JMG

Why not go after Thais that allowed and profited from the illegal land holdings as well? Don't bother to respond, we all know the answer...

Yeah, and legislate at the same time to deport those Thais to the UK.

How is your Thai by the way?? because if you say you don't speak any then this thread just went from kind of amusing to completely nonsensical.

As I previously explained, I speak really good Thai (my mother was Thai) but with a strange accent (only having previously spoken it with mother).

I've not returned to Maine yet, but will be doing so later this week to arrange POA for my house sale, and tie up a few things.

Is this a social experiment in predicting behaviour among ex-pats 50-65 years?

Tell the story of a naive aging foreign tourist idiot who stumbles into Thai high-so life through a chance meeting in coffee shop and immediate romance with young rich Thai beauty who falls head over heels for the charm of an American pensioner.

You should be a comic because this forum has had me on the floor and I’m sure everyone else is well and truly entertained. Can’t wait for chapter 3 when our new American chum announces that his 24 year old Thai beauty is a rocket scientist, fluent in 4 languages, on the Thai Olympic ping pong team and owns three 5 star hotels in Bangkok.

To be safe you should ask your new wife's brother to find land and build a house for his new brother in law.

Make sure you buy the brother a Toyota Hi-Lux so he can go pick up cheap deals on building materials when you give him cash.

I have not read every post but an F1 race in Thailand would never happen...

Too many countries with much more money are in front of Thailand in the queue to stage a race..

All jokes aside, Thailand probably will be on the 2014 F1 calendar.

Thailand’s 2^nd most wealthy person Mr Chaleo Yoovidhya (49% owner of Red Bull which he co-founded with an Austrian marketing whiz) has the resources and industry background. He owns 49% of the $4.4 billion (2009 sales) Red Bull company and his son Chalerm now owns the remaining piece. So if they want an F1 race in Thailand chances it will happen.

11:49pm: To add to the confusion, Deputy Bangkok Governor has just come out saying NO deaths from the fire on Suk22 @RichardBarrow

Don't want to effect tourism so retract that death, all is well now the person has been reincarnated to his previous life.

Is the hotel taking bookings for the Grand Prix?

WELCOME TO GRAND PARK AVENUE BANGKOK

(formerly Grand Mercure Bangkok Park Avenue)

Conveniently located in a quiet lane just off bustling Sukhumvit Road, the Grand Park Avenue is a 4 star hotel offering 221 elegantly decorated rooms and restaurants featuring Italian and Thai cuisine.

http://www.grandparkavenue.com/

Fire sprinklers inside????

would the drivers have to stop to pay the toll ?? , would make this crap and boring so called sport a bit more exciting imho , no doubt it will soon be the hub of f1 tho !

While paying the toll police could book them for speeding and extract another THB 1,000

Phuket already holds car racing events 24/7. Maybe an F1 could be scheduled too.

I am in shock at my chums situation. My planned visit is obviously off.

Transam,I see you're defending KBB througout the entire thread and calling him your chum.I know he offered you to visit him in a post on the motor forum some time ago.

May I ask if you actually ever met or even spoke with KBB in real life?

The Phuket News - Thursday, 1st Mar 2012 06:46

PHUKET: Stein Håvard Dokset, 50, who kept the rotting body of his ex-lover in a bathroom of his house for three years, is to be charged with “intentionally causing” her death, police said today (March 1).

He will also face additional charges of attempting to hide a dead body and possession of a gun without a permit.

However, Dokset, who today re-enacted for police the events that led to the death of his ex-girlfriend, Roongnapa Rachsombat, 33, continues to insist it was an accident.

This is just another example of the stupidity of foreign men buying properties in thailand which they cant legally own or control and giving them 'on trust ' to a village girl from up country.

Somehting has probably gone ascew with the rental income over a period of time.

Dont marry or buy property in Thailand !

The law is not on your side.

Doesn't this depend on the kind of person you marry?

I have been on the property ladder here in Thailand since 1990. Every property I've eventually sold, I have made a large profit and have lived in these properties rent free.

If you're not a good judge of character, then I urge people to follow your advice.

Just because you aren't paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.

Sorry, forgot to add some detail about the pre-9am appearance time. It's not to do with viewing the movie because from memory it just keeps playing all day on a loop. So I think the pre-9am start requirement is due to the admin staff wanting to physically see how many applications will need to be processed for the day ahead.

