My Friends Robbed At Their Home While They Slept !

[imaneggspurt]

The day before yesterday my friend woke and looked out of the bedroom window to see his front gate open, when he got downstairs literally everything of value was missing,.( total assessed at $15000 ) .one item was a 44inch plasma tv, these very smart/confident ? thieves, they removed the security grill from the front downstairs window and entered that way, amongst his stolen items are 2 computers,..he lives in a cul-de-sac and they would have had to walk out with this stuff,.he lives there with his wife and 2 year old daughter,.on checking downstairs and outside they had also attempted to steal his 2 motorbikes by removing the security chains he had on them ( with his keys they had found ) also ( and this is the bit i find scary ) they had left a knife/machete about 18 inches long on his sofa,.i know some of you wil pick holes in this but im writing this to make you aware,they were in bed upstairs with a 2 year old,god knows what would have happened had he woke and disturbed/confronted them, rightly they are moving out as it seems the police told him they are in that area every day responding to break ins,......... be vigilant my friends,.

[patsfangr]

How about telling us specifically where this occured, at least as much as the general neighborhood?

[imaneggspurt]

How about telling us specifically where this occured, at least as much as the general neighborhood?

Just up from the railway tracks a left turn into a cul-de-sac

[Chopper]

Post deleted by me.

Edited September 10, 2008 by Chopper

[lazeeboy]

bringing a knife or taking one from your kitchen seems to be the norm,left my carving knife next to the window when they robbed me ,luckily i was out ,im sure these people would use it if fronted

[imaneggspurt]

bringing a knife or taking one from your kitchen seems to be the norm,left my carving knife next to the window when they robbed me ,luckily i was out ,im sure these people would use it if fronted

Well its too late for last time so to speak, but hes had second thoughts about moving and has had the garden taken out and adding a garage, also he has subscribed to a deal where the police come 4 times a day/night and sign a book to prove they have been, along with cctv and auto lights,.

[DonTron]

Does anyone know what rights we have to defend ourselves in Thailand?

In Denmark, if someone breaks into your home and you as much as break the burglars pinky nail, then you can actually go to jail. You are supposed to call the police and do nothing against the burglar. Some might find that ridiculous but Danish burglars dont bring guns like in US or machetes like in Thailand, almost no Danish burglaries end up with violence so this passive attitude actually works. And when you think about it, these criminals are ususally so pressed to get money that they turn desperate, so what would you rather lose, a plasma TV or you health/life?

(that said I would probably smash the head in on anyone entering my house at night, even in Denmark :-))

It would be nice to know what my options would be here in Thailand. Can I shoot them, hold them down or carve them up and BBQ them? What do the law say about the rights of the owner?

Edited September 10, 2008 by DonTron

[imaneggspurt]

Does anyone know what rights we have to defend ourselves in Thailand?

In Denmark, if someone breaks into your home and you as much as break the burglars pinky nail, then you can actually go to jail. You are supposed to call the police and do nothing against the burglar. Some might find that ridiculous but Danish burglars dont bring guns like in US or machetes like in Thailand, almost no Danish burglaries end up with violence so this passive attitude actually works. And when you think about it, these criminals are ususally so pressed to get money that they turn desperate, so what would you rather lose, a plasma TV or you health/life?

(that said I would probably smash the head in on anyone entering my house at night, even in Denmark :-))

It would be nice to know what my options would be here in Thailand. Can I shoot them, hold them down or carve them up and BBQ them? What do the law say about the rights of the owner?

im not sure about us ( as foreigners ) but quite often the thais take the law into their own hands and get away with it,.i have heard of cases where a drunk will run a child down and hes kicked to death,. no one is arrested,.all seems a bit barbaric but in all honesty if you arent a violent type it wont be natural to you to use it and if a weapon is used and the other guy gets it you are in trouble, sorry i cant really think of a cast iron answer,.

[britmaveric]

Bit odd they removed all that stuff and he didn't hear anything from below?

[dingdongrb]

In the USA (Colorado at least) they have the 'Make my day' law..... It's okay to kill a person inside your home as long as you feel your life is threatened. So if someone robs you and you chase them outside, if you kill them in your yard be sure to drag the body back into your house and plant a knife in the person's hand.

