Killer Phuket visa run driver charged with reckless driving, fined B150,000

[snoop1130]

Killer Phuket visa run driver charged with reckless driving, fined B150,000

Eakkapop Thongtub

 

The K.B.V Visa Run vehicle is removed from the scene of the accident. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

 

PHUKET:-- The visa run van driver who crashed his vehicle in Phang Nga yesterday (Dec 21) killing three passengers and injuring a further seven has been charged with reckless driving and fined B150,000 police confirmed today (Dec 22).

 

Phang Nga City Police Chief Col Suwat Kaewprom told The Phuket News this afternoon that the van driver, Mr Prawit Raweewat, has been charged with reckless driving causing death and injury.

 

“He has been charged and paid a fine of B150,000. However, officers are still investigating whether the vehicle was registered to be used as public transport or not. If the van was being operated under the wrong category then Prawit’s licence might be suspended or revoked, but this will be up to the court to decide,” he said.

 

Chief Col Suwat added that the vehicle insurance company will take care of all expenses. “I was told that the insurance is first rate, but it has not yet been confirmed how much each victim will be compensated,” he said.

 

The deceased were named by police as:

 

1 Mr Stephane Sebastien Jean Peal, 46, French

2 Mr Patrick Andre Pessey (age not confirmed) French

3 Miss Jessica Paller, 40, Filipina

The injured foreigners who remain in hospital were named by police as:

1 Ms Ageenko Nadezhda, 3,2 Russian (in ICU at Phang Nga Hospital)

2 Mr Anam Wicaksona, 43, Indonesian (in Vachira Phuket Hospital)

3 Ms Baumgartner Verena, 38, Austrian (in Vachira Phuket Hospital)

4 Mr John Gary Olive, 48, British (in Vachira Phuket Hospital)

5 Mr Wennie Cajeras, 47, Filipino (in Phang Nga Hospital)

6 Miss Taresita Padewel, 53, Filipina (in Vachira Phuket Hospital)

 

Meanwhile, at 1pm yesterday, a group of Phang Nga officials led by Vice Governor Sripong Buthngamdee arrived at Phang Nga Hospital and were told that one of the injured passengers, Mr Cajeras, was in a critical condition so needed to be transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital. His condition has since improved but he will still need to stay in the hospital for a couple days.

 

Full Story: http://www.thephuketnews.com/killer-phuket-visa-run-driver-charged-with-reckless-driving-fined-b150-000-60352.php#hcEv1C2bzZAXb6r7.97

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2016-12-22

[craigt3365]

Accidents do happen.  It'd be nice to know how fast the van was going.  Speeding or within the limit.  I don't think Thailand has the ability (or sometimes the desire) to figure these things out.

[007cableguy]

Swift justice Thai style !,It amazes me how they can deal with this so quickly but can't when people with money and are Guilty as sin!


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

[gdgbb]

Where are all the "B500 fine and a slap on the wrist" boys now?

[impulse]

4 minutes ago, gdgbb said:

Where are all the "B500 fine and a slap on the wrist" boys now?

 

So, you figure a $5,000 fine is adequate for reckless driving that caused the death of 3 people, and untold misery for 6 more?

 

No mention of losing his license for killing 3 people.  Only if he's not registered to carry passengers (translation: paying proper taxes)

 

Let's see what their "first rate" insurance offers in the way of compensation.  Probably less than the cost of their holiday to Thailand.

[Just1Voice]

So, 6 lives are only worth 25,000 baht each, and he's free to go and do it again.  

How about 6 counts of MURDER, and the rest of his miserable life in prison?

 

[clifric]

Impulse - the question is will the insurance pay out? If the driver is found guilty of dangerous driving most UK companies would refuse to pay out, as they would if the driver had no licence and no tax - obviously in Thailand that means no compulsory insurance. 

[impulse]

9 minutes ago, clifric said:

Impulse - the question is will the insurance pay out? If the driver is found guilty of dangerous driving most UK companies would refuse to pay out, as they would if the driver had no licence and no tax - obviously in Thailand that means no compulsory insurance. 

 

Keep in mind we've only seen the criminal side of the case.  The big money will be negotiated in the civil side of the case.  Whether it's the insurance company, the owner of the transport company, or the driver- these victims need to be compensated.  And not 20,000-30,000 baht ($600-$800) each like so many times before.  The cost in lost wages alone makes it not worth staying in country to seek compensation in court.

