News Forum - Canadian man arrested for stealing traffic barriers in Chiang Mai

[Thaiger]

Police have arrested a Canadian expat in Chiang Mai after driving his car around the city to steal metal traffic barriers. Yes, traffic barriers. 69 year old Ronald John Price was arrested today on Ratchadamnoen Road in Chiang Mai. According to reports, Mr. Price covered his face whilst stealing metal traffic barriers from around the province. He drove his sedan car to different locations  around the city, stacked the barriers on top of his car and took them home. Some of the spots he visited had CCTV cameras so the police were able to track him down from his car […]

The story Canadian man arrested for stealing traffic barriers in Chiang Mai as seen on Thaiger News.

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[Fanta]

12 minutes ago, Thaiger said:

The police added that Mr. Price had been arrested for robbery in the past, and that he’d had just been released from the Chiang Mai Central Prison on April 27

Released after sentence served? If so, he should have been taken from prison straight to the Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok and then deported. That is the law.

[PapayaBokBok]

4 hours ago, Fanta said:

Released after sentence served? If so, he should have been taken from prison straight to the Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok and then deported. That is the law.

Relax--hes canadian--i picked him up at jail and he said he was dying for a startup hockey game

Was my idea to use the barriers as makeshift goals..........Car!!!!!   waits on curb for car to pass  Game on!!!

[HolyCowCm]

Klepto? 

[Soidog]

Can someone explain what relevance his nationality is? 

[KaptainRob]

7 hours ago, Soidog said:

Can someone explain what relevance his nationality is? 

Perfectly normal to report nationality in stories like this and raises the question, as posted, why he wasn't deported before this.  Perhaps during covid?  Be happy it wasn't a Brit, SD, so your lot are safe from ridicule

You may recall the humiliation suffered by Aussies when someone stole a beermat.  Naming and shaming alerts everyone to the perils of flaunting the law.

[HiuMak]

13 hours ago, Thaiger said:

 69 year old Ronald John Price was arrested today on Ratchadamnoen Road in Chiang Mai. According to reports, Mr. Price covered his face whilst stealing metal traffic barriers from around the province. H

Mr. Price now has to pay a price.

[kalyan]

this man seems to be so poor, on an retirement visa in thailand , rented an apartment staying in and stealing to make livelihood ?

this is really unbelievable.

 

 

[Soidog]

9 hours ago, KaptainRob said:

Perfectly normal to report nationality in stories like this and raises the question, as posted, why he wasn't deported before this.  Perhaps during covid?  Be happy it wasn't a Brit, SD, so your lot are safe from ridicule

You may recall the humiliation suffered by Aussies when someone stole a beermat.  Naming and shaming alerts everyone to the perils of flaunting the law.

I think you have highlighted why I think such reporting is divisive and unhelpful. Just because one person from Australia stole a beer mat, doesn’t mean all Aussies are thief’s. Extend the narrative and the next thing we know a whole group of people are included in a particular issue. “dirty farangs” for example.
 

I don’t believe it is normal in most countries to be as obsessed as Thai media is on nationality. I’m sure there are many examples where it is in the body of the story, but not so frequently in the headline; something most people remember.  

[Fanta]

10 minutes ago, Soidog said:

I don’t believe it is normal in most countries to be as obsessed as Thai media is on nationality. I’m sure there are many examples where it is in the body of the story, but not so frequently in the headline; something most people remember.  

In Thailand everyone is a foreigner except a Thai. Following the current trend of generic “norms” means Canadian man —> Foreign Man —> Foreigner —-> Man —-> IAM (Identifies As Male)

Calling a spade a spade, not a shoveling tool that identifies as a spade, is easier

[KaptainRob]

39 minutes ago, Soidog said:

I don’t believe it is normal in most countries to be as obsessed as Thai media is on nationality. I’m sure there are many examples where it is in the body of the story, but not so frequently in the headline; something most people remember.  

In western countries political correctness comes into play and I agree it's not necessary to establish nationality however it is quite normal to do so in much of Asia.

[Poolie]

Nah, tell us nosy old grannies his nationality, or we'll self combust. The more detail you give, the more outrageous the theories we can provide.

[Vigo]

On 5/20/2022 at 12:34 AM, Soidog said:

Can someone explain what relevance his nationality is? 

In this case it provides a basis to do some quick calculations;

Retired postal worker is in a government employee union and has a guaranteed defined benefit pension. Typical postal worker retiree pension is CAD $1300 /month. Few employees have a defined benefit plan anymore except government workers. Its adjusted for COLA so will always increase as cost of living increases. retired postal workers still qualify for supplemental health plan that  ends for most people in private sector when they retire.

Because he is Canadian, we know that he can qualify for Canadian  Pension Plan. Depending on age he retired and years worked he  can collect anywhere from $650- $1160 a month. In addition if he  can qualify for Old Age Security benefit  and if "poor" a guaranteed income security additional payment. This is good for  $607 to $907 for single seniors.

