Obviously you either know nothing about Thailand, or have never lived there. The police are PART of the problem. 99% of those kinds of “business” are able to run because the police either control them, or take kickbacks from them in return for their safety. I know some people in Bangkok who run a bar. I asked them if they pay the police, and they said yes. I asked how much, and they said (I swear I’m not making this up) we’re on the “Light plan.” The “light plan” is 4000 baht a month, and basically it buys: if there is going to be a police raid at night, someone comes by at 4 pm and tells the bar owner to not open tonight. Who knows what the “advanced plan” involves – immunity from prosecution? Police hit squads? Western tourists never question why “after hours” nightclubs can cost up to 4,000 baht to get into in Bangkok. I did – and the manager told me it’s because she pays the cops 100,000 baht a month.

The point is that Thais have to fix this at the government level. Thailand is a democracy, and Thais have to field and elect politicians who are not corrupt, who are brave enough to do something (such as in other western democracies) like : Set up an internal crime and corruption commission, run independently/bi-partisan, with powers to imprison corrupt cops or politicians – focusing on their leaders first. Nobody in Thailand has – ever- made an example of corrupt officials in this way, so people continue to take from a massive gravy train.

Until Thai people themselves start fighting for this, all “calling the police” will do for you is land you in a smelly jail cell for the night, while a cop waves his pistol in your face and asks you how much money you have in your ATM account (which, coincidentally, is usually the price of your freedom).

“Call the police.” LOL

This is not for saving Thai people’s face by denying it but I’m maybe just too naive as you said.

But when people like you who are NOT naive just ignore it, if you’re not one of their customers, you should do something for the sake of Thais’ face and YOUR face.

The fact is this simply does not happen on such a wide scale in other countries as it does in Thailand. I’m sick of Thai people trying to deny it for the sake of saving face – they have to fix the problem, not try to pretend it doesn’t exist.

And you implying that those “morally questionable” tourists somehow deserve their fate just proves my point – they wouldn’t be in that situation in the first place it Thailand controlled drugs, prostitution and “criminal red zones” more effectively. Or do you think they are a necessary evil in society? If so, then you have to accept that Thailand will continue to have a reputation as a dangerous place.

But crazy drivers in Thailand are something you have to worry about. The high rate of dying from traffic is because many people ride motor-bike without helmet so just make sure you dont do that.

And the homicide with firearms rate in Thailand is high? Are you sure? I’ve only seen guns and stuff once I went to the army.

I have been threatened many times, guns pulled on me and been in many situations in Thailand where my safety has been seriously compromised. All of my friends who do not have a dog have had their homes burglarized. I know many people that have been killed & maimed on the roads here and several who have been shot, severely beaten and murdered. I now know what lies behind the Thai smile.

I am not saying that all Thais are bad but I am saying that there’s proportionately more bad people here than many other places in the world which statistically puts Thailand in dangerous territory.

The statistics demonstrate that Thailand is a dangerous place for all foreigners for a number of reasons.

Here are some statistics:

As per the Global Peace Index 2008

Thai vs. U.S.

Number of homicides per 100,000 people 3 : 2

Level of violent crime 4 : 1

Level of organized conflict (internal) 3 : 1

Overall rank 2008 1-140 (1 most peacful) 118 : 97

As per WHO:

Heavy vehicle driver collision with car, pickup, van *

Rank Countries Amount (top to bottom)

#1 Ecuador: 185 deaths

#2 Thailand: 48 deaths

#3 Mexico: 15 deaths

#4 Venezuela: 6 deaths

#5 Korea, South: 6 deaths

Unspecified drowning and submersion (per capita)

World Ranking Deaths per 1 million people (numbers rounded to nearest whole digit)

#1 Belize: 64

#2 Thailand: 56

#3 Cayman Islands :45

#4 Kyrgyzstan: 44

#5 El Salvador: 42

As per the OECD Factbook 2007: Economic, Environmental and Social Statistics for 2005, road fatalities/million population for Italy and the U.S. were 90 and 145 respectively. As per the Department of Highways of Thailand, road fatalities for the same period were 504 (per million population)! That’s almost 6 times the fatality rate in Italy for the same year.

The homicide with firearms rates in Thailand are equally as staggering. Based on the 8th U.N. survey 2002, Thailand rated 3rd in the world for murders with firearms, surpassed only by Columbia and South Africa. On a per capita basis, Thailand’s murder rate was approximately 6 times that of the U.S. Thailand’s murder rate (all causes) was double that of the US.