I might be wrong but I think you now have to watch the 'How to drive in Thailand' video which is only shown at certain times.

You're right.

And, when I watched it, I was amazed that flashing your headlights to the car in front when you're overtaking is the correct way to do it!! In Thailand, that is.

All this time I thought the flashing lights meant "get out of my way" made by dangerous drivers to the oncoming traffic. The normal scenario, when someone wants to overtake, is to tailgate

And all this time I also thought flashing your lights meant move over.

Col Sirisak said he had seen Chanote titles [full land ownership deeds] for several properties that Mr Dokset collected rent from as income.

“He said he sold his properties in Norway to invest with Rungnapa. The house she was killed in and the other properties are registered in her name,” Col Sirisak explained.

IF the properties were registered as Chanote titles why would you need a Thai to register ownership? Nothing makes any sense about this report and least of all the body being stored for 2 or 3 years in a bathroom. The guy is not an idiot.

Once again, the reporting is lacking somewhere.

First we read:

“We had an argument. She pushed me and then I pushed her, and she fell down the stairs. I checked her pulse and she was not breathing… I didn’t know what to do. I was scared, so I hid her body,” he [Dokset] told police."

Then, later in the article:

"He said [he] knew nothing about the body parts in his house, Chalong Police told the Gazette this morning."

What gives?

Quite clear to me, maybe you need to re-read a bit more slowly. Initially it said he denied it. But then confessed later

Once again, the reporting is lacking somewhere.

First we read:

“We had an argument. She pushed me and then I pushed her, and she fell down the stairs. I checked her pulse and she was not breathing… I didn’t know what to do. I was scared, so I hid her body,” he [Dokset] told police."

Then, later in the article:

"He said [he] knew nothing about the body parts in his house, Chalong Police told the Gazette this morning."

What gives?

Quite clear to me, maybe you need to re-read a bit more slowly. Initially it said he denied it. But then confessed later

Mrs Rungnapa cousin, Miss Parichat Sriraksa said, “We always suspected that she was murdered. We saw blood stains in her car when the bank came to repossess it after no payments were made since she went missing.”

Sad, what a waste of a successful life. May she rest in peace.

Thats true it is a waste of life. Thais do not believe in Life. They are scared dead of spirits and live like the walking dead. Take a Thai driving license.... they only expect you to hold breaks and judge distances..... the rest of the driving school is for the "dogs" they have no clue to markings on the road. Signals and the use of mirrors. They havent a clue of speed.The law is not implemented. Police act as referees and charity fund raisers during lunch hours, closing their eyes to all the fiasco on the road. I would suggest that the govt discourage foreigners from driving here in Thailand!..... and the tourist dept to encourage them to take the bus or train. The rest of what moves on the road on two wheels do so as a death trap or a Jaba transport. NO LIGHTS, NO HELMETS, NO BRAINs-really, riding a bike with child in front, holding the handle bar with one hand and a phone in the left. If that is considered experienced driver. NO CONTROL. - AMAZING THAILAND. I have constantly written here. Why dont the police stand at their post and traffic lights at the morning rush hour before school starts. Most of the school children are underage riders with no helmets. THE NEXT GENERATION OF THAILAND.

The best I have heard is - if the farang was not here there would be no accidents!!! Oh Sure! I believe that... the road would be full of drifters and circus artist and the vehicles lite up like a christmas tree.

If you want to rant, at least be factually accurate. The Aussie couple ran into the sidecar. Illegally parked or not, if one is NOT driving under the influence of alcohol, and NOT speeding, one WOULD NOT run into a parked vehicle.

Don't blame Thais for everything.

The only way for visiting foreigners on holiday in Phuket to reduce the risk of injury or exposure to death as the result of a road fatality is to be made completely aware of the local situation on the roads and how “Police act as referees and charity fund raisers during lunch hours, closing their eyes to all the fiasco on the road.....” Since the situation will never change, there should at least be a process for properly preparing and informing foreigners upon arrival. Get around in a car or a taxi not on a motor bike. Even sober tourists wearing a helmet in the middle of the afternoon get wiped out on motor bikes. It’s so sad to see such young and precious life wasted because authority is not prepared to develop a process for risk management. RIP beautiful young spirit.

I'd like to know if they ever followed up with the salaeng that may or may not have been parked illegally that was struck. Quite often these illegal vehicles don't have sufficient lighting, if they have lighting at all.

