Kerryd

Our Military Detention Center was seen as pretty harsh, to the point that anyone who went there really did not ever want to go there again. Not like Thai prisons. But stand by your bed room inspections everyday. Then station jobs (sweeping/mopping common areas, cleaning bathrooms and whatever else the staff ordered you to do. Then out to the yard to dig holes. And fill in holes. And dig more holes. All with the staff screaming at you non-stop. And strictly regulated meals. No talking to other detainees. Sit at attention until told to eat. 30 minutes to finish then turn in your tray. Marching (double-time) everywhere you go. And if you are in your cell when it's not "lights out" - you are sitting "at attention" on the edge of your bed. No laying down or reading a book. And you had to EARN privileges, like being allowed to talk to another detainee during meals. You were there to be PUNISHED, not make friends and do each other's nails. And from what I heard, no drugs. No gangs. No "illegal" activities or gang rapes or "shiving" other detainees. Extremely hard discipline and punishment for anyone breaking the rules though. And if our regular prisons operated like that you can bet there wouldn't be a lot of repeat offenders.

Yeah I had to laugh at that. "4 toilets that they had to clean with cold water". Poor snookums. And eating from trays that were washed on the floor. "Waaa - they don't have proper high-temperature, restaurant grade dishwashing machines to wash the food trays." And they had to wash with "little bowls of cold water". You'd think "cold water" would be a luxury in a place with little or no ventilation and definitely no air con. And despite supposedly being broke and in a cramped prison cell he claims they weren't allowed out of except for 1 hour a week, he was living soley of the "small pot noodles" one guy was selling in a corner of the cell. I'm shocked he wasn't able to "bribe the guards to move some prisoners to other cells" and "buy cleaning supplies" and "bring in food" and "send messages to his mum" the way he claimed he'd done in the Pattaya jail. And don't they normally search prisoners and look for contraband - like smart phones ? He claims he got one smuggled in, hidden in a package of baby wipes and then what, hid it in his "prison wallet" when he was transferred to the IDC where they apparently didn't bother searching him (or confiscating his phone if they did search him). I'm starting to think all those movies and books and stories from other prisoners about how bad things are is total fiction ! And he never once mentioned having to fight anyone for anything. I guess that only happens at Bang Kwang ?

Monks in Thailand do things all the time that are supposed to be against the "code of conduct" for monks. I recall going to the Phra Phatom Chedi (tallest chedi in the world at the time) in Nakhon Phatom in '98. The monks still carried the (talipot) fans to hide their face if they crossed paths with a (grown) woman. One senior monk was handing little scrolls of paper to people with (I guess) a lucky number or prayer on it or something. He gave me one but he motioned for my girlfriend to turn her hand over and hold it out, then he dropped the paper into her hands so he didn't risk touching her. Very "old school" at that place. Then we go to Wat Chai in Pattaya and the monks are smoking and drinking and talking on telephones. And a little over a year ago I was touring some ancient Khmer ruins in Isaan. One set was inside the large compound of a Buddhist Wat. On the right side of the compound was the Khmer temple and just past that I could see some buildings (houses) - maybe belonging to the caretakers ? But as I was approaching the ruins a pit bull and two other dogs came charging at me from those buildings, snarling and barking. I set my camera bag on the ground, pulled my (small) folding knife from my pocket, turned towards them and took a step while yelling about how I'd gut them like fish and feed their livers to the ants. It's not the words that are important - it's the delivery and tone - and volume. And sure enough, even the pitbull stopped advancing. And when I took another step, still yelling like I was the one who was going to be attacking them and they backed off and ran back to the buildings they'd come from. Generally, the smaller dog always gives way to the bigger dog, especially if it looks like the bigger dog isn't scared of the smaller one. I put my knife away, picked up my camera bag and that's when I noticed a couple of the monks that had been out sweeping leaves in the compound were standing off to the side (near the parking lot) just watching. It took a couple of minutes for my heart to stop pounding (lots of adrenaline pumping) and I kept an eye out to see if they got brave enough to come back but they didn't. But if you show fear and turn your back to them, they are likely to attack because that is their nature (dogs, not just pit bulls).

Uh huh. Someone is vastly undervaluing that haul. "the confiscated methamphetamine is valued at approximately 49.5 million Thai Baht (£1.1 million)" (Approx $1.456 mil US.) From another story about this: "Officials declined to say how much the haul was worth but a one-tonne seizure of crystal meth in May last year had a street value of US$25 million." So if 1 ton was worth $25 mil US last year, that's 850 million baht. So 1.65 tonnes would have a value of around 1.4 BILLION baht. At least. Lol - weird coincidence. in 2019 Australia announced the seizure of - 1.6 tonnes of meth - hidden in stereo speakers - shipped from Thailand ! The street value of that was estimated to be $837 mil US. And in 2018 Indonesia seized a shipment of - 1.6 tonnes of meth. (Allegedly from Myanmar.) Is 1.6 tonnes the standard shipping weight for meth or something ? And - lol - think about this. "The consignment, comprising 33 cotton bales and weighing approximately 1.65 tonnes," "a record-breaking seizure of 1.65 tonnes of crystal methamphetamine" So what, each bale was comprised of 50kgs of meth wrapped in a single layer of "cotton" ? (50kgs x 33 equals 1,650 kgs which equals 1.65 tonnes.) (US "tons" are not the same as Metric "tonnes". 1.65 "tonnes" would equal 1.82 "tons" in US weight.) Them numbers, they just ain't adding up !

In the MIRROR story he claims he was "asked to pay" 2,000 baht for his overstay and 500 baht for the night in detention (when he was first arrested). That would indicate just 4 days of overstay. Way more but of course we only get to hear his side of the story and it's not likely he's going to admit what really happened. From the Mirror article: "He bribed guards to have a few people moved to another cell to allow more space, he said." "He also paid bribes to have food brought in, for cleaning products for the bathroom, and to send messages to his mum in the UK, he said." "The police asked him to pay 50,000 Baht (£1,180) instead of 500 to release him straight away, and he couldn't pay it, he said. He was taken to court the next day where he was asked to pay 2,000 Baht for the visa overstay and 500 for the cost of the night he'd been detained." Totally missing how the police asked him to pay 50,000 baht - instead of 500 - to release him. Where'd he get the idea it shoud have only been 500 baht ? And seriously - if he was taken to court "the next day" and "asked" to pay 2,000 for the overstay (4 days worth) and 500 for the night in jail - then that would have been the end of the story (if he paid). And what, we're supposed to believe