'Fatal bashing' of Aussie tourist caught on camera
By Sean Davidson
2:08pm Feb 13, 2018
https://www.9news.com.au/nationa ... d-bar-benjamin-robb

Authorities have confirmed security cameras recorded a bar fight which left an Australian man dead in Thailand.

Benjamin Robb, from Newport in Victoria, had only been in Pattaya, 150km southeast of Bangkok, for 12 hours when he became involved in a drunken brawl at the Ruby Bar last Friday.

Thai paramedics and police were quickly on the scene and Mr Robb was taken to the nearby Pattaya Memorial Hospital, but despite treatment he died in the early hours of Saturday from his injuries, including internal bleeding.

The fatal fight was between Mr Robb and a 43-year-old American man, identified as Jose Manuel Polanco Junior, who has since been charged with manslaughter.

Police this afternoon confirmed the incident was recorded on a security camera, but are yet to make the vision public.

The CCTV will form part of investigations.

Fresh details of what led to the brawl came to light today, with authorities saying Mr Robb put his hands around the neck of a female bartender.

“He grabbed her throat and was squeezing it,” police said.

It's believed that's when Mr Polanco stepped in, allegedly beating Mr Robb until he was knocked unconscious.

Some witnesses claim the 43-year-old stomped on the Australian’s face up to 15 times.

Thai authorities claim Mr Polanco initially fled the scene but later turned himself over to police.

Court documents from the US state of Florida revealed Mr Polanco was previously charged with second degree murder after the death of an 18-year-old student.

Mr Polanco confessed to killing the victim, Michael Cooper, after being paid $20 to look at a problem with his car.

"After questioning the defendant for an hour and ten minutes, the defendant confessed to the murder," the document said.

"He also told the detectives where he disposed of the murder weapon, which was not recovered, and where he disposed of his own bloody clothing, which was recovered."

Mr Polanco's charges were later downgraded and he spent two years behind bars for manslaughter with a firearm.

The US State Department told 9NEWS in a statement they are working with Thai officials.

"We are aware of reports regarding the arrest of a U.S. citizen in Thailand," the statement said.

"When a U.S. citizen is detained overseas, the Department works to provide all appropriate consular assistance.

"Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment."

Meanwhile, The Ruby Club, in a statement, said the altercation had been brief and had left the Australian unconscious.

Mr Polanco is expected to be held in jail for at least 10 days before an initial court appearance.

If found guilty of Mr Robbs death, the accused could face 15 years jail.

Eyewitnesses said some bars in Pattaya are popular among those involved in weight lifting and martial arts sports in Thailand.

Australian consular officials are helping the family of the man, who are expected to fly to Thailand to retrieve his body.

"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian man who died in Thailand," a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said.

"For privacy reasons we are unable to provide further details."

I guess it's an Aussie TV station...grammar errors and this phrase just thrown in at random:

"Eyewitnesses said some bars in Pattaya are popular among those involved in weight lifting and martial arts sports in Thailand."

If you fire up the link you can see that Polanco has some muscle--the guy's 6'2", wouldn't want him coming at me all drunk and irate. Juiced on steroids? Who knows.

If you fire up the link you can see his US passport, including DOB and passport number, which seems unprofessional at best.

I jumped in to comment on the linked report to his 90s crime, or rather, the appeal thereof. You can read it here:

https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1138505/state-v-polanco/

Someone tipped off the cops and they busted him at school...then proceeded to question him for over an hour before reading him his Miranda rights ("You have the right to remain silent...). These rights must be read to suspects, generally upon arrest. The cops done fucked up, thus the appeal--Polanco had public defenders (lawyers without fees, appointed by the court) so while you'd think this is a reasonable case, his counsel was...well, public defenders. It also didn't help that Polanco confessed to the murder both before and AFTER being Mirandized.

The current situation is developing, apparently there's video, whether it will be released to the public is a question mark.

JtB

Hmm, so video shows the guy with his hands around the girl’s neck. The “victim” throws the first punch according the the police, and the officer says that the “aggressor” hit the other man twice, once that knocked him down and once after he fell. Zero mention of any kicking or secondary violence after the punches.

