Frogman Killed in Self Defence Incident At Kata

[The Loop]

This has got to be one of the strangest incidents so far.
Local Police are asking Interpol to assist in identifying a possible terrorist..


Phuket Gazette - online English newspaper for Phuket, Thailand, with daily news, classified ads, yellow pages, business listings, upcoming events, event calendar, phuket events

[landofsmiles]

Wow!...that is well weird.

But if the police want to identify the attacker quickly why don't they release a picture of him. Someone is sure to recognise him.

That gun is like something out of Bond movie.

[Spector]

Oh..... I think there’s a lot more to this story. So you see a guy in a black wetsuit swimming offshore at night and you invite him onboard your boat? I’m thinking they know each other! Some sort of deal gone bad…. maybe.

[Minder]

Originally Posted by landofsmiles

Wow!...that is well weird.
....
That gun is like something out of Bond movie.

"As the gun was unlike any they had seen before – it fired with a switch rather than a conventional trigger – they suspect the man may have been a weapons expert and will contact Interpol to see if his description matches the profile of a known international terrorist, Col Samarn said."

Where are our BM's with military backgrounds please? I am thinking it is a gun designed to fire after being submerged in water, if so my money is on attempted robbery (piracy?) rather than a fallout.

Still one for the weird file though....Enjoy.

__________________
"Heaven holds a sense of wonder...and I wanted to believe..."

[Senith]

Here's picture of the guy: http://www.phuket-info.com/forums/at...bber-yacht.jpg

Taken from this thread that tells a differnt story: http://www.phuket-info.com/forums/ne...foreigner.html

[DREW]

Originally Posted by Minder

"As the gun was unlike any they had seen before – it fired with a switch rather than a conventional trigger – they suspect the man may have been a weapons expert and will contact Interpol to see if his description matches the profile of a known international terrorist, Col Samarn said."

Where are our BM's with military backgrounds please? I am thinking it is a gun designed to fire after being submerged in water, if so my money is on attempted robbery (piracy?) rather than a fallout.

Still one for the weird file though....Enjoy.

__________________
"Heaven holds a sense of wonder...and I wanted to believe..."

Yes this is a very interesting story, I received a copy via email and was scratching my head when I read it.

Forget the assumptions. Assumption is the brother of all F*** Ups so lets stick with what we know.

This guy boards this boat after swimming out to it in wet gear, so he has some training and he has weapons in a wet bag so he has gone with the intent to kill or harm or threaten.

He has a gun which looks like it has been constructed from a hand held catapult with 2 cylinders taped together with a switch rather that a trigger, run to a battery , using shot gun rounds.

If it is a switch then it is designed to run an electrical current to set off the charge in (what looks like a shot gun round) the 2 cylinders.

The normal method is for a firing pin to set of the percussion cap in the round and exit the projectile, which is based on pressure so it will work under water and in most conditions etc.

Although if he is under water seems strange why he would use an electrical system and not the standard percussion which will work better under water, even if it his in his dray bag. Why risk the chance of it getting wet.

Anyone that knows anyone (myself included) can get a gun (9mm semi auto )for not a lot of money in Phuket, so if this guy is an international terrorist or hit man why not use one, it is much more reliable than that home made crap.

This would suggest that he does not have access to a network of terrorist friends or little money and he has asked or had to make himself locally.

One thing seems sure he boarded the boat with the intent to kill or steal, hence the weapons in the dry bag, and he has some weapons experience, although not a great deal if he can easily be over powered by a guy 20 years older than he when he is holding a gun and knife and over powering him and his girlfriend.

If it was a hit and he was going to kill then why tie them up and not just kill them both straight away, nice and clean and step off board, why wait an hour and then say you are going. Not the MO of an experienced hit man I would have thought.

I suspect the motive was robbery and he intended to tie up his victims and sail them off somewhere and drop them off. He had marine experience as he can dive, so perhaps it was a desperate attempt to get off the island from a boat that was only 50 meter off shore. Unlucky victim perhaps.

I am not convinced that this is Carlos The Jackal trying to flee to South America after killing the President.

The nonsense in the press has more to do with the fact that the local police are not used to dealing with much more than people not wearing their crash helmets at check points.

It will be interesting to see what theories and truth evolve.

Best Wishes


Drew

[Nootcrapper]

My take is that a petty thief got more than he bargained for. The guy on the yacht will be in deep brown gooey stuff when he gets out of hospital and goes back to his wife. Lastly, because the bad guy with the gun is dead, the guys in uniform will write off all the armed robbery unsolved cases they have on file as solved. Its a win win situation for everybody.

[Schmeen]

Interesting the wife and kids were in the hotel.

And the original report said the thai woman refused to identify herself.

Wonder if he has some explaining to do?

[Hobbsy]

overpowered? I think i would have trouble after getting whacked in the eye with that boathook!

all very suspicious and I doubt it will be solved by the awesome CSI Phuket!