Check out a movie I just watched a few nights ago.... 'Felon'

[imaneggspurt]

Bit odd they removed all that stuff and he didn't hear anything from below?

I know what you are saying brit, but its true, my wifes hearing is so good that if a fly farted she would hear it, however with this machete present im glad he didnt wake !

[chiang mai]

Bit odd they removed all that stuff and he didn't hear anything from below?

It's not uncommon, neighbors of mine suffered the same fate when intruders broke in during the early hours and removed all the electronics they could find whilst husband, wife and one year old were fast asleep just one floor away. I've started turning on the burglar alarm at night, God help me if it ever goes at 3.0am, I'll probably have a heart attack.

[toptuan]

Bit odd they removed all that stuff and he didn't hear anything from below?

I'm afraid that with a floor fan (even a ceiling fan whirring on medium to high speed) and/or an air conditioner running like most of us have, we wouldn't hear much beyond that "white noise."

[libya 115]

I did not see anything in the Thai news reports about this, although I suppose not all burglarys can be reported.

For those of you interested. English laws have changed recently allowing burglars and intruders to be murdered in cold blood by householders, except for being stabbed in the back or ambushed deliberately.

Good news at last in England.

[imaneggspurt]

I did not see anything in the Thai news reports about this, although I suppose not all burglarys can be reported.

For those of you interested. English laws have changed recently allowing burglars and intruders to be murdered in cold blood by householders, except for being stabbed in the back or ambushed deliberately.

Good news at last in England.

He reported it to the police and they came round, however they wanted to take away his furniture for finger printing !, i kid you not,.

[Meg_2003]

I have also been robbed whilst sleeping in my upstairs bedroom. I have a heavy gate which makes some noise when opening, and I never heard a thing! I was robbed in the morning, between 9 and 11am. Unfortunately, I believe the thief was an ex 'friend' of mine. But I just wanted to add that I also never heard anything. Watch out guys! Keep your gates/doors locked as often as possible.

Also, a little off topic, but in the last 7 years, I have had strangers walk into my house twice, saying they were "looking for blahblah" who they believed lived here ... I don't know if they had genuinely thought that their friend was living here, or an excuse to plan a robbery? It was a middle aged thai lady both times. Once I was listening to music with headphones on and turned to see a strange woman standing in my doorway. The other time I was in the back room and came out to see a woman standing shocked in my living room (Several people down my soi said this lady did the same to them, walking in their house) This has happened to me TWICE, I now keep my house locked as much as possible.

Lock up, everyone!

[bangkokrick]

Bit odd they removed all that stuff and he didn't hear anything from below?

Seems a bit strange to me too, but i think it was for the best given that the intruders left the large knife. Solution keep a couple of geese in the garden. They will wake the dead if disturbed and a lot harder to poison than a dog.

Cheers, Rick

[NotNew2You]

Bit odd they removed all that stuff and he didn't hear anything from below?

I'm afraid that with a floor fan (even a ceiling fan whirring on medium to high speed) and/or an air conditioner running...we wouldn't hear much beyond "white noise."

I beg to differ...with my air-con on it's lowest fan setting (when I sleep) I can hear every little noise out in my living room. These people must be very sound sleepers not to hear 2 guys removing a 44" plasma TV...them things are big and heavy and surely would have made some noise when removing it!

[patsfangr]

Your options for protection here are limited to physical contact, since guns are totally illegal. So, unless you're big enough, and trained well enough, to be prepared to take on 2 or more young Thai guys, who are likely prepared for violence, locking up is definitely your only safe and reasonable defense. As noted earlier, better to lose some electronic devices than your life.

[Meg_2003]

Everyones house is different... In my house, Its very hard to hear anything going on in the living room even when awake. It all depends on the house.

[patsfangr]

Everyones house is different... In my house, Its very hard to hear anything going on in the living room even when awake. It all depends on the house.

And the ears, Meg!

Seriously, there are a lot of factors involved: The construction materials, and the "angles" in the house; the ambient noise in the neighborhood; the "skill level" of the burglars; as well as the hearing sensitivity and sleep habits of the residents.

[libya 115]

You can buy motion detectors; similar to those in 7-11 that go Bing-Bong when the beam is broken. 500 Baht, but heavy on batteries, unless you buy a DC adapter. TOP TIP!

