My Friends Robbed At Their Home While They Slept !

[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

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!

Of course when you're not home an alarm relies on you living in a decent moobahn with neighbors and/or security who cares!

I've seen security come around when one of the burglar alarms goes off in our village, armed with baseball bats and motorbike helmets...

[VocalNeal]

they removed the security grill from the front downstairs window and entered that way,

Just curious. How was the grill attached and how did they remove it?

[NotNew2You]

Only a single female family member was in the house, she locked herself into the bathroom, called the police on her mobile...

Smart little cookie she is too. Most home security experts would recommend that people have a "safe-room" in the house with a security door and good locks that secure from the inside. In case of a home invasion, one should retreat to this room until the danger has passed. As others have said, your life should be more valuable than a TV or notebook computer.

[monty]

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

Better believe it!

Try and call the police station when a big footie game is on. They lift the receiver and then put it down again, lest it interferes with them watching the game.

Try and call 191, often nobody even answers! One of our members had this recently trying to call them after an accident. No luck.

His wife is still unhappy now because the local coppers refused to book the driver who caused the accident, pissed, no drivers license and uninsured. Go figure...

[thaimate]

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,.

we have an alarm system fitted on all windows and doors ,with a panic button next to the bed,a few weeks ago i opened a window without thinking ,you should have heard the noise ,in minutes we had an assortment of neighbours the usually sleeping security guard and half the soi dogs in Pattaya outside our house and a very embarrased me standing in the doorway in my shorts .

moral get an alarm if anyone tries to break in the bloody noise would have them on the run in a flash.

glad you and the familly are ok.

[foxxx]

we have bars on every window and door etc, but they are all bolted on from the outside, anyone with the time could just unbolt every corner in about 10 minutes i would assume.

think the best security is a loud alarm, reactive lights, a safe room. our bedroom has 2 additional locks on it.

after our lease is up I'm considering moving into an apartment, but we need the space of an additional room and what not. apartments are a bit too small and i'm not too keen paying 25k+ a month on renting an apartment.

there's an interesting house on the border crossing into laos, when you go across that friendship bridge at night there's a house on the river on the lao side, of a night it's surrounded by floodlights on stands, and totally illuminated, the house and all the land around it.

[foxxx]

are there any security companies in pattaya that do back to base monitoring and nightly checks?

[imaneggspurt]

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

The Thai defenders wont believe you ( i do ),. lets wait for the " this can happen in the UK,,USA" blah blah blah,..

[imaneggspurt]

Only a single female family member was in the house, she locked herself into the bathroom, called the police on her mobile...

Smart little cookie she is too. Most home security experts would recommend that people have a "safe-room" in the house with a security door and good locks that secure from the inside. In case of a home invasion, one should retreat to this room until the danger has passed. As others have said, your life should be more valuable than a TV or notebook computer.

Best advice so far and at 2pm we have a firm coming to do just that, im away quite often and our bedroom for my wife and daughter will be made like a fortress,..as long as they are safe i will have some peace of mind,.

[imaneggspurt]

we have bars on every window and door etc, but they are all bolted on from the outside, anyone with the time could just unbolt every corner in about 10 minutes i would assume.

think the best security is a loud alarm, reactive lights, a safe room. our bedroom has 2 additional locks on it.

after our lease is up I'm considering moving into an apartment, but we need the space of an additional room and what not. apartments are a bit too small and i'm not too keen paying 25k+ a month on renting an apartment.

there's an interesting house on the border crossing into laos, when you go across that friendship bridge at night there's a house on the river on the lao side, of a night it's surrounded by floodlights on stands, and totally illuminated, the house and all the land around it.

heres a tip and it wont cost much, get a welder round and put a blob of weld at the base of each nut so that you cant get a spanner on it,.

[Humphrey Bear]

My wife has a beauty salon and works until about 11 most nights - the kids sleep in the back of the salon intil she's ready to go home.

Two or three weeks ago she phoned me (I'm working in Vietnam) and said there had been a break-in in our house and someone had stolen the kids' computer.

I told her not to worry, I was taking a long weekend and we would fix some security system.

Got home at the end of August and found not only the computer gone, but four split-unit air-cons, dining room table and chairs, piano, patio tables and chairs, ladder and other odds and ends.

This must have been a gang of thieves with a truck. And they did the house opposite in the same evening.

We now have a basic security system, but when I'm home again in early November this will be improved. When this job finidhes I am taking time out to move away from Pattaya - probably Hua Hin or somewhere where the crime level is lower. Pattaya has it's attractions and conveniences, but I do not want our kids to be teen-agers in Pattaya, nor do I want anyone killed (not in my close family, anyway).

