South African Woman Found Dead In Bangkok

[george]

Woman's Bangkok death probed

Authorities were investigating the death of a South African woman found in her hotel room in Bangkok, the World Bank said on Thursday.

Laura Walker was employed by the bank at the time of her death, said spokesperson Cristina Mejia.

She said the bank's security team was working with the Thai authorities to unravel the circumstances around the tragedy.

Apparently she was robbed in her hotel - the five-star Shangri-La - before being found dead on Wednesday, one of her friends told the Associated Press.

Walker, who was married, completed an master's degree in economics at the University of Cape Town and then worked in the budget division of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa.

The 34-year-old economist is the author of a number of academic and policy documents, and has been associated with the ministry of finance.

Mejia would not say how long Walker had been in the employment of the bank.

"Out of consideration for the staff member's family, we're not in a position to comment further at this time," she said.

--News24.com 2004-12-09

ORIGINAL STORY:

South African woman found dead in Bangkok

Bangkok - A South African World Bank official has been found dead in a five-star hotel in Bangkok, sources said on Thursday.

A spokesperson for the bank, Cristina Mejia, confirmed that a staff member had died at a Bangkok hotel and that an investigation was continuing but declined to give further details.

Thai police investigators also declined to comment but police at the department's forensic division said the body of Laura Walker arrived from the Shangri-La Hotel on Wednesday afternoon. The police officials, who declined to be named, said an autopsy was being carried out.

An e-mail from one of Walker's friends, made available to The Associated Press, said: "Our friend Laura Walker died yesterday in Bangkok while in training. Details are still sketchy. All we know at this time is that she was robbed in her hotel and that's where she died."

"The authorities are looking into the circumstances surrounding this tragedy and our own security team is working closely with them," Mejia said.

Earlier this week, an elderly Swiss tourist was found dead in a hotel room on the resort island of Phuket. According to police accounts, she was robbed and beaten to death, possibly by a hotel employee.

--News24.com 2004-12-09

[eljeque]

Whe I was in Saudi, a woman was killed in our compound. A Saudi woman asked me if she was a Westerner or a Third Country National. I told her that the dead woman was an Australian. She replied, "Good." I said, "Why." SHe responded, "Because that way, the Saudi police will look for the killer. If the dead woman was a Filipina or an Indian, the police would not bother looking."

In the current case in Thailand, with a woman serving a powerful institution, I hope that it will get the authorities in gear to solve this case.

And, I am nto holding my breath.

It might also put light back onto the Kanchanaburi case.

[LaoPo]

Another 'Farang' Lady killed in a Hotel.

Tragic and unbelievable that such a thing happened in a 5 star hotel.

What I am curious about is why this topic gets attention and the topic about the Lady killed in Phuket has been closed............

LaoPo

[kat]

Wow. Both robbed and killed in upscale hotel rooms on the same day or within hours. This is horrendus. Where is a woman safe in Thailand if it is not the Shangrila Hotel? My condolences to her friends and family.

[DaveYo]

Being killed in a 5 star hotel is one thing, but considering her position with the ministry of finance and also to the banks, my guess is she stumbled on something that would blow a cover of some illegal activitiy being done by someone else or to the killer.

Possible or not, and again I could be wrong, but the circumstances at this moment of time indicate this kind of scenario.

Daveyo

[snowleopard]

Being killed in a 5 star hotel is one thing, but considering her position with the ministry of finance and also to the banks, my guess is she stumbled on something that would blow a cover of some illegal activitiy being done by someone else or to the killer.

Possible or not, and again I could be wrong, but the circumstances at this moment of time indicate this kind of scenario.

Daveyo

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

my guess is she stumbled on something that would blow a cover of some illegal activitiy

I think you might be on to something there!

Snowleopard

[kat]

Anythings possible until the details are revealed. But I'm not inclined to believe this scenario. If she was staying at the Shangri la, then she was a visitor, and most likely not so deeply entrenched with local corruptions scams such as that. There are plenty of local WB staff here. There is also a very similar story of a Swiss tourist robbed and killed in her upscale hotel room.

I think this is a case of an obviously very well-healed robbery target, most likely connected to an inside job.

[angie]

Would like to send our condolences to her family and friends !

Angie

[eddieold]

Could Thai Visa get their act together? Headline South African & Headline Swiss - Same story!

[spike]

Would like to send our condolences to her family and friends !

Angie

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I would also like to offer my condolences to her friends and family.