I guess my question is, if you saw a guy manhandling a woman in a club and he woouldn’t stop, what would you do?

I love how the details are painting an entirely different story.

I know what I'd do in that situation, and that's to not be a white knight.

If what Jakes post mentions is in fact true I have no issue with what occured and the "attacker" is completely justified in protecting himself. Two punches thrown after being attack actually shows great restraint on his behalf especially if the "victim" was mistreating a female to start with.

Will be interesting to see the video or finally get the true account of what happened. If the victim was mistreating one of the girls and threw the first punch I aint losing any sleep over the outcome (unless the so called attacker ends up doing time)

Best to always keep in mind the Rule of Stupids : "Don’t do stupid things, in stupid places, at stupid times, around stupid people."  as said on ESPN  by Trevor Matich, the former NFL player.

What would I do? If the guy is massive and juiced on roids, the intervention might turn deadly. I am not keen on getting murdered in a Third World country or doing time in a small piss-drenched Thai prison cell.  I am also not keen to have my story splashed all over the net for my family to see.  I would probably look for authorities to deal with the matter and hope they resolve it before he does serious damage. Cowardly maybe, but most would do the same. It is easy to play hero when tapping on your keyboard.

If it is a husband and wife situation, I agree with you TD. She has chosen the guy and little chance it is the first time for that type of thing to happen.

In a situation like the one described by the news link above I don’t know that i could just stand by and watch a woman be assaulted by someone. Is there a likelyhood of getting my ass kicked? Sure. Is there a much better likelihood that the woman, if not the cause of the situation, will be abused much worse than I would be, I think yes.

I don’t think stating you would attempt to defend a woman from an attack by a man makes someone into a keyboard tough guy, I think it makes you a human being. I don’t know that 51 of 100 people would choose to not intervene, but you may be right.

Clearly if there are police readily nearby, that should be the first option. But this is where the question of the people involved being impaired becomes even more relevant. As I mentioned, drunks don’t fight well, more importantly, their decision making is probably even worse.

I define a “white knight”, at least in the context of a forum, as a person that comes to the aid of a person, typically a WG, that is in no need of their support and it is done to further that person’s status with the person they are “white knighting”.

I’m just going off of the news report and the interview with the police officer in regards to the facts of what is on the video. If that turns out to be true, and the guy did assault the woman and swing first, well, not smart to bring a knife to a gun fight.

Don't these places have bouncers or security who patrol the streets?
I did not say I would stand by. I said I would seek help and do it speedily, either the police or nearby security who are better equipped in these matters.  Who knows if he has friends outside? I fight to protect her and then get king hit by one of those cowardly bastards. You might be willing to sacrifice your life without first looking for a smarter solution, congats to you. I don't think most would, however, especially if they have responsibilities back home (e.g. family) and when so many unknowns are at play. Does he have a weapon? Does he have friends who could attack you from behind? By the way, it is idiotic to assume all drunks are bad fighters, especially in an area frequented by mixed martial arts lovers. Who the heck knows what they are capable of, and it is not that easy to defend yourself against a broken bottle that he sneakily slips into you.

I was in this street a couple of weeks ago for 3 afternoons and evenings.
These bars are tiny, real hole in the wall kind of places so there are no bouncers or security at them.

I did not see one police officer or any form of security in the three days I was there.

Obe

Drunks also have retard strength and have diminished sense of pain. If you think you can beat a drunkard think again.

I'm selfish, I'll leave the establishment ASAP and get the police.

1. reading around the web it's the thai woman slap australian man in the face more than one time, after that Robb grab her neck. (true or not i dont know).

2. in a place like Pattaya everyone should make their own business and do not intervene in any discussion. Look when thai men attack a farang 10 vs 1, if any other jump in will be beaten up too and more thais will come.
Sometimes in the bars i saw thai man slapping thai girl in the face very hard, no one say a word. Just because no one want have problem with thai man in Thailand, so not need to search problem with other farangs also. You dont know who you have in front of you (Polanco had already killed a person in USA).

