Stripped to The Wire .......

(Letters from Thailand....By Michael Hockham)

People will go to any lengths to make a buck or two, and even more so when falling upon hard times.
Most of us know the difference between right and wrong and live by a set of rules laid down not only for the benefit of others, but for our own wellbeing.
However, don't kid yourselves into thinking that when the chips are down friendly old George next door wont slit your throat to offer his family a hearty meal.
I'm talking national crisis here, not the aftermath of a dropped ice cream cone or a set of lost keys, although the straw that breaks the camels back can knock on your door in many various guises.
Punishment for actions deemed to be contrary to the law of the land range from minor wrist slapping to a life spent behind bars. The areas in between are open to much discussion and best left for another years worth of posts, however it seems clear to me that the general punishment we dish out to people in good old Blighty, is a little on the wet side. Thanks for this lays firmly at the feet of the PC mob.

Take the young chap in the picture for instance. His crime was theft.
Yesterday at around 2:30pm, I happened to notice a crowd gathered around the body of the young man in the picture whom I thought had fallen from one of the upper levels of the construction build (a frighteningly regular occurrence)
When I got closer though, I noticed that he was being somewhat 'man handled' into a seated position, held firm by two security guards whilst another proceeded to tie his upper body to the entrance barrier.
Turned out he he'd spent the afternoon wrapping copper wire around his legs in the hope of removing it from site without anyone noticing.
When I returned some 4 hours later making my way home, he was still there. He'd been left tied to the barrier to cook in the baking 40 degree sunshine.
The guards and other staff members had finished their man handling, including slapping, punching, kicking and generally 'roughing up' the young ingenious crook.
I also wouldn't be surprised if they were waiting for stocks to be hastily prepared and rotten fruit and vegetables to arrive.
"A good talking to" doesn't happen here, it's literally all or nothing. From petty thieves to rapists and murderers, all are paraded publicly offering both humiliation to the offender and a stark warning to would be pilferers or worse.
Human rights? Don't break the law. Simple......
By the way, I didn't take the photograph, this was down to one of my safety officers who also took his turn in humiliating the withered looking lad. I'm far to English to be taking pictures of people in dire situations.
I stepped in at one point though when the smell of sizzling human flesh became to much.
I asked the guards to at least let him have some water. The crowd instantaneously fell silent. Wishing to avoid being tied up next to him, I ran away throwing women and children behind me. I may be the project manager but unrest between Thai's is best left to the home team.

Safety first Mr Mike my photographer / safety officer would say. Usually as he's shoveling up the remains of his staff who've plunged from the 42nd level.
"Cant have people slipping on this mess now can we"

The lad's salary will be 3 pounds per day and with the theft of the wire he can double that for sure. He almost escaped for a weekend of whiskey and sticky rice.


Despite what looks like an ingenious method of acquiring extra pocket money, it was flawed from the beginning.
The security guards pounced when "he started walking funny."
The wire had slipped down to his knees and as such he walked through the security gate as though he'd just shat himself.
Hearing the story from the "brave" security guards who are usually as much use as a sack of rice and more often than not the biggest crooks on a project, I have to assume that their foiling of this plot came from a more obvious mistake by the culprit and not them merely clocking something odd in his behavior.
Knowing the labour on the project, their daily intake of Thai whiskey and sleeping habits, I'm more inclined to believe that he merely forgot to put his trousers back on before attempting to leave the site.

For his crime he will be sentenced to 18 months in a 6m square cell which he will share with 9 other bandits.
He will serve the FULL term!

Take note England .......


Michael Hockham 20 June 2010

muddleman@themuddleman.com