I know I've said this in other threads, but Pattaya is now a serious attraction for all sorts of criminals and I am not going to contribute to their lifestyle.

[imaneggspurt]

This may be a solution for some ,.http://www.wasp-security.com/for_homes.php

[imaneggspurt]

This is a serious question, do the Thais suffer as many break ins as farang ? are we seen as better source of booty, and less likely to use violence/be armed ,.

[Explorer]

Just thought i share an incident that took place recently in Malaysia -

2008/09/10

Police storm room, kill two robbers

SHAH ALAM: A hostage situation turned tragic when the victim was killed in her master bedroom despite three hours of negotiations between the hostage-takers and police.

The dead woman, Raja Noriana Raja Ahmad.

The two hostage-takers, said to be part of an Indonesian robbery gang, were shot dead by police who stormed the room when the woman began screaming.

The victim, Raja Noriana Raja Ahmad, 41, who was found with multiple stab and slash wounds, succumbed to her injuries an hour later at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre.

Raja Noriana was a director at Triways Logistics (M) Sdn Bhd where her husband, Mohd Yusof Abdul, 66, is the executive chairman. He is also group chief executive officer of Triways Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd.

The couple and their two daughters -- Puteri Erika, 22, and Puteri Akilah, 16, -- were at their double-storey house in the new neighbourhood of D'Kayangan in Section 13 here when they were awakened by noises about 4.30am yesterday.

Raja Noriana and Yusof came out of the room and were pounced upon by four men armed with parang and a gun. The commotion also brought out Puteri Akilah from her room.

All three were tied up and gagged but the robbers missed Puteri Erika, who jumped out of a window on the first floor. She broke her hip in the fall.

Police, meanwhile, were informed of the break-in by the neighbourhood guards. A team went to the house several minutes later.

Two of the men were arrested but their accomplices dragged Raja Noriana into the bedroom. Police managed to rescue Yusof and Puteri Akilah.

The master bedroom overlooks the front and since the hostage-takers did not draw the curtains, police had stationed snipers in the house opposite.

State police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar, who led the negotiations, said despite negotiations, no compromise could be reached.

At 8.20am, the snipers saw Raja Noriana lying on the bed with the two men standing on either side of her. One was stabbing and slashing her while his accomplice tried to set the mattress on fire.

Khalid ordered a Special Action Unit team to storm the room. At this juncture, the snipers opened fire, killing the men.

Raja Noriana was found bleeding from injuries to the neck, shoulder and stomach. She was rushed to hospital.

Khalid said: "Police found a Smith & Wesson .32 revolver on one of the suspects along with six bullets. We also found a parang and a knife which was used to attack the victim.

"The revolver was reported stolen by a civil servant, whose house was broken into last week."

The dead Indonesians were identified as Mojib Ridwan, 25, and Abdul Sugiono, 26. The other two suspects did not have any travel documents.

The four are believed to have been responsible for at least six burglaries in the Klang Valley and Negri Sembilan.

Explorer

[imaneggspurt]

Just thought i share an incident that took place recently in Malaysia -

2008/09/10

Police storm room, kill two robbers

SHAH ALAM: A hostage situation turned tragic when the victim was killed in her master bedroom despite three hours of negotiations between the hostage-takers and police.

The dead woman, Raja Noriana Raja Ahmad.

The two hostage-takers, said to be part of an Indonesian robbery gang, were shot dead by police who stormed the room when the woman began screaming.

The victim, Raja Noriana Raja Ahmad, 41, who was found with multiple stab and slash wounds, succumbed to her injuries an hour later at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre.

Raja Noriana was a director at Triways Logistics (M) Sdn Bhd where her husband, Mohd Yusof Abdul, 66, is the executive chairman. He is also group chief executive officer of Triways Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd.

The couple and their two daughters -- Puteri Erika, 22, and Puteri Akilah, 16, -- were at their double-storey house in the new neighbourhood of D'Kayangan in Section 13 here when they were awakened by noises about 4.30am yesterday.

Raja Noriana and Yusof came out of the room and were pounced upon by four men armed with parang and a gun. The commotion also brought out Puteri Akilah from her room.

All three were tied up and gagged but the robbers missed Puteri Erika, who jumped out of a window on the first floor. She broke her hip in the fall.

Police, meanwhile, were informed of the break-in by the neighbourhood guards. A team went to the house several minutes later.

Two of the men were arrested but their accomplices dragged Raja Noriana into the bedroom. Police managed to rescue Yusof and Puteri Akilah.

The master bedroom overlooks the front and since the hostage-takers did not draw the curtains, police had stationed snipers in the house opposite.

State police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar, who led the negotiations, said despite negotiations, no compromise could be reached.