Being that it is difficult for a farang to bring a Thai lady into the hotel without being noticed and the presence of security in the hotel, I would have to believe the murderer is either an employee of the hotel or someone the victim knew.

[NarrLing]

Could Thai Visa get their act together? Headline South African & Headline Swiss - Same story!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

eddieold I suggest you read the stories again. The 2 sad incidents were of a 34 YO lady in Bkk and a 61 YO lady in Patong.

[BlackJack]

security cameras everywhere

should be too long before they find them

if no security cameras - WHY

[mfindlay]

Could Thai Visa get their act together? Headline South African & Headline Swiss - Same story!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

eddieold I suggest you read the stories again. The 2 sad incidents were of a 34 YO lady in Bkk and a 61 YO lady in Patong.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I can see what Eddy means! The two links

Expat woman robbed, found dead in Bangkok 5 star hotel room Read more: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=22286

And

Swiss woman murdered in Phuket hotel Read more: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=22286

Are one and the same!

What is happening in Thailand, since the War in Iraq started it appears to be open season on Farangs!

[Darkling]

My condolances To both families. Not so long ago Thai`s would say to me dont go there at night its not safe. I would poo poo the idea that it was not safe for a farang to go anywhere. How things change in such a short time. Is it open season on farangs now or is it becoming fashionable to top the odd farang now and again is it the street cred they are after? Kanchanaburi seems to be the thin end of the wedge. We die the same as anyone else with no come backs. Its about time our respective Embassies earned our tax wages and get their AR*****S in gear.

[britmaveric]

Robbery is most likely a cover story. Most thiefs aren't about to murder someone.

[NarrLing]

Could Thai Visa get their act together? Headline South African & Headline Swiss - Same story!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

eddieold I suggest you read the stories again. The 2 sad incidents were of a 34 YO lady in Bkk and a 61 YO lady in Patong.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I can see what Eddy means! The two links

Expat woman robbed, found dead in Bangkok 5 star hotel room Read more: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=22286

And

Swiss woman murdered in Phuket hotel Read more: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=22286

Are one and the same!

What is happening in Thailand, since the War in Iraq started it appears to be open season on Farangs!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My apologies, this is the link to the original Swiss Lady story.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=22244&hl=

NL

[Freddie_fly]

My condolances To both families. Not so long ago Thai`s would say to me dont go there at night its not safe. I would poo poo the idea that it was not safe for a farang to go anywhere. How things change in such a short time. Is it open season on farangs now or is it becoming fashionable to top the odd farang now and again is it the street cred they are after? Kanchanaburi seems to be the thin end of the wedge. We die the same as anyone else with no come backs. Its about time our respective Embassies earned our tax wages and get their AR*****S in gear.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I moved to Bangkok from Singapore in 1981, Always thought that it was safe. In 1983 I had Thai friends tell me, dont go there freddie its not safe, not same old time Thailand, now many bad people on bangkok. Listened to them and moved to Rayong for 4 years, now live in Banglamung Chonburi and my wife and many friends tell me 'dont go there Freddie not safe',

What is happening to this Country??

Freddie

[DrDaveHPP]

...[snip]Its about time our respective Embassies earned our tax wages and get their AR*****S in gear.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And do what exactly? I just wonder how many Thais [substitute nationals of the developing country of your choice] get murdered in Western capitals every day - and what their Embassies/High Commissions are expected to do to prevent those murders? I don't think any country's nationals pay enough taxes to afford a 24-hour bodyguard service...

[cojones]

this is nothing new, if you study the deaths of tourists going back 20 years the figures are horendous .

no holiday destination has more tourist fatalities than LOS .

or maybe that should be Land Of tourist Corpses !

murders ,druggings , suicides , vanished into thin air , fatal accidents , you name it they do it .

[Darkling]

...[snip]Its about time our respective Embassies earned our tax wages and get their AR*****S in gear.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And do what exactly? I just wonder how many Thais [substitute nationals of the developing country of your choice] get murdered in Western capitals every day - and what their Embassies/High Commissions are expected to do to prevent those murders? I don't think any country's nationals pay enough taxes to afford a 24-hour bodyguard service...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You are missing the point , I meant for them to bend someones ear not issue bodyguards

[mfindlay]

...[snip]Its about time our respective Embassies earned our tax wages and get their AR*****S in gear.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And do what exactly? I just wonder how many Thais [substitute nationals of the developing country of your choice] get murdered in Western capitals every day - and what their Embassies/High Commissions are expected to do to prevent those murders? I don't think any country's nationals pay enough taxes to afford a 24-hour bodyguard service...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You are missing the point , I meant for them to bend someones ear not issue bodyguards

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think that if the World Press picked up on these issues more and there was more adverse publicity, then maybe the Thai and Laos authorities would act. It was only the begining of this week that George posted this.