The Canadian reference allows me to estimate the man's estimated guaranteed income minimum of $2500 to $3300 per month or 66,000 to 88,000 baht/month. This is without considering his private savings or pensions.

My takeaway is that man had more than enough money to take care of himself. He also had private health care subsidized by Canadian taxpayers. With a past criminal conviction, deportation  is an expected outcome.  In this case Canadian nationality helps paint a picture of his character, since he had income. I conclude that this is not a nice man.

[Vigo]

6 hours ago, KaptainRob said:

In western countries political correctness comes into play and I agree it's not necessary to establish nationality however it is quite normal to do so in much of Asia.

Not political correctness. Because work status, age and country provided I can put him in perspective. Now I know he have money and did not have to steal like this vs. someone who come from country without  generous public pension and government union benefits, e.g. Algeria, South Africa, El Salvador etc. I am more likely to accept someone from poor circumstance stealing to survive, while this man, maybe steal to live lavish lifestyle or to have good time.

[Soidog]

2 hours ago, Vigo said:

In this case it provides a basis to do some quick calculations;

Retired postal worker is in a government employee union and has a guaranteed defined benefit pension. Typical postal worker retiree pension is CAD $1300 /month. Few employees have a defined benefit plan anymore except government workers. Its adjusted for COLA so will always increase as cost of living increases. retired postal workers still qualify for supplemental health plan that  ends for most people in private sector when they retire.

Because he is Canadian, we know that he can qualify for Canadian  Pension Plan. Depending on age he retired and years worked he  can collect anywhere from $650- $1160 a month. In addition if he  can qualify for Old Age Security benefit  and if "poor" a guaranteed income security additional payment. This is good for  $607 to $907 for single seniors.

The Canadian reference allows me to estimate the man's estimated guaranteed income minimum of $2500 to $3300 per month or 66,000 to 88,000 baht/month. This is without considering his private savings or pensions.

My takeaway is that man had more than enough money to take care of himself. He also had private health care subsidized by Canadian taxpayers. With a past criminal conviction, deportation  is an expected outcome.  In this case Canadian nationality helps paint a picture of his character, since he had income. I conclude that this is not a nice man.

And do you know his outgoings? Perhaps he had a sick mother or family member the was contributing a large proportion of his pension to. Perhaps he gave most of his income away to charity. The fact is, his nationality means nothing to the story other than to invoke racism and anti-western sentiment. But never mind. I suspect you come from a western country and happy to play along…

[Fanta]

45 minutes ago, Soidog said:

The fact is, his nationality means nothing to the story other than to invoke racism and anti-western sentiment

You must have kittens when Thais refers to you as a farang.

[Soidog]

30 minutes ago, Fanta said:

You must have kittens when Thais refers to you as a farang.

Not really. It’s not their fault. It’s how they have been brought up. I’m more saddened to hear foreigners accept the ignorant term. 

[HolyCowCm]

2 hours ago, Soidog said:

Not really. It’s not their fault. It’s how they have been brought up. I’m more saddened to hear foreigners accept the ignorant term. 

I was rding my bike almost to the street entrance to my housing home area 2 days ago and a little girl not more than 5 yrs riding her push bicyle with her mom walking beside her saw me and started saying farang, farang, - - farang. I kind of hit the brakes and chirped to a quick stop and cocked my head looking back right at her with my mask and sunglasses still on. Looked straight at the mom and then direct at the little girl but did not say a thing. Allatteh same time the mother out loud tried to release a hahaha in a very very nervous voice to try to mask it over as was a funny  ok. She really stuttered that hahaha out, but then she instantly knew she had taught her duaghter wrong,l well at least with a person like me that is. Then after 3-4 seconds I cocked my head forward and then turned left to go in and down to my house. The thing weird for me that I have noticed over the years is the Thai people for some reason look at me and think I speak Thai  by how I look and carry myself. Happens everywhere all the time for me,and they are correct. And so the woman quickly knew she made a mistake with her daughter spouting off farang=farang-farang. Daughter did not have a clue.. But I kept my cool, did not say anything to the little (rude) unknowing girl only looking at her, which made my point and then left. 

Thai are pretty hip on character judgment on some foreingers for how we carry ourlselves here.

So what I am getting at is I fully agree with you on most cases when it is said.

[Soidog]

7 minutes ago, HolyCowCm said:

I was rding my bike almost to the street entrance to my housing home area 2 days ago and a little girl not more than 5 yrs riding her push bicyle with her mom walking beside her saw me and started saying farang, farang, - - farang. I kind of hit the brakes and chirped to a quick stop and cocked my head looking back right at her with my mask and sunglasses still on. Looked straight at the mom and then direct at the little girl but did not say a thing. Allatteh same time the mother out loud tried to release a hahaha in a very very nervous voice to try to mask it over as was a funny  ok. She really stuttered that hahaha out, but then she instantly knew she had taught her duaghter wrong,l well at least with a person like me that is. Then after 3-4 seconds I cocked my head forward and then turned left to go in and down to my house. The thing weird for me that I have noticed over the years is the Thai people for some reason look at me and think I speak Thai  by how I look and carry myself. Happens everywhere all the time for me,and they are correct. And so the woman quickly knew she made a mistake with her daughter spouting off farang=farang-farang. Daughter did not have a clue.. But I kept my cool, did not say anything to the little (rude) unknowing girl only looking at her, which made my point and then left. 