At 8.20am, the snipers saw Raja Noriana lying on the bed with the two men standing on either side of her. One was stabbing and slashing her while his accomplice tried to set the mattress on fire.

Khalid ordered a Special Action Unit team to storm the room. At this juncture, the snipers opened fire, killing the men.

Raja Noriana was found bleeding from injuries to the neck, shoulder and stomach. She was rushed to hospital.

Khalid said: "Police found a Smith & Wesson .32 revolver on one of the suspects along with six bullets. We also found a parang and a knife which was used to attack the victim.

"The revolver was reported stolen by a civil servant, whose house was broken into last week."

The dead Indonesians were identified as Mojib Ridwan, 25, and Abdul Sugiono, 26. The other two suspects did not have any travel documents.

The four are believed to have been responsible for at least six burglaries in the Klang Valley and Negri Sembilan.

Explorer

How awful,. the things people do never cease to amaze me,.R.I.P

[dsfbrit]

we have an alarm system fitted on all windows and doors ,with a panic button next to the bed,a few weeks ago i opened a window without thinking ,you should have heard the noise ,in minutes we had an assortment of neighbours the usually sleeping security guard and half the soi dogs in Pattaya outside our house and a very embarrased me standing in the doorway in my shorts .

moral get an alarm if anyone tries to break in the bloody noise would have them on the run in a flash.

glad you and the familly are ok.

That happened to me so I had the alarm set to give me 15 seconds to reset - it just goes beep beep beep before it goes bonkers and gives me a heart attack!!!

Sorry about the OPs story, but it can happen to anyone. Years ago a friend of mine was a Police Sergeant in Manchester. He often told the story of the burglar who entered his flat through a tiny window whilst he and his wife were sleeping in the next room and even nicked his Sergeant's Uniform jacket!!!

I have a small dog who would bark the house down if anyone came in at night and would then lick the burglar into submission!

Edited September 11, 2008 by dsfbrit

[foxxx]

yeah there's just as much thai on thai as there is thai on foreigner robbery.

simple case - we stopped on the highway last weekend on the way up to BKK to buy some fruit from one of those single people with an umbrella on the side of the road, my girlfriend spoke to her for a bit and asked 'how was business', she said 'really good. lots of customers, except we get robbed all the time'....

thai men are rolling up, hitting them and taking their money. happened like 2 mins before we were there to the other girl about 100m up the road, when we drove off we saw her stand with all the food there still and no person selling it.

like even in the news that thai guy who shot the kids stealing bikes...

I've heard other stories, foreigner houses must be a better target than most houses on average, but a quick smash and grab can be on anyone, possessions or not - they don't know until they are in.

i'm considering moving further north or south, I think it's pattaya - more people than good paying jobs, plus addictions to support, same goes for any overcrowded city.

[Boo]

Sorry to burst the bubble foxxx but crime & break ins happen all over LOS, not just Pattaya, maybe farang owned homes are more visible & a more bountiful job but it happens to the thais too, for example, my in laws are in a small town in Khon kaen & their house is like fort knoxs at night with a couple of hungry dogs roaming inside the gates & the house is never, I mean never ever unoccupied, one of the rellies is always home, at all times 24/7. if we do a day trip, someone is always left at home.

These are older thais living in their home town but they do not trust that they are safe just cause they are thai & local & they don't have that much worth nicking either. They see life as is, good & bad existing everywhere & take suitable precautiosn to help prevent it happeneing to them. Sorry to the ops friends.

[Scott]

A house dog is a good idea. I don't particularly like those big mean guard dogs. First of all, they sort of advertise that you have something worth stealing. Secondly, they can be quite aggressive toward everyone.

A house dog gets used to what is permissible and what isn't. My dog has different barks for different things. A strange cat wondering through the garden gets a little "ruff-ruff", friends get a loud, but friendly bark--sort of a happy bark. Strangers get a very loud, aggressive and unending bark until I open the door and let them in. You learn what they are 'saying.'

[nudnik]

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'

Bad idea. My forensic team would have figured that you dragged him in two seconds and then you would be have been charged with all sorts of thing - disturbing a crime scene - conspiracy to ...

Murder?

If they are running let them go. If you feel you are in danger and they don't run then by all means protect yourself.

[Deelectro]

I think it is clear that the best option would be to avoid any conflict with these intruders, who knows what they are capable of doing. they know where you live, but you don't know where they live.

Having said that, it would be nice to have some pepper spray just in case, anyone know where to buy? Same with the motion detectors.

[Meg_2003]

Having said that, it would be nice to have some pepper spray just in case, anyone know where to buy?

I used to have pepper spray which my boyfriend purchased for me from a Thai website. If you can't find in Pattaya, try having a Thai search online for you. Maybe marketathome.com .. Or try the 'gadget' stalls which often set up in big C selling telescopes ect. I'm sure Ive seen them selling pepper spray.