Thailand to focus on top end of tourist market in 2005 

PHUKET: --  The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) yesterday unveiled strategic plans for the coming year which show a strong shift in favour of high income tourists, while revealing that the mushrooming of low-cost airlines had boosted tourist numbers by 20 percent over the first nine months of 2004.

According to the TAT's Deputy Governor for Domestic Marketing, Juthaporn Rerngron-asa, the organization hopes to see a 4-5 percent increase in domestic tourism next year, while at the same time achieving a target of 13 million foreign visitors.

The 20 percent rise in tourist numbers over the first nine months of 2004 can be attributed both to the birth of several no-frills airlines this year and also to the tourism slump last year brought about by the Iraq War and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which pushed down tourist figures by 10.09 percent.

But this year tourism has picked up, and the TAT is confident of reaching its target of 12 million foreign visitors by the end of 2004.

Fifty percent of foreign tourists visiting Thailand are now from the Asian Pacific region, with considerable numbers from Malaysia, Japan, China, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong, while increasing numbers are coming from new markets such as the Middle East, Russia and Scandinavia.

Mrs. Juthaporn said that next year the TAT would focus on attracting quality, rather than quantity, with an emphasis on the top end of the tourism scale. 

This would mean an increased shift towards niche markets such as convention groups, honeymooners, health tourists, and golf and spa tourists.

-- TNA 2004-12-07

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A few headlines would soon put off the "High Income Tourists" don't you think?

[mraloha]

you have me confused here...i think that just one lady was murdered, the south african academic?

at anyrate, thailand has managed to avoid crime in a big part compared to the rest of the world. in chaingmai for the most part a lady can walk arround alone at night.

i recently met a lady who is a cousin of the Thai Royal Family. she felt that Thailand was blessed, that it managed to avoid major disaster and bad things. this outlook may seem simplistic, but i think the foundation of paradise exsist here and that Thailand has held its own against the onslaught of Westernism. to me this is a amazing phenom in todays world.

i think it is too earily to pull out the ..murdered for threatning someones livihood card... or the jealous lover card..or maybe she was murdered by a farang card, in that a farang could have easily skirted the security in a 5 star hotel.

it is always sad when someone as young as this lady is murdered.

[Foggy Bottom]

I always wondered where the Tourist Cop under suspicion (by expats at least) for the Kirsty Jones murder in 2000 went to. Maybe he's now lurking in high class Bangkok hotels instead of low class Chiangmai doss houses?

Or could it be Pol Sgt Maj Somchai was in the Big Mango for a quick break from Kanchanaburi whilst on bail for the murder of the two young Brits this year?

Then again it might have been a certain politicians notorious son out for repeat escape from conviction a-la-Club-20?

Given the record of the last four years, odds are a Thai was responsible ...... unless the authorities can find a suitable farang scapegoat who's visa expired three years ago and who has been working illegally for a year or two - as in the Pakistani arrested for the farang murdered with a pool cue in the south earlier this year.

I agree it's time our embassies brought some serious pressure to bear where it counts ...... in our home countries - to have Tour Thailand brochures removed from the travel agents' shelves.

Sympathies to the families of both victims and the dozens of others this year. What a way to start the "festive" season.

[sriracha john]

A bit more info:

South Africa's Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Thursday expressed shock at the death of World Bank official Laura Walker, who was found dead in her Bangkok hotel room on Wednesday.

"We in the Finance Ministry are all shocked to hear of her tragic and untimely death. We are aware that this tragedy comes soon after the recent death of her mother. We would like to convey our heartfelt condolences to her father Brian Halton and family, and want them to know that all of us are behind them at this time," Manuel said in a statement.

Walker, 35, was married and a joint South African-British national.

Walker had been on leave from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) since August to work for the World Bank, said Ann Quon, a spokesperson at the ADB's headquarters in Manila.

She had been employed by the ADB as a governance specialist, and was supposed to work for the World Bank as a public sector specialist until July 2006.

"We are deeply saddened by the death of our former colleague who was dedicated in her commitment to development work and she will be sorely missed," Quon said.

