Bangkok Post editorial criticizes Thai government’s game crackdown

Recently, a member of the Thai media was quick to point out the problems inherent in the Thai Government’s reaction to the stabbing of taxi driver Kuan Pokhang.

The editorial in the August 18 edition of the Bangkok Post was critical of the Thai government’s plan to crack down on videogames. Learn more after the jump.

Via GamePolitics, we’ve learned that an editorial in the August 18 edition of the Bangkok Post was critical of the government’s plan to crack down on videogames.

The editorial notes that, instead of showing concern for the victim of the recent stabbing incident, the reaction of the government “emphasised the huge gap between the real technology revolution and what the country’s leaders appear to know about it.”

The editorial continues,

First of all, it is most troubling that authorities and the media latched on so quickly and conveniently to the alibi of a confessed, vicious killer.

They were far too quick to accept the word of Mr. Polwat. He is an adult who told police he planned and carried out a reprehensible killing for a small amount of money. His claim that the video game Grand Theft Auto made him commit the crime sounds more like a novel legal defence than a credible motive. Tens of millions of people around the world play that game – tens of thousands in Bangkok.

The Bangkok Post also took notice at the Thai Government’s list of Top 10 Violent Video Games, noting the fact that it was taken from a Detroit politician’s list. Of the videogame ban, the Post added,

Such a ban is also self-defeating, since new games come on the market regularly. In any case, a police ban is only another business hitch to the video pirates and shop owners involved in underground distribution.

In the end, the Post editorial recommends that local authorities, as well as parents, “take a more serious approach to the changes technology is bringing to our society,” and we quite agree with that assessment.

• Thailand pulls Grand Theft Auto from shops after murder
• Thailand’s list of 10 violent games to avoid filched from Detroit list
• Thai official wants to prosecute game makers for copycat crimes

Via Bangkok Post