Thai are pretty hip on character judgment on some foreingers for how we carry ourlselves here.

So what I am getting at is I fully agree with you on most cases when it is said.

I had a similar experience in 7/11 a few weeks ago. A young boy around 6 or 7 saw me walk in and pointed at me shouting Farang Farang. I looked at the mother and shook my head. With a nervous and embarrassed smile she ushered the boy away. She knew it was unacceptable but had still allowed her son to grow to the age of 6 or 7 thinking it was ok. As I say, it’s not their fault. Ignorance is no excuse but I can’t blame them. I pity them for growing up in such a backward and globally unaware country. A shake of the head usually is enough to make them feel embarrassed without confrontation. 

[HolyCowCm]

6 minutes ago, Soidog said:

I had a similar experience in 7/11 a few weeks ago. A young boy around 6 or 7 saw me walk in and pointed at me shouting Farang Farang. I looked at the mother and shook my head. With a nervous and embarrassed smile she ushered the boy away. She knew it was unacceptable but had still allowed her son to grow to the age of 6 or 7 thinking it was ok. As I say, it’s not their fault. Ignorance is no excuse but I can’t blame them. I pity them for growing up in such a backward and globally unaware country. A shake of the head usually is enough to make them feel embarrassed without confrontation. 

In this case the mother is lucky that she did not engage me. When p i ss ed off, I can really make a Thai person walkaway feeling they now have two rearend holes to defecate from.

[Fanta]

57 minutes ago, HolyCowCm said:

her saw me and started saying farang, farang, - - farang

I just point back and say “khon Thai, khon Thai” and, of course, smile.

[HolyCowCm]

31 minutes ago, Fanta said:

I just point back and say “khon Thai, khon Thai” and, of course, smile.

You are so kind Fanta. I just keep it zipped because nothing I would say would be flattering if I said it. So better to not engage for me.

[Highlandman]

On 5/21/2022 at 6:10 AM, Soidog said:

I had a similar experience in 7/11 a few weeks ago. A young boy around 6 or 7 saw me walk in and pointed at me shouting Farang Farang. I looked at the mother and shook my head. With a nervous and embarrassed smile she ushered the boy away. She knew it was unacceptable but had still allowed her son to grow to the age of 6 or 7 thinking it was ok. As I say, it’s not their fault. Ignorance is no excuse but I can’t blame them. I pity them for growing up in such a backward and globally unaware country. A shake of the head usually is enough to make them feel embarrassed without confrontation. 

That rarely happens in Thailand anymore in my experience but when it does, I simply shame the boy or the mother. I say "Asian Asian" (in Thai) and love the embarrassed looks on their faces. There are so many foreigners in Thailand that making such comments is unacceptable so I don't see why you say it's not their fault. It is their fault.

By the way, was the boy wearing a mask? Were you wearing a mask?

I find it incredible that young Thai children are taught to discriminate on the basis of appearance from a young age, but can neither read, write or do math (and I'm talking about in Thai here). No wonder education is so terrible in this country, where children are taught to be racist but not taught proper skills that will benefit them in the workplace once they get older.

[Highlandman]

On 5/20/2022 at 4:35 PM, Soidog said:

I think you have highlighted why I think such reporting is divisive and unhelpful. Just because one person from Australia stole a beer mat, doesn’t mean all Aussies are thief’s. Extend the narrative and the next thing we know a whole group of people are included in a particular issue. “dirty farangs” for example.
 

I don’t believe it is normal in most countries to be as obsessed as Thai media is on nationality. I’m sure there are many examples where it is in the body of the story, but not so frequently in the headline; something most people remember.  

That's true, but in Europe for instance, for example in Switzerland, the nationality of a perpetrator is almost always mentioned. They will say something like "a 35 year old Swiss man was arrested for...." or "a 42 year old Ethiopian man was arrested for..."

In Australia on the other hand, you might have an Asian person who is then described as "a Melbourne woman" because she lives there, but she's actually a Chinese national who is a student in the country.

Australia is overly politically correct, Switzerland less so and Thailand of course not at all.

[Fanta]

7 minutes ago, Highlandman said:

There are so many foreigners in Thailand that making such comments is unacceptable so I don't see why you say it's not their fault. It is their fault.

Unacceptable to you. Calling a spade a spade makes sense. Thailand has a largely homogenous population so it stands to reason that anything not perceived as typical gets a label to differentiate it.