[Soupdragon]

The boat owner sees a guy swimming towards his boat at night carrying a bag, the guy says he enjoys swimming and "diving" at night. No mention of any Scuba gear or dive lights plus he is wearing a wetsuit but no weightbelt (impossible to submerge) plus there is nothing in the bay but sand, no coral reefs otherwise boats would not be allowed to anchor there. Would anybody be a tad suspicious of this character??. Not the boat owner he invites him aboard for drinks and a chat. I think Spector is onto something, these people knew each other and this is some kind of deal gone bad.

[landofsmiles]

Boathook through the eye...what a way to go :-(

One report says the assailant also got shot so the guy on the boat had a gun too and police have released a picture of it...but that looks like a flare pistol?...and one of Mr Oberson in Phuket International hospital.

Over to you (In)Spector :-)

[landofsmiles]

Just shows you should never believe what you read in the papers!!! Look at this report...totally different.

Says the yacht was moored alongside Chalong Pier...like the other side of the island!!!!!!...and the guy is a New Zealand national.

Phuket, Thailand: An armed man, thought to be a foreigner to Thailand, died from deep cuts he sustained during a fight with the New Zealander owner of a boat, according to police. The fight took place on board a yacht moored at the Chalong pier around 11.30pm on Wednesday.

The owner of the yacht, who had sailed from New Zealand with his wife and children, was identified as Pierre Alain Oberson, 50, a New Zealand national.

Thawatch Boonfueng, deputy commissioner of Provincial Police Region 8, said Mr Oberson and a woman called Pornthip were on the yacht when a man, believed to be a foreigner aged between 35-40, swam up close to the boat. He was wearing a diving suit and carrying a concealed gun.

Mr Oberson invited the man on board. They drank beer for an hour and then began to argue.

The diver took out his gun and shot Mr Oberson, hitting him in the shoulder. The yacht owner then fought back with a knife.

During the scuffle, the diver was slashed many times on his body. He jumped overboard to escape.

Pol Maj-Gen Thawatch said the diver's body was later found floating near the boat. He is thought to have died from heavy loss of blood. His face was also heavily bruised, possibly after being clubbed by a hard object. Mr Oberson was taken to the intensive care unit of a local hospital.

Mr Oberson's wife and children were away on Koh Ratcha when the fight took place.

Police say it could be another four to five days before Mr Oberson is well enough to talk to them about what happened. They believe the diver may have intended to rob the boat owner. However, police are also considering the possibility that the pair knew each other.

Pictures of the diver have been distributed to local cable television stations and immigration police

[dennisinkamala]

Its a beggar when the pimp turns up for his share of the cash.

[Crustasian]

I p1ssed myself laughing at the gun.It looks like it was made for Blue Peter out of sticky bits and plastic.The fact that it went off and did not blow up in his face is amazing.

The other gun is the yacht's flare pistol.In the article the woman says she fired several flares to guide the police in a longtail to their boat.

Assassins Handbook 101:

Get close to your target and do the deed.Do not go on board for drinks and leave your DNA everywhere.

[Slow]

If this is an isolated incident then some background on Swiss national Pierre-Alain Oberson could be interesting. The gun appears similar to one that uses a pneumatic charge to activate the firing pin instead of the usual spring, it is a very old design that never worked, it was used for a long time ago as a "shark stick".

[DREW]

The plot thickens.

Still no mention of who the woman was he was with on the boat with, so I am sure there are a few more chapters yet to this story.

I can't believe the Police have not questioned him yet.

Phuket Gazette - online English newspaper for Phuket, Thailand, with daily news, classified ads, yellow pages, business listings, upcoming events, event calendar, phuket events

Regards

Drew

[Minder]

Originally Posted by DREW

The plot thickens.

Still no mention of who the woman was he was with on the boat with, so I am sure there are a few more chapters yet to this story.

I can't believe the Police have not questioned him yet.

Phuket Gazette - online English newspaper for Phuket, Thailand, with daily news, classified ads, yellow pages, business listings, upcoming events, event calendar, phuket events

Regards

Drew

__________________________________________________ ______________

Not sure how big this yacht is - the woman might just be the cook/crew - she knew when and how to use a flare gun to good purpose - some seacraft there - I'd have a gunshot wound and third degrees burns if it was my wife trying to call for help that way. Enjoy.

__________________
"Heaven holds a sense of wonder...and I wanted to believe..."

[landofsmiles]

Anyone know what the outcome of this was? Presumably the Swiss guy didn't get charged as it was self defence.

[DREW]

I read an interview with him in a two page feature in the Gazette about 2 weeks ago and he has not been charged as yet. He is still recovering with his scars.

Seems he was on his boat with a local bargirl and when he asked the guy to leave that is when he pulled the knife and gun and the boat owner managed to get him over the back of the boat near the dingy but he was still climbing back in and trying to knife him as he did so.

Fearing for his life he ended up using the long pole with the huck on it on the guy and then passing out from his knife injuries.

From what I read and what it said it seemed as though the motive was to steal the boat rather than to kill anyone.

Apart from that not a lot seems to have been known about the guy and where he wanted to take the boat or his plans.

Another Phuket mystery

Regards

Drew