[Penkoprod]

I did not see anything in the Thai news reports about this, although I suppose not all burglarys can be reported.

For those of you interested. English laws have changed recently allowing burglars and intruders to be murdered in cold blood by householders, except for being stabbed in the back or ambushed deliberately.

Good news at last in England.

And when did THAT law come in????

Because the last time i looked at this very subject, it was still an offence to not display what anti vandal/intruder measures the householder has taken to protect his property, even (let alone become a "have a go hero"). This was in the form of sinage for things like anti-vandal paint, barbed wire/broken glass atop walls and CCTV cameras in operation etc, etc.

There have been recent quite high profile cases in the press here, where householders were arrested for doing just what you are saying is now the law. Some of the cheeky bastards even going to court and winning compensation claims against those who tried to prevent their own property from being taken !!!!!

Any link to such a change in legislation would be welcomed. therefore

Penkoprod

[moo9]

also ( and this is the bit i find scary ) they had left a knife/machete about 18 inches long on his sofa,.i know some of you wil pick holes in this but im w

Same happened to me and my wife more than 1 yr ago! But as we do not keep any valuables in the house, the financial damage was marginal.

I still not understand the meaning of leaving a knife or machete, but I had enough, and I decided not to stay in any house again.

Even the police was scared (my impression) when they saw the long knife on the bed downstairs.

"God created men, Smith and Wesson made them equal", one lesson I learned from it however!

Cheers

PS: and our story did not make it to the news either, but the cops told me that they have to deal with at least 20 or 30 break ins every night.

Edited September 10, 2008 by moo9

[Phil Conners]

Well its too late for last time so to speak, but hes had second thoughts about moving and has had the garden taken out and adding a garage, also he has subscribed to a deal where the police come 4 times a day/night and sign a book to prove they have been, along with cctv and auto lights,.

Yet nothing a simple as a burglar alarm. Cheap and effective. Under 20K for a professionally installed alarm with contacts on all doors/windows/trapdoors to lofts etc, 3 separate sirens and strobe flash. And yes, of course it has to be armed at night to be useful.

You can buy motion detectors; similar to those in 7-11 that go Bing-Bong when the beam is broken. 500 Baht, but heavy on batteries, unless you buy a DC adapter. TOP TIP!

Oh, come on, are you going to trust the lives of you and yours to a 500 bath 7/11 gong?

Also, a little off topic, but in the last 7 years, I have had strangers walk into my house twice, saying they were "looking for blahblah" who they believed lived here ... I don't know if they had genuinely thought that their friend was living here, or an excuse to plan a robbery? It was a middle aged thai lady both times. Once I was listening to music with headphones on and turned to see a strange woman standing in my doorway. The other time I was in the back room and came out to see a woman standing shocked in my living room (Several people down my soi said this lady did the same to them, walking in their house) This has happened to me TWICE, I now keep my house locked as much as possible.

Lock up, everyone!

Quite common, happened to us a couple of times as well (earlier days living in a moobahn with crappy security) but since then we always keep the main gate locked, also when in

[moo9]

Well its too late for last time so to speak, but hes had second thoughts about moving and has had the garden taken out and adding a garage, also he has subscribed to a deal where the police come 4 times a day/night and sign a book to prove they have been, along with cctv and auto lights,.

Yet nothing a simple as a burglar alarm. Cheap and effective. Under 20K for a professionally installed alarm with contacts on all doors/windows/trapdoors to lofts etc, 3 separate sirens and strobe flash. And yes, of course it has to be armed at night to be useful.

You can buy motion detectors; similar to those in 7-11 that go Bing-Bong when the beam is broken. 500 Baht, but heavy on batteries, unless you buy a DC adapter. TOP TIP!

Oh, come on, are you going to trust the lives of you and yours to a 500 bath 7/11 gong?

Also, a little off topic, but in the last 7 years, I have had strangers walk into my house twice, saying they were "looking for blahblah" who they believed lived here ... I don't know if they had genuinely thought that their friend was living here, or an excuse to plan a robbery? It was a middle aged thai lady both times. Once I was listening to music with headphones on and turned to see a strange woman standing in my doorway. The other time I was in the back room and came out to see a woman standing shocked in my living room (Several people down my soi said this lady did the same to them, walking in their house) This has happened to me TWICE, I now keep my house locked as much as possible.

