The Burglar Finally Caught

[Gaybutton]

Some of you may remember a thread that was on my web site about the fact that my house was burglarized and my laptop computer was stolen. That was nearly a year ago. Try as we might, we were never able to catch him. We knew exactly who it was, but he disappeared from Pattaya. It was a bar boy who had befriended my boyfriend and managed to get the key to our house copied. That's how he entered. I was just lucky he didn't steal anything else.

 

We just found out he has been caught. My boyfriend received a call from another friend of his, telling him that the same boy returned to Pattaya, hooked up with a "farang" and stole money, a mobile phone, and gold from him. We do not know the circumstances as to how he was caught, but my boyfriend was told that when he was caught, he ws in possession of over 1000 yaba tablets. My boyfriend says he's likely to be sentenced to 60 years for that crime alone, and in Thailand there is no sentence reduction, time off for good behavior, or anything else when it comes to drug crimes. We are told that if he is convicted, then no matter how long his sentence is, he'll serve every day of it.

 

We're probably going to pay him a jailhouse visit. I'd like to do that to make sure it really is the same boy and also to see if we can get him to tell us what became of the computer. I seriously doubt that a year later I'll ever see that computer again, but there's nothing to lose by trying.

[TotallyOz]

and in Thailand there is no sentence reduction, time off for good behavior, or anything else when it comes to drug crimes. We are told that if he is convicted, then no matter how long his sentence is, he'll serve every day of it.

 

Well, I have heard this in the past many times. I also have a good friend who has a family member convicted of the same thing. there is no reduction. However, for every month he paid 20k baht to the "people in charge" he was released and didn't have to stay in for that month. This happened for almost a year before the family ran out of money.

[Gaybutton]

Well, I have heard this in the past many times. I also have a good friend who has a family member convicted of the same thing. there is no reduction. However, for every month he paid 20k baht to the "people in charge" he was released and didn't have to stay in for that month. This happened for almost a year before the family ran out of money.

 

You never know how things work in Thailand. A friend suggested, this afternoon, that I do not even see this boy, let alone try to get him to reveal the whereabouts of the computer. He said that the boy had to have gotten those yaba tablets from somewhere, and most likely it was from the local mafia since he had that much in his possession. He warned me that all the boy has to do is give the word, and the mafia will come after me, so I would be safest to let it drop.

 

Meanwhile, this evening, my Thai boyfriend said precisely the opposite is true. He said the boy had to have been selling these drugs for the mafia. He also said, if anything mafia will seek revenge on him because he managed to lose 1000 of their yaba tablets and they don't take kindly to that. He said the boy is probably scared out of his mind, with good reason.

 

So, who is right? I don't even know if either of them are right. Actually, I think I'd rather listen to both of them. They are saying essentially the same thing. According to my friend, I'd be placing myself in danger if I do anything. According to my boyfriend, terrible things will happen to this guy anyway, so there's little point in me doing anything. I'll let my boyfriend be the one to make sure they've got the same kid who burglarized my home. If it is the same person, then according to my boyfriend there won't be much need for me to do anything, although I'll never get my computer back. At this point I didn't expect to get it back anyhow.

[TotallyOz]

I would be safest to let it drop.

 

While I hate to say throw in the towel, I have to agree. While we like to think this is our home and we want things to work the way they do in our homeland, it is not. Thailand is a wonderful place but it is sometimes best to realize that our view of justice is not the same as theirs. If you feel it is a safety issue, and frankly, if the kid had 1,000 Yabba tablets, I would tend to think he is not the only one involved here, then it is best to move on. IMHO

[Gaybutton]

Our view of justice is not the only thing that is different from what we see in Thailand. I love Thailand too, but I started sleeping a lot better the day I stopped trying to figure out the logic behind the way a great many things are done here and the logic behind the mode of thinking we so often see.

 

I don't view it as throwing in the towel. I view it as the most practical thing to do. I'm not going to get my computer back even if he tells me what he did with it. It's been a year. The computer has most likely changed hands several times already. The computer was nearly three years old at the time it was stolen, so it's obsolete now and I probably wouldn't be able to even give it away. As far as punishment, any punishment resulting from charges I could press would hardly be comparable to the punishment he's going to get anyway.

 

Certainly he must have been involved with others. Our information is he was caught with at least 1000 yaba tablets. You don't pick those up in boxes of Cracker Jack. According to my boyfriend, this guy is probably far more afraid of what those 'others' will do to him than he is of any sentence a court would hand down. He's got a hell of a lot more to worry about than any additional charges I could press.

 

I could always simply keep on top of what charges will be pressed against him and what sentence he receives from the court. Somehow I doubt that he'll be released if he simply promises not to do it again and promises to behave himself from now on. Of course, if the sentence does turn out to be nothing more than a slap on the wrist, I won't have any problem finding out about that long before he is released. I could always press additional charges at that time.

 

I take my satisfaction in the thought that he is now in jail, whether the reason he's in jail has anything to do with his crime against me or not, and he's likely to still be there long after the rest of us are history and forgotten. I see no need for a pound of flesh beyond that.