3. i dont know about security, but bars pay big tea money to police, and i think police will be happy to intervene to arrest an aggressive drunkard and extort some money from him

4. i know one thai police man live in Phuket-Patong, every night he runs in plain clothes in Bangla road with others police officer. I could thinking that RLDs in Pattaya are not much different.

5. sometimes i saw farangs buy knives and knuckles from street vendors. they were happy like a baby in a candy shop, ask yourself what they do with those weapons around Pattaya. Ready for some drunk fight?

6. IF Polanco stomped his foot on Robb's face multiple times, he deserve a long time in jail, there would be no extenuating circumstances for him

7. always avoid every male in Thailand, thai or farangs. Avoid bars with groups of drunk people. prevent problems, always!

Dr A you missed number 8 as a follow up to number 7. Stay home and never set foot outside.
There is a chance one of your girls could knife you because more than a few of them are high on drugs and booze so you had better avoid them as well.

Life is for living and no one gets out alive. You can live in fear if you want but i am happy to keep going to bars and talking to people if they are friendly

I'm gonna add my two cents as I think I've mongered in Ruby a time or two.

I say it all the time but I'll say it again: In Thailand, dress well and be polite. Laugh and joke. Works with bargirls, your hotel staff, whoever. Be that Nice Guy--if it feels like a façade, so be it.

Employing Thai sex workers for temporary jobs carries an element of uncertainty, let's put it that way. Their lives may be difficult, they may have alcohol, substance, and gambling problems. They often have a Thai boyfriend or husband and may have a child in their village to support. If interested, I suggest reading Stephen Leather's novel "Private Dancer" (Leather makes it a free download as a PDF, here's the link)--it describes a scenario that I think is worth learning. Fiction? Supposedly.

The atmosphere of Soi 6 and similar places is rich with sensation, and many men find themselves drawn into a bar, and consuming alcohol. The hot/humid climate and attractive women paying attention to him may cause him to drink more than he realizes--impairment of judgement can occur. It's not merely a case of "letting your little head do your big-head thinking": the entire environment throbs with neon, with pussy, with ego-flattery, with an attractive Thai girl stroking your cock through your pants as you sit on a barstool.

Generally the worst that happens is you end up spending too much time in some bar, too much money on some girl, have sex or don't because of "whiskey dick," get a hangover, all that. Not every punt is glorious, we're human, so are the girls, there's a commercial aspect and you might shred a few thousand baht for little added value. It happens.

But here we're discussing how to react to VIOLENCE in this setting, and I have some best practices I'd like to put forward for discussion. Best practices are things to strive for, not goals you must achieve.

1) Never display anger in Thailand. Never raise your voice in anger. Practice "jai yen yen" (cool heart) at all times. Oh, I know how hard this is. You're pouring sweat and cranky, service is poor, the air-con breaks down, they serve you the wrong dish, whatEVER. This is Thailand. Things go wrong ALL THE TIME. Deal how you deal, but don't yell at a Thai person--they will lose face and both they and people around will notice. You may become angry but do your best not to let it show.

2) Never get physically violent with a Thai person. In private it's not good, but in public, can be dangerous. Passersby will side with the Thai and if young and male, will likely join in. This is listed by Dr A above, and it happens. Some guy picks a fight and finds himself curled up on the sidewalk with ten strangers kicking him. It's got nothing to do with the incident--it's just a bunch of Thai guys who are "getting back" at rude farang after seeing one too many farang behaving badly. This behavior is reprehensible, but it happens. The police will not seek justice for you in such cases. It may not escalate to that level, but it can and does, and you DO NOT WANT TO BE THAT GUY.

3) If you witness violence at the level of this particular incident, get the hell out. There is no other option. When you are clear, call the Tourist Police immediately (110). Tell them there's a fight at Ruby Club on Soi 6. Do not get involved.

I know it would massively suck seeing some drunk farang choke a Thai woman, or watch another guy stomp him, or whatever went down. It's our nature to want to help. But this is not a coward/hero situation. You are a farang, and in a violent situation, you will not accomplish anything. DO call the Tourist Police...from a distance. That is the best way to help, even if the response is not a squad of crack professionals rushing straight in to sort things out. Call 110, after you get safely away.