Lock up, everyone!

Quite common, happened to us a couple of times as well (earlier days living in a moobahn with crappy security) but since then we always keep the main gate locked, also when in

We had all that stuff in our house. One night we went away to BKK, they destroyed the entire alarm system (neighbors not care) and when we returned the next day (alarm not yet repaired) they broke in again! Lucky guys, as I did not have a pump gun that time, as otherwise they would have had a few bullets in their back!

Sick!

[imaneggspurt]

Well its too late for last time so to speak, but hes had second thoughts about moving and has had the garden taken out and adding a garage, also he has subscribed to a deal where the police come 4 times a day/night and sign a book to prove they have been, along with cctv and auto lights,.

Yet nothing a simple as a burglar alarm. Cheap and effective. Under 20K for a professionally installed alarm with contacts on all doors/windows/trapdoors to lofts etc, 3 separate sirens and strobe flash. And yes, of course it has to be armed at night to be useful.

You can buy motion detectors; similar to those in 7-11 that go Bing-Bong when the beam is broken. 500 Baht, but heavy on batteries, unless you buy a DC adapter. TOP TIP!

Oh, come on, are you going to trust the lives of you and yours to a 500 bath 7/11 gong?

Also, a little off topic, but in the last 7 years, I have had strangers walk into my house twice, saying they were "looking for blahblah" who they believed lived here ... I don't know if they had genuinely thought that their friend was living here, or an excuse to plan a robbery? It was a middle aged thai lady both times. Once I was listening to music with headphones on and turned to see a strange woman standing in my doorway. The other time I was in the back room and came out to see a woman standing shocked in my living room (Several people down my soi said this lady did the same to them, walking in their house) This has happened to me TWICE, I now keep my house locked as much as possible.

Lock up, everyone!

Quite common, happened to us a couple of times as well (earlier days living in a moobahn with crappy security) but since then we always keep the main gate locked, also when in

Sad but true, sounds like we are living in a s africa ghetto,..and yes i know it can and does happen everywhere, best we move to holland where the thieves are polite, !

[kennkate]

I did not see anything in the Thai news reports about this, although I suppose not all burglarys can be reported.

For those of you interested. English laws have changed recently allowing burglars and intruders to be murdered in cold blood by householders, except for being stabbed in the back or ambushed deliberately.

Good news at last in England.

And when did THAT law come in????

Because the last time i looked at this very subject, it was still an offence to not display what anti vandal/intruder measures the householder has taken to protect his property, even (let alone become a "have a go hero"). This was in the form of sinage for things like anti-vandal paint, barbed wire/broken glass atop walls and CCTV cameras in operation etc, etc.

There have been recent quite high profile cases in the press here, where householders were arrested for doing just what you are saying is now the law. Some of the cheeky bastards even going to court and winning compensation claims against those who tried to prevent their own property from being taken !!!!!

Any link to such a change in legislation would be welcomed. therefore

Penkoprod

The law in the UK now states that you can use REASONABLE FORCE if you are confronted with an intruder.

However you may end up in court if you caused the intuder injury, and you got a scare.

Compensation to be awarded depending on the injury to the nice person who mistook your house for theirs.

Honest iI did your honor, I had taken some pills and I realy did think it was my house.

[monty]

My neighbor had a break in just 2 days ago.

Only a single female family member was in the house, she locked herself into the bathroom, called the police on her mobile only to be asked how much her donation towards the fuel fund was going to be. No donation and she was told that they would come and do the report sometime tomorrow.

This was while the burglars were ransacking the house and she was scared out of her mind in the bathroom

[moo9]

My neighbor had a break in just 2 days ago.

Only a single female family member was in the house, she locked herself into the bathroom, called the police on her mobile only to be asked how much her donation towards the fuel fund was going to be. No donation and she was told that they would come and do the report sometime tomorrow.

This was while the burglars were ransacking the house and she was scared out of her mind in the bathroom

Almost impossible to believe! I would report this to the head of police for sure, I hope the person has some contacts!