Muslim man destorys Hindu temple and is beaten to death by peaceful Buddhists

From The Nation:

Damage to Phra Prom at the Erawan shrine "could hit tourism", claim officials (March 22).

What about the murder of the alleged desecrator, beaten to death by an angry crowd, in the middle of the city?

Does this have no effect on tourists when they are considering a safe holiday destination?

Noah Shepherd

Chon Buri

Exactly.

And nobody comes to Thailand to visit the Erawan shrine, anyway - get real.

Shows the calibre of the gov officials we have here in Thailand. Most of what they say sounds like it came from someone who's been drinking too much cough medicine.

In case you missed the original story:

Insane Thai beaten to death for destroying sacred Hindu shrine
18:18:20 EST Mar 21, 2006

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - A 27-year-old mentally disturbed Thai man was beaten to death by enraged onlookers at a world-famous shrine in downtown Bangkok after he destroyed a popular statue of a Hindu deity with a hammer, police said.

Thanakorn Pakdeepol, who police said had a history of mental illness, was killed after he broke into the Erawan Shrine and used a hammer to shatter a four-headed statue of Brahma covered in gold. Thousands of Thais and tourists seek good fortune at the statue every day.

Police Col. Suphisal Pakdinarunaj said two men were arrested in connection with the killing early Tuesday morning.

The website of the newspaper the Nation identified them as Bangkok garbage collectors, held on charges of second-degree murder, and said police were investigating whether other people were also involved.

The newspaper said police found Thanakorn lying not far from the shrine with a head wound, a cut above his left eye and bruises on his back. He died before he could be taken to a hospital just across the street.

"I feel sorry that he destroyed the Brahma statue, which is highly respected by Thai people," Thanakorn's father, Sayant, was quoted saying.

Many devotees of the shrine rushed to the site after hearing the news. What little remained of the statue was covered by a cloth.

Astrology and fortunetelling still play a major role in Thai life, even as the country adopts western ways and modernizes.

Visitors to the shrine usually promised devotion in exchange for a change in their luck. They ranged from infertile couples seeking children, to entrepreneurs and people seeking an edge in the lottery.

Usually they would bring token offerings such as garlands, incense, candles and teak elephants.

The shrine was originally built in 1956 to ward off bad luck during the construction of an earlier hotel, which was later torn down.

Deputy prime minister Surakiart Sathirathai - who is also acting culture minister - visited the site after the attack and ordered the statue rebuilt within two months. He said the restored statue would incorporate as many fragments of the original as possible and be better protected.

The 'deranged' individuals in this sad tale are the street sweepers who beat the man to death for breaking a plaster statue, no one else. The statue will be easily replaced, the man will not. In fact, an improved version of the statue is already in the works -- let's hope it goes through and the depressing little 'shrine ghetto' around it is also given a much needed aesthetic and ergonomic revamp.

Again, Third World is not about infrastructure, it is about what is carried in the heads and hearts of the people. If we fixed this animalistic mentality of the average Thai, all other problems would be solved. If we don't, we can build as many bridges and skytrains to nowhere as we please and the standard of living will only decrease.

Today's generation of Thai politicians all carry this Third World mentality within them. They are useless to lead out of the current situation.