Why so many "fliers"?

[readerc54]

After reading this article on Pattaya One, I had the same feeling I experience when reading some Trump-related news: disbelief, disconnect from reality. It's about two alleged suicide attempts in Phuket by foreigners and both involved decent through the air. Yes, it's certainly possible that both were legitimate attempts by 40-year-old and 52-year-old males. But why, I ask myself, do I read so many articles about men from other countries who have a predilection to killing themselves in the Land of Smiles?

http://pattayaone.news/en/male-tourists ... -attempts/

Not necessarily connected to the above, this article from the Phuket Gazette address a claim by an anti-corruption organization that Phuket is ridden with official corruption. Consider this excerpt from the story:

“Many foreigners jump off buildings, supposedly from drug overdoses. However, there are many bars mixing ya bah in their drinks, which could be one of the factors driving these foreigners to suicide. Officers don’t care about these people’s lives or the damage to Thailand’s reputation – they only care about the money they can make..."

http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-new ... land/66265

[Gaybutton]

Over the past few years the Phuket news has been largely taxi scandals, ruining the beaches, and corruption. Other than that, it's great . . .

I feel sorry for businesses, especially gay businesses, suffering from all the negative news reports, but even so, when I'm planning travel to other Thailand destinations, on my priority list, because of all this, Phuket is way down at the bottom.

[Alex]

In a country where it's that easy to get your hands on Pentobarbital, you'd think that this would be the preferred method of choice for those who want to end their life on their own terms. Why there are so many flyers really is a mystery, but I think there's little doubt that most "falls" are actual suicides, with the occasional accident and murder thrown in.

[readerc54]

While I think that some of the deaths are actually "falls" (accidents by definition), I remain suspicious of events where cops arrive at the scene and quickly conclude that because they don't see any sign of a struggle that the person therefor must have taken their own life. It becomes the default cause of death made not by a medical examiner but by a police officer.

In the case of the guy who "jumped" from the hotel, cops dismissed the fact that he had multiple stab wounds without fingerprint examination of the instrument. They assumed suicide because no one else was in the room and and nothing seemed disturbed. Remember this recent classic?

Police have ruled that a foreign scuba diver found with his throat slit off Koh Larn died of a suicide after obtaining a supposed goodbye message sent electronically to his wife. They dismissed the fact that he was found bound in the water to a concrete pole.

I'm not a great believer in coincidences or investigations that rapidly arrive at convenient conclusions without following accepted norms for determining cause of violent death.

[Alex]

Shoddy police work is the norm here, not the exception, and that's not at all limited to the "investigation" of suicides. I'm sure that the occasional murder slips through as a suicide, but nevertheless, suicides the world over ARE often bizarre, so not in each and every case the presence of suspicious evidence would change the conclusion even after a proper investigation.

The real convenience at play is that the police simply don't need you - or the public in general - to be a believer in their results. It's pretty obvious that they couldn't care less. Case closed.

[readerc54]

Shoddy police work is the norm here, not the exception, and that's not at all limited to the "investigation" of suicides. I'm sure that the occasional murder slips through as a suicide, but nevertheless, suicides the world over ARE often bizarre, so not in each and every case the presence of suspicious evidence would change the conclusion even after a proper investigation.

The real convenience at play is that the police simply don't need you - or the public in general - to be a believer in their results. It's pretty obvious that they couldn't care less. Case closed.

Occasional? Your whole argument is based on your belief that you think that because some suicides are bizarre therefor most suicides must be bizarre.

Case closed? Not so fast, counselor.

[Alex]

The point is that it doesn't matter what I, or you, believe. Properly investigating suicides would be hard work for which there is usually very little incentive given, and thus it isn't being done.

But yes, I do believe that most suspicious suicides are actually suicides. If I wanted to kill someone, they would suffer a heart attack (also almost never confirmed by a proper post mortem!), not fly off a balcony. I think most potential murderers would agree.

I didn't say that most suicides must be bizzare. But we don't even get to hear about most cases that are neither bizzare nor otherwise suspicious.

[readerc54]

"Properly investigating suicides would be hard work for which there is usually very little incentive given, and thus it isn't being done."

Agree that it's hard work. Do not agree that additional incentive is sufficient alone to change behavior.

"I didn't say that most suicides must be bizzare. But we don't even get to hear about most cases that are neither bizzare nor otherwise suspicious."

I agree that we disagree about the frequency and characterization--bizarre or otherwise--of suicides in the LOS.

"But yes, I do believe that most suspicious suicides are actually suicides. If I wanted to kill someone, they would suffer a heart attack (also almost never confirmed by a proper post mortem!), not fly off a balcony. I think most potential murderers would agree."

Well, I can't speak on behalf of potential murders but you'll understand if I don't leave my drink unattended in your presence.

[Alex]

Well, I can't speak on behalf of potential murders but you'll understand if I don't leave my drink unattended in your presence.

Certainly. You cannot be careful enough.

I deliberately chose to be a bit vague about the incentive part, I basically mean other police activities are less work and offer higher returns. That's why I think there's no hope for change, but it's true that there are also other factors that matter, such as the very ability to perform a proper investigation in the first place - that is probably also lacking.

[readerc54]

I deliberately chose to be a bit vague about the incentive part, I basically mean other police activities are less work and offer higher returns. That's why I think there's no hope for change, but it's true that there are also other factors that matter, such as the very ability to perform a proper investigation in the first place - that is probably also lacking.

Definitely agree with you there. This discussion reminds me of John Burdett's Bangkok 8, in which a half-caste (Thai-American) young man ends up a police detective in Krung Thep. At several points in the novel he's trotted out to explain to foreign media (in the wake of high-profile murders) that the Royal Thai Police are handicapped by not having at their disposal the law enforcement resources of first-world economies. A great read.