In his statement Manuel described Walker as "a talented policy analyst and economist who worked in the intergovernmental relations section of the National Treasury between 1999 and 2000.

"Her ability and skill were in high demand, and she left the Treasury to pursue a career at the Asian Development Bank and now the World Bank." - Sapa

[farangene]

Main suspect is the boy friend who was in the room with her. She had slashed wrists and so did the boy friend who is still alive.

[snowleopard]

this is nothing new, if you study the deaths of tourists going back 20 years the figures are horendous .

no holiday destination has more tourist fatalities than LOS .

or maybe that should be Land Of tourist Corpses !

murders ,druggings , suicides , vanished into thin air , fatal accidents , you name it they do it .

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE(george @ 2004-12-07 11:47:09)

Thailand to focus on top end of tourist market in 2005

PHUKET: -- The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) yesterday unveiled strategic plans for the coming year which show a strong shift in favour of high income tourists

Bangkok - A South African World Bank official has been found dead in a five-star hotel in Bangkok, sources said on Thursday.

PATONG: A 61-year-old Swiss tourist was found dead of head wounds in her room at the Horizon Beach Resort Hotel yesterday. Police are treating her death as murder.

Staff of the luxury hotel, located on Soi Kebsap, called police at about 1 am yesterday to say that they had found the body of hotel guest Jeanette Sager lying face down in a pool of her own blood.

Next year!

Some in Thailand have already gotten the hint and the focus has now shifted towards this new source of fast cash.

Snowleopard

[camerata]

this is nothing new, if you study the deaths of tourists going back 20 years the figures are horendous .

Could you post the figures for us? It would be interesting to see what the trends really are. For example, is an increase in the number of foreigner deaths proportionate to the significant increase in the number of foreigners visiting Thailand over the years?

My impression is that if you exclude all the suicides, falling off Pattaya balconies, water scooter accidents, etc, the ratio of foreigner murders to number of visitors may not have increased much. Although it seems violent crimes against foreign women has. Possibly the number of crimes against foreigners hasn't changed in relation to the number of crimes against Thais. The number of violent crimes in general seemed to go up when every man and his dog (not to mention some monks) was wired on speed. And all those ex-dealers - the ones still alive - are probably turning to other forms of crime now to make a living.

Back in the mid-70s things were really bad. Foreigners were being blown away in petty robberies far too often and then the killers walked free even though there were eye-witnesses. The problem was it took 6 months to bring the case to court and if the plaintiff or witnesses weren't at the first court hearing the killer walked. Foreign witnesses on a 2-week vacation were generally unable to fly back and forth to attend subsequent court hearings. Another problem was that there were only 7 Tourist Police and nobody wanted to be a tourist cop because there was no career path for them.

Around 1979 the government followed the Philippines' example and introduced a fast-track court hearing process for crimes against foreigners. They eventually got the Tourist Police upgraded, funded and sorted out too, and the crimes dropped.

Old Hands may remember the case of the "Sukhumvit Slasher" in the 70s. After a farang was stabbed in the leg near the Miami Hotel (i.e. near the Thermae), and other apparently motiveless knife attacks against foreigners followed, there was a lot of bar-stool talk about a Halloween-type psycho targetting expats in nightlife areas.

And when the cops finally caught the perp, he turned out to be a mentally unstable young Thai man who attacked foreigners with his pen-knife because "westerners exploit Thai women and the Japanese exploit Thailand economically."

[snowleopard]

My impression is that if you exclude all the suicides, falling off Pattaya balconies

Suicide by cop??

[rundmw]

And let's not forget the case of Chompoonut "Jeab" Kobram, the 23 year-old Thailand PADI-certified dive-master originally from Buriram but living in Phuket, found murdered (stabbed 48 times) in the Pattaya hotel room of 24 year-old Belgian national San Van Treeck who was arrested but has since skipped bail.

Full details can be found at:

Friends of Jeab Seeking Justice For Her Murder

[snowleopard]

And let's not forget the case of Chompoonut "Jeab" Kobram, the 23 year-old Thailand PADI-certified dive-master originally from Buriram but living in Phuket, found murdered (stabbed 48 times) in the Pattaya hotel room of 24 year-old Belgian national San Van Treeck who was arrested but has since skipped bail.

Full details can be found at:

Friends of Jeab Seeking Justice For Her Murder

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Farang perpetrator!

"Murder she wrote"