Great escapes … and some not so great
Recent events have got me thinking about some of the great escapes that have occurred in Thailand over the years, although I think the latest episode is the first time someone like political philosopher Montesquieu has found himself in the thick of things. At the bottom rung of the escape ladder we have the all too regular tales featuring drivers “fleeing the scene” after an accident. Do these rascals ever get caught? One wonders where they all go. Maybe they all flee to Nakhon Nowhere and hold athletics meetings because they must all be good sprinters.
But Thailand has a rich history of bizarre escapes that are worth savouring.
Indian rope trick
One of the most extraordinary escapes that was never satisfactorily explained took place in November 2000. It featured an Indian underworld boss, seriously wounded in a gangland-style shootout in Bangkok, who managed to disappear while under heavy police guard at Samitivej Hospital. The whole thing resembled a particularly bad Thai movie.
The initial police report claimed he had escaped by tying bed sheets together and abseiling down the side of the hospital. If you are Tom Cruise, this might be feasible, but for a portly fellow suffering near fatal wounds it would have been a mission impossible. Another report said he simply walked down the fire escape, which was not nearly so entertaining but probably more accurate.
It was a bit tricky explaining how this rotund and badly wounded gentlemen could escape under the noses of nine eagleeyed cops supposedly guarding him. A subsequent police inquiry concluded there was no truth to allegations that a few palms were greased.
However, it was later reported that a number of the police guards were transferred to inactive posts after giving rather hazy accounts of what exactly took place. In the end most observers agreed it must have been the Indian rope trick.
Suvarnabhumi slumbers
Suvarnabhumi airport was the scene of one of the more brazen escapes in 2013, although it proved to be only temporary. The case added a new dimension to the word “confusing”, featuring assorted red herrings, half-truths and even a hint of a cover-up.
It involved a German criminal being deported from Australia to his homeland and escorted by two Australian security guards. Somehow the prisoner managed to escape through a fire exit at the supposedly secure transit area and disappeared for a couple of weeks. He even found time to have a foot massage in the airport before fleeing the scene.
Reports of how he managed to escape his guards were extremely fuzzy but the consensus was that they simply fell asleep, allowing him to wander off. The matter was even brought up in the Australian parliament, where there were some heated exchanges concerning the sleeping habits of Aussie security guards.
After a couple of weeks on the loose in Bangkok, the German, apparently fed up with the traffic, gave himself up. They even had a re-enactment featuring a few nervous faces amongst the 50 local cops assigned to ensure he didn’t repeat his great escape.
Bed and breakfast
One of the more entertaining cases involved a fellow who didn’t exactly escape but gave a new meaning to the word “imprisoned”.
In the late 1990s he had been sentenced to 10 years in Rayong jail for attempted murder, but he seemed to spend more time outside of prison than inside. After his prison breakfast he would drive into town aboard a warden’s motorbike and then transfer to a limousine, which would take him to his flourishing construction business.
In the evening he would pop back to the prison to sleep, although occasionally he stayed in town with one of his mistresses. He was basically using the jail as a bed and breakfast guest house, except he didn’t have to pay. Occasionally he even made trips to Bangkok nightclubs.
This rather agreeable lifestyle was abruptly interrupted when one of his shooting victims spotted him out on the town and reported it to the authorities. The prisoner was eventually transferred to a maximum-security jail where he enjoyed full board, but alas no mistresses.
Extra time
Rayong jail was also the scene of one of the more celebrated prison breakouts. It occurred in July 1998 when eight prisoners managed to escape. At least the warders in this case had an acceptable excuse as they were busy watching the World Cup football on television. Apparently the match was so exciting they failed to notice the inmates trooping out behind them.
Next-door neighbours
Not all escapes are successful, however. Back in the 1970s two men pulled off one of the first-ever bank robberies in Bangkok. The robbers did a neat job and got clean away with several million baht, partly because the security guard had dozed off.
The robbery caused quite a stir and a nationwide hunt was launched for the perpetrators. Airports were watched, cars searched, borders sealed, guards woken up. It was a veritable dragnet, but not a trace of the two gentlemen.
The duo were finally caught counting the money in their house, which happened to be just a few doors down from the bank they had robbed.
Well, why rob a bank on the other side of the city when you’ve got one handily located next door? There’s no traffic to contend with for a start.