That's my two cents. As I mentioned before, I cut my deals on the street outside and spend enough time in the bar to hand the barfine to the woman behind the counter, then upstairs for some quality companionship.

JtB

[ Last edited by  JackTheBat at 14-2-2018 22:41 ]

i spend my time and money when i want, where i want and how i want.
i dont need your uselss silly advice to stay home. Yes, i always try to avoid high/drunk girls.
I dont live in fear, i try to live with smartness for myself. Prevent and avoid problems is not fear at my home is smartness.
Maybe it's you who live in fear and have need the alcohol to find the courage to relate with girls because you are an insecure and need to find new buddies everytimes for not feel lonely, poor boy.
I not need a buddy for travel and fuck girls around the world.

I work in security since 2006 (but i wait your advice about selfdenfence and avoid problems... LOL) i deal with too many drunkard/high idiot for years every weekends, so while i'm on holiday i dont give a fuck to all drunks farangs around pattaya, i dont have any fun to sit on a stool sipping a drink and talking with other men, i really dont like it.
I monger solo and i dont not feel the need to socialize with strangers.
But you can do what you want, you could also join the AA and find some friends there, or get involved in some bar-brawl in Thailand but after dont come hear crying out because someone hurt you or you have to pay the police. It's always great to see keyboard warrior.

2 weeks ago an 18yo boy almost die outside the club where i work for stomp kick in the head while he was ko on the ground. Ambulance, police, etc. While i'm on holiday i dont want to deal with this shit or with drunk guys. but seems you cant understand this...

PS: you always criticize what i write, it's clear you dont like me, but the thing is mutual. You should ignore me like i ignored your posts till now. pity that this forum does not have the function "ignore user"

[ Last edited by  Dr.A at 15-2-2018 01:29 ]

my first holiday in Thailand in Koh Samui 12 years ago (when i was still 21/22yo with almost no english and travel solo, but someone thinking i live in fear LOL) I met a girl outside Green Mango disco pub, talking with her. A big ladyboy come to us and start to slap and kick my girl (reason? unknown to me) i would like to punch LB in the face but around 5/6 other LBs looking and were ready to jump in the fight with bottle and high heels shoes. So i grab the girl and drive her away quickly.
The girl called her brother, he arrive immediately with other 4 friends, he had a gun and pointed to the LB while his friend beat the LB brutally, when they got tired of beating the LB they left laughing. No one intervened.
I thought welcome to Thailand, and start to learn how to behave in Thailand.

Geez get off your high horse you sensitive arsehole, all I pointed out is its a bit extreme to avoid EVERY male in Thailand, which you obviously ignore your own advice as you arse fuck plenty of them when your there.

And always criticize you, as far as I know I have had fuck all to say on any of your posts.

Sensitive? Lol funny said by one who comes to Thailand to buy the illusion of GFE and who need to make buddies in his holiday. poor lonely boy.

you did not understand the concept of my advice, useless to waste my time with guy like you.

Have fun with your drinks drunkard.

[ Last edited by  Dr.A at 15-2-2018 05:23 ]

And you come to Thailand to fuck guys, whats your point exactly?. Just because I am looking for something different to you that makes me sad and lonely?

You avoid interacting with people because you are scared that they might hit you, I am amazed you can step outside your home.
Mind you I have never meet you and feel like hitting you so I can see what effect you must have on people in person.

By the way can you point me to where I criticized you (apart from your moronic statement in this thread). i did a search and i have replied only once to one of your posting and that was about the number of low life long term cheap charlies that end up there. I can only presume you thought I was refering to you directly which was not want I meant though you must have recognised yourself in my description to get all bent out of shape.

Have fun with yourself you sanctimonious cunt

Different strokes for different blokes. If everybody liked the same thing, it would be a boring world. Anyway, you two sound like a couple of menstruating middle-aged women at a wet market arguing over who makes the best pork bone soup. Do us all a favour and take this virtual pissing contest to Fight Club or PM. Pretty please.