not continue with her holiday.
“Physically you can continue with your trip, right?”
They paid just for £76.27. That was £498.22 less than her claim.
Natwest Insurance was eventually shamed into paying up.
So the British embassy knew but was inclined not to assist even in giving information. So a British bank only paid up because they were eventually shamed into doing so.
If it weren't for the power of investigative journalism and the viral nature of the internet, both organisations would have effectively raised two fingers to the plight of these women.
I'm not a golfing man, but it all seems par for the course for British institutions these days. The UK needs to return to the standards when an Englishman's word was his bond and some attitudes which were deemed "not cricket" would be stamped out. No-one of that calibre now it seems.
Wrong. The British Embassy not only visited the women in hosptial but assisted them in their complaints to police.
And the British consulate insisted that the police recover cctv footage and did their job to the best of their ability as usual.
I had my UK bank account emptied last week and of course it wasn't the Thai banks fault and of course the consulate couldn't help as it wasnt a Thai bank account.
After a few phone calls to Royal Bank of Scotland in UK, they discovered that the money was taken from my account after I had withdrawn from it, but the difference was that the bank never put on the withdrawal fee !!!! so you can draw your own conclusion on that.
I cant praise RBS enough for not only replacing the stolen amount, but offering further assistance to help me return to UK (which is what the funds were for) which I plan to do now as The Land of Smiles is no longer the place I have lived and loved for nearly 20 years. I have had enough. Thanks for the memories Thailand, and the nightmares.
Thanks Jules for pointing out an error
Thanks for clarifying AD but what you actually said was "The Embassy knew of course, but whichever police station was involved, did not make the attack public." which meant the embassy did not make the attack public. What I think you meant was "The embassy knew but the police did not make the attack public knowledge" You could have added what you have now said about their visiting her in hospital and assisting with the police, which would have given a very different perspective on what actually happened.
But your original piece certainly indicated the lack of attention by the embassy.
My point about the power of investigative journalism and the viral nature of the internet remains unless of course the embassy was the instigator of the leaked information.
Well perhaps I should have mentioned the Embassy to clarify that they gave consular assistance. However it was on the link I provided. I think it is quite obvious that the 'leak' came from the woman herself in relation to her insurance claim.
So when was this attack? Just as an aside, how on earth did false eyelashes, a relic from the early 60's come back into vogue? What a pain- glad to be too old to attract males and don't to have to go through glueing false hair to my eye lids.
What instigated the attack? Where did this take place? How did an attacker get into a hotel room? Where there no CCTV footage? What have the Thai Police said about this, and more to the point, what are they going to do to make tourists feel safe and secure? Etc
Thanks for clarifying the embassies involvement Andrew. Seems all those expats who support the Junta are seeing their true colors that crimes like this are covered up and it is no different than before.
Christy, you should get out more.
It is very much in vogue amongst Air Asia cabin staff, the ladies that is.
Very droll, Jules.
Back on subject, maybe more expats should agree with you and get out more too. Not understanding face and the economic realities of finances with the West limits the understanding of many here. Hopefully I'm preaching to the converted on the Ad site. I wouldn't even bother on Thaivisa. They've reported nothing on Alan Hall and other fraudsters.
Yes Fred. That statement needed clarifying. It initially read that as if they were doing little. In these sensitive times clearer comments are called for.
As for the junta (?), – it's now the government – approved by the king and the international community. America continues with aid and military exercise, though I have hinted why previously.
AD has himself written of the honeymoon period which resulted in the anti-corruption actions of the military being so well received by the Thai people. I had doubts about the longer term; maybe AD has too, I don't know.
Gaw Tao has been a PR mistake, as again I have already said, but face is important to Thais and Prayuth and the military are not all powerful within the country. Thais at least realise that.
The West won't and can't push much further – again I have explained why in my opinion that is so. The shit will hit the proverbial at the UK inquests next year, if that is correctly or allowed to be reported by he UK authorities.
The viral nature of the internet and AD's aggressive investigative journalism – 1 million hits – is a big factor in highlighting the wrongs of both Gaw Tao and western fraudsters.
I'll declare an interest and say that I flew back from Bangkok with Dyfed police after the Kirsty Jones rape/murder and while I won't comment I would say two things:
1. The internet was not so powerful then
2. Blair was very instrumental (though not successful) behind the scenes. Credit to him for that.
Yes Fred. That statement needed clarifying. It initially read that as if they were doing little. In these sensitive times clearer comments are called for.
As for the junta (?), – it's now the government – approved by the king and the international community. America continues with aid and military exercise, though I have hinted why previously.
AD has himself written of the honeymoon period which resulted in the anti-corruption actions of the military being so well received by the Thai people. I had doubts about the longer term; maybe AD has too, I don't know.
Gaw Tao has been a PR mistake, as again I have already said, but face is important to Thais and Prayuth and the military are not all powerful within the country. Thais at least realise that.
The West won't and can't push much further – again I have explained why in my opinion that is so. The shit will hit the proverbial at the UK inquests next year, if that is correctly or allowed to be reported by he UK authorities.
The viral nature of the internet and AD's aggressive investigative journalism – 1 million hits – is a big factor in highlighting the wrongs of both Gaw Tao and western fraudsters.
I'll declare an interest and say that I flew back from Bangkok with Dyfed police after the Kirsty Jones rape/murder and while I won't comment I would say two things:
1. The internet was not so powerful then
2. Blair was very instrumental (though not successful) behind the scenes. Credit to him for that.