Such senseless loss of life could be avoided if only Phuket officials practiced safety process applied in other major holiday destinations around the world. Clearly Phuket officials need to ensure police enforce safety standards through vehicle compliance and operator usage. Unsafe, unregistered vehicles are driven by food vendors anywhere anytime and parked anywhere. If Phuket officials are not prepared to adopt the sane safety standards which are applied elsewhere and certainly in BKK they should at least conduct a campaign at Phuket airport advising tourists of the dangers and death statistics associated with motor bike accidents in Phuket and therefore recommend that tourists consider using taxis or car hire. The problem lies with Phuket officials and not with the police, public or tourists.

It's my understanding, from news reports of this scam over the years, that the question of insurance is a red herring; tourists have generally not damaged the jetskis they rented in any way but continue to be intimidated and threatened, their money extorted, through bogus claims of damage. In most cases the said scratches, dents etc were already there when the jetski was rented.

This smacks of the usual obfuscation tactics, so well know in Thailand, to cover up criminal activity.

Absolutely spot on. You hit the nail on the head. Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa and Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul, are cowards. They are unwilling to face the issues. They are too timid to tackle the culprits. They would rather go on keeping their heads in the sand, than do what is needed to address the issues. There are a hundred different solutions to these issues. Excuses are a mere attempt to placate the ambassador, and they are inadequate. Time for someone in power to take a stand against the mafia cretons. Thailand continues to receive black eyes on a daily basis. Unless the place is shamed to an extraordinary degree by the international press, nothing will ever change. Too much money is being made on these scams, and the police are partners in the scams.

Absolutely accurate summation of the jet ski scam on Phuket beaches. All that remains to be said is that the discussion of insurance among Phuket officials is simply a convenient smoke screen and a distraction from the real issue of operators extorting payment through intimidation for fictitious property damage. The only solution is leverage through a focused international press campaign and the message to foreign travellers that Phuket is not a safe destination. To see change the potential loss in tourism revenue must exceed the scam revenue.

The main point is that you are not required to maintain a Thai bank balance of THB 800,000 in order to obtain a retirement visa. Almost any established Thai lawyer in Phuket will arrange a retirement visa each year for around THB 20,000. With regards to ensuring that a current Thai bank account balance is accessible by a person (other than yourself) in the event that you drop, simply provide the person with an ATM card now while you're still up and about.

You are ignoring that fact that (a) This is illegal (a very minor obstacle in Thailand) and ( more importantly, should the card be chewed up at any point you have no other back-up.

If you want to pursue the route of using a deceased's account I suggest online banking with the login codes etc made available to the next of kin. With Kasikorn you would need the deceased's phone for the OTP system.

Withdraw the money. A local Thai lawyer will arrange your retirement visa for THB20,000 each year.

Heard of this scheme before and know some who have used it, I suppose it depends on how you want to use the money and how reliable the lawyer is after all he is circumventing the law is he not? Services like this are not available nationwide so it will depend where you live how convenient it is for you. Personally I am happy with it in a bank earning a bit of interest and then leaving it to my beloved ( not sure they use Bahts upstairs and the exchange rate might not be good as well).

This practice is widely available and can be obtained for as low as 14,000 baht.

You have still got to deal with the 800k or whatever residue is left after transferring some (presumably this is the plan) back to USA.

I like exeter's third party authority idea - it achieves access to the funds but doesn't fall foul of Immigration requiremts. Sadly, I doubt that the Thai banks can cope with third party authorities.

I will let you know if its possible although it may be ok in some banks and not in others, with local rules applying.

Can you also please help clarify another matter regarding potential tax compliance.

That is, we purchase electronic accessories from China which we market and sell via our UK website online store. We air freight the accessories from Shanghai to Phuket in bulk and then individually pack each customers order in a postal satchel here in Phuket and then deliver all satchels together to Fedex for delivery of each satchel to the individual customers in the UK.

Since we buy our products from China and sell to customers in the UK, but pack here because we live in Phuket, are we required to pay tax in Thailand? We own a company registered in Hong Kong but no Thai company.

Withdraw the money. A local Thai lawyer will arrange your retirement visa for THB20,000 each year.

Rawai and Nai Harn are rather friendly these days. Only stabbings and muggings going on.

Only ..... don't enjoy a great G&T. And for those who can't taste differentiation between tonic and soda, perhaps it's time for a trip to the doctor.

Best to gain clarification from a local Thai lawyer. My experience has been to always consult a local lawyer and for a fair fee have things done properly.