Published on Jan 11, 2008
By Andrew Drummond, Special to the Nation
The family of 24-year-old Leo Del Pinto, who was shot dead by a Thai policeman in Pai has called on the Canadian government to give safe passage to Carly Reisig and her Thai boyfriend, as they claim they fear for their lives.
In a statement issued through their spokesman Ross Fortune in Calgary the family complained that neither the Canadian or Thai Governments have provided answers to what happened to Leo, 24, from Calgary and Carly Reisig, 24, of Chilliwack, British Columbia early last Sunday morning.
“Carly and her Thai boyfriend are in fear for their lives and feel they require help from the Canadian government. The couple have been threatened that it is not safe for them to return to their residence in Pai as the police officer responsible is still out on bail.
“The Canadian Government has not assigned anyone to watch over and protect Carly and her boyfriend at this point in time. This is of great concern to the Del Pinto family as Carly and her boyfriend are the only two reliable witnesses to the murder of Del Pinto.
“Carly communicated that she and her boyfriend are attempting to return to Canada, where they will feel safer in continuing their pursuit of justice for Leo. This will require special accommodations by the government as her boyfriend is a Thai citizen. The Del Pinto family supports the decision for Carly to return to Canada and asks that the government expedites this process as quickly as possible so that Carly and her boyfriend can be in a safe environment.”
Nobody in Pai has come forward to support Carly’s claim that Sergeant Uthai Dechawiwat made an unprovoked attack on her and Leo and then deliberately shot Leo in the head, and later on the ground in the heart, before turning his gun on her.
Instead she has been called a ‘troublemaker’ who caused the incident by hitting the policeman.
Her Thai boyfriend Rattaporn Varawadee has remained by her bedside in Chiang Mai Ram hospital and has been careful to say little apart from “Nothing any of us did justifies the policeman pulling his gun and shooting.”
Carly Reisig has insisted she will return for the trial of Sergeant Dechawiwat out of a Canadian Government ‘Victims of Crime’ fund. Yesterday she made an anxious call to Canada saying the police wanted to take her out of Chiang Mai back to Pai.
Andrew
I understood the Thai police officer who shot Leo De Pinto,has now pressed manslaughter charges against Carly in the Mae Hong Song court.This will effectively prevent her from leaving the country.
Good luck in your investigations.
regards
Tom
Hello Andrew,
Glad to see someone pursuing this case! If it was left to the local English media alone, we would be even more in the dark.
For everyone of these high profile cases there are dozens of cases of Thai policemen fitting ‘foreigners’ up. I was discussing this case with a person today who has had that experience. Justice was never properly served. It never is. One can not even talk to anyone about it without inviting further problems.
I am interested in how us long-termers can really bring the attention of tourists/travelers/gap year students/new expats to the numerous pitfalls that exist here. How can we make sure that such cases are properly investigated? Here you are digging up some of the uncomfortable truths for the RTP, and frankly they will find ways to avoid the consequences of your reports. In any case, we can not expect an investigative journalist to devote himself to Thailand’s judicial malaise alone. There are dozens of cases involving police harassment of foreigners that are never reported.
Regards,
Abe
“With so many Britons murdered in Thailand, why does our Government not warn of the dangers faced there?
At least 17 Britons have been murdered in Thailand since 2003 – including Toby Charnaud, brutally slain by his Thai wife. Now, his family want to know why our Government is so reluctant to warn that the ‘Land of Smiles’ is one of the most dangerous places on earth for its British residents”.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article3326545.ece
One could be forgiven for thinking that the British Embassy in Bangkok works primarily for the interests of the rich and privileged alone.