 

And at the very least, the guy should have had his license to carry passengers revoked for life based solely on reckless driving causing multiple deaths.  There's something seriously wrong when it hinges on whether the vehicle was properly registered or not.  He could be driving another batch of tourists to their deaths next month.

 

[Shot]

"However, officers are still investigating whether the vehicle was registered to be used as public transport or not. If the van was being operated under the wrong category then Prawit’s licence might be suspended or revoked, but this will be up to the court to decide,” he said."

 

Why punish Prawit if the company vehicle he was driving was "under wrong category"? Fine the company owner a million baht just to get his/her attention.

 

The driver should lose his license for life, if found negligent, which will never happen in the Land of Crashes and Get out of Jail Free Cards.

 

 

 

 

 

[DrDave]

42 minutes ago, Just1Voice said:

So, 6 lives are only worth 25,000 baht each, and he's free to go and do it again.  

How about 6 counts of MURDER, and the rest of his miserable life in prison?

 

Six people were killed?  The article says 3 were killed, and 7 injured (although only 6 were named).

[LivinginKata]

5 minutes ago, DrDave said:

Six people were killed?  The article says 3 were killed, and 7 injured (although only 6 were named).

 

I was thinking the same,  3 deaths and 6 in hospital. 

 

You have to wonder how fast the so called legal system has proceeded. Really so far it's only been a local police case.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Quote

Chief Col Suwat added that the vehicle insurance company will take care of all expenses. “I was told that the insurance is first rate, but it has not yet been confirmed how much each victim will be compensated,” he said.

 

Whatever the amounts end up being, a whole lot of good it's going to do for those who died and their loved ones.

 

More unceasing and unnecessary carnage on the Thai roads, and absolutely nothing being done to prevent it.

 

BTW, from the looks of the photo above, I'd wager the KBV van will be back on the road in a few days, probably with the same driver.     No mention of the driver being held in custody.

 

And the rest of the article, for more fun reading:

 

Quote

 

Ms Hathairat Kongchana of the Phang Nga Land Transport Office added that she suspected that the van was being used as public transport without a proper permit.

 

“When we ran a check on the licence plate it did not specify that it was a public transport vehicle. We are checking the registration and vehicle condition again so that we can punish the driver according to our laws and regulations,” she said.

 

As is required by law, the basic insurance coverage for victims of road accidents is B300,000 for those that die and B80,000 for injured victims. This may be more or less depending on the insurance that the company has, however, if it is first class insurance the aforementioned figures should be the amount the insurance company pays out.  

 

 

[nkg]

I have travelled on the bus in the picture, and I probably know the driver.

 

I would suggest that ("the company in question") be forced to do the following:

 

1) Speed limit the vans

2) Fit a dashcam and GPS to all vehicles. This data must be submitted to the transport licensing authorities, who can randomly check the data for instances of dangerous driving. Any driver caught driving recklessly must be instantly dismissed.

 

In fact, ("the company in question") should do the above voluntarily, because I won't be using their service ever again unless they do.

 

 

[madmitch]

Who has imposed the fine, the police or the Court? This should definitely be for a Court to decide.

[Psimbo]

Amazing Thailand, where life is CHEAP. A quick payoff of the driver's fine by the company and 'justice' is seen to be done. What a joke.

[Clamhua]

No jail time for killing people!!?? Thailand's policing of laws and attitude can be pathethic at times

[Happy Grumpy]

2 hours ago, gdgbb said:

Where are all the "B500 fine and a slap on the wrist" boys now?

 

Kill three people under your duty of care via reckless driving (at best) while putting another 7 in hospital, and just be fined 150k baht (apparently) and possibly..... possibly have your license revoked.

 

 

Yeah, they weren't far off. Didn't even get a slap on the wrist. 

[Happy Grumpy]

5 minutes ago, Clamhua said:

No jail time for killing people!!??

 

He wasn't picking mushrooms or clicking 'like' mate. 

[gdgbb]

8 minutes ago, Happy Grumpy said:

 

Kill three people under your duty of care via reckless driving (at best) while putting another 7 in hospital, and just be fined 150k baht (apparently) and possibly..... possibly have your license revoked.

 

 

Yeah, they weren't far off. Didn't even get a slap on the wrist. 

Well, they were B149,500 off to be precise,  off by a country mile, so to speak, and B150,000 is a huge amount for a van driver here in Thailand.  How much do you think he should have been fined (within the confines of the law and being rational, of course)?