{ Off topic, but A little funny story about an incident we had with pepper spray. We went to Big C cinema and I had my boyfriend carry the pepper spray in his bag because I didn't take mine. A lady could not see the seat numbers and asked if anyone had a light. My bf was also carrying a miniature torch (shaped very similar to the pepper spray) .. He reached in his bag, said "Ive got a torch" and pressed the button on the top to switch it on. He then realized he had mistaken the pepper spray for the torch!! Luckily it was sprayed into the air and not on the lady, but it just missed the guys head in front of us. Several people were coughing but no-one seriously suffering from it, luckily. So just be careful if you do carry pepper spray that you dont 'accidently' spray it. Its VERY strong! }

[Twiggy44]

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.

Libya, this is very nice law huh...at least its fair..household just have to be very sure to hit the spot of the burglars...other wise....

[NanLaew]

I remember posting in another thread that either myself or the wife locks the bedroom door from the inside, whoever is the last one to bed, every night. To us, it seems logical to secure the room you are asleep in although some thought it unusual. So that forms our 'safe room' if someone breaks in elsewhere in the house. They can have what they want.

My Houston house was burgled while I slept upstairs and my buddy was crashed out on the sofa downstairs (it had been a Monday Night Football, pizza delivery and a bottle of Jack Daniels night). He only realised something was amiss when he woke up and went for a piss and noticed the cigar humidors were gone. When he opened the guest bedroom door, he saw it had been 'turned over' and was going to holler up the stairs when he realised the buggers could be still in the house. He crept upstairs very, very slowly and woke me. I called the cops who showed up 45 minutes later. Only after going through the rooms with the police did I realise that they had come upstairs as some stuff in the games room had been tossed around as well. They had removed a mossie screen and entered through an unlatched bathroom window.

Over the past 28 years, I have lived in the UK, Thailand, Brazil and the US and have had 3 housebreak-ins and a car break-in, all in Houston. The outside doors in the 'up-country' residence here are never locked but the bedroom doors are, whereas the Pattaya home gets the whole deadlock and padlock treatment each night.

I am never sure of the value of a burglar alarm as I tripped the Houston one on a Friday afternoon and nobody batted an eyelid and it was bloody loud.

With the growing crime rate and increasing value of properties and their contents in Pattaya for both expats and the Thais with holiday homes here, you would think that a market does exist for a 'Brinks' or 'ATS' style home security system. One that you subscribe to meaning your house is monitored 24/7 by a private company who would call the police in the event of an alarm going off. However, if the local police can't be arsed to respond, then it would be a wasted investment.

[Phil Conners]

I am never sure of the value of a burglar alarm as I tripped the Houston one on a Friday afternoon and nobody batted an eyelid and it was bloody loud.

The preventive effect of a burglar alarm is not that it may cause others to come but the psychological effect it has on the burglar, first as a deterrent, second, I doubt any burglar is cool enough to continue burglarizing a house with three 130 db sirens inside and outside the house going crazy.

[NanLaew]

I am never sure of the value of a burglar alarm as I tripped the Houston one on a Friday afternoon and nobody batted an eyelid and it was bloody loud.

The preventive effect of a burglar alarm is not that it may cause others to come but the psychological effect it has on the burglar, first as a deterrent, second, I doubt any burglar is cool enough to continue burglarizing a house with three 130 db sirens inside and outside the house going crazy.

You are probably right there. The thing was so loud it hurt and I was sweating like a rapist by the time I had it silenced.

[DisainaM]

if you manage, that nobody is using the garden,

you can put some traps there, and listen to the sound, during the night.

[moo9]

I heard on Sophon cable recently, that electric fencing is now legal in Thailand (however not a deadly current...).

Mentioned before, we had bad experiences with break ins, and moved to a condo. Knock wood, it is much safer and one does not have to worry about all these issues.

As nice as a house in the east of Pattaya can be....it would give me too much headache about security, so we moved away.

[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

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.

Without any link i am tempted to take this with a HUGE pinch of salt, tbh

I have heard such phrases as "the law in the UK now states........etc, etc" for about 20 years and then some case crops up in the press where someone has done JUST that (used reasonable force) and gets prosecuted.

Even if it WAS law, what kind of "wishy washy" phrase is ...reasonable force?

Open to interpretation, if you ask me. So i wouldnt break out the baseball bats JUST yet

Penkoprod

[VocalNeal]

I heard on Sophon cable recently, that electric fencing is now legal in Thailand

It never was illegal here, just not well known. There are some DIY systems here and even some not so DIY ones that should be illegal but TIT.