[lostinisaan]

“He has been charged and paid a fine of B150,000. However, officers are still investigating whether the vehicle was registered to be used as public transport or not. If the van was being operated under the wrong category then Prawit’s licence might be suspended or revoked, but this will be up to the court to decide,” he said.

 

   My stomach has just revoked the dinner my wife had prepared for me after reading this article.

 

 We are now investigating if the keyboard is still alive and if we should suspend the operator of it. 

 

 I'm really sorry for writing such nonsense, but that's exactly what the article stipulates. 150 K, the car will be redone by a garage the insurance company has a contract with ( not expensive, please) and the junk will be back on the streets in about 6 months. With the driver. 

 

   My deepest condolences to the families and friends of the deceased and a speedy recovery for the injured ones. 

    

[nkg]

22 minutes ago, gdgbb said:

Well, they were B149,500 off to be precise,  off by a country mile, so to speak, and B150,000 is a huge amount for a van driver here in Thailand.  How much do you think he should have been fined (within the confines of the law and being rational, of course)?

 

And yet he has already paid the fine. Not so huge after all. They should study the dashcam footage that is mandatory on every public bus/van and decide whether or not to proceed with a manslaughter charge.

 

Oh, but dashcam footage isn't actually required by law at all, despite it being a very cheap and easy way to reduce the death toll on Thailand's roads.

[lostinisaan]

2 minutes ago, nkg said:

 

And yet he has already paid the fine. Not so huge after all. They should study the dashcam footage that is mandatory on every public bus/van and decide whether or not to proceed with a manslaughter charge.

 

Oh, but dashcam footage isn't actually required by law at all, despite it being a very cheap and easy way to reduce the death toll on Thailand's roads.

 

 

 The only way to reduce the death toll on Thailand's roads would be to hire European van drivers and car mechanics.

[Happy Grumpy]

39 minutes ago, gdgbb said:

Well, they were B149,500 off to be precise,  off by a country mile, so to speak, and B150,000 is a huge amount for a van driver here in Thailand.  How much do you think he should have been fined (within the confines of the law and being rational, of course)?

 

I don't think he should be fined.

 

I think he should be imprisoned for at least a decade.

 

[LivinginKata]

1 hour ago, madmitch said:

Who has imposed the fine, the police or the Court? This should definitely be for a Court to decide.

 

A Thai court take months to deliberate. For sure this a police fine/decision. No doubt a court will be involved in the civil settelement, and it will take years. Really needs to be a court criminal action to jail the driver .... but there is no money to be extracted from the driver, so no legal interest ... quite sad for the dead and injured.

[Rhys]

RIP ..... all the best to the families... Some of those drivers are just....too tired, need two for such a long trip.  profits over safety.

[KarenBravo]

5 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

So, 6 lives are only worth 25,000 baht each, and he's free to go and do it again.  

How about 6 counts of MURDER, and the rest of his miserable life in prison?

 

 

Stop being a drama queen. It wouldn't be a charge of "murder" in any western country.

[gdgbb]

6 hours ago, nkg said:

 

And yet he has already paid the fine. Not so huge after all.

So he should be criticised for paying the fine?  There's no pleasing some people is there?

[gdgbb]

9 hours ago, impulse said:

 

So, you figure a $5,000 fine is adequate for reckless driving that caused the death of 3 people, and untold misery for 6 more?

 

No mention of losing his license for killing 3 people.  Only if he's not registered to carry passengers (translation: paying proper taxes)

 

Let's see what their "first rate" insurance offers in the way of compensation.  Probably less than the cost of their holiday to Thailand.

I didn't sat it was adequate, I did say it is a huge amount for a van driver.   One thing you are right about, though, is to wait to see what is paid out before criticising it but why do you think the passengers were on holiday?  On a visa run?

[Deli]

A logical Visa / Immigration policy for legal workers could have probably saved lives in this case.

Nevertheless, most of the van drivers are just brainless maniacs.

[spidermike007]

Again, an example of a completely broken justice system. $4200 fine. No talk about a suspended license, unless the vehicle is registered in the wrong category? No talk about prison time? Hope he gets convicted of manslaughter, and spends time in prison, assuming it was his fault. Most likely it was. It is a safe presumption, considering how the majority of these road terrorists drive. If the driver is convicted and sentenced to time in prison, the owners of these companies may wake up and raise their hiring standards for their drivers. That benefits everyone. 

 

Ultimately the government is at fault. And the immigration department. The visa run policy is in dire need to overhaul. It is an unnecessary expense, hassle, and inconvenience for both tourists and ex-pats. No need for it, other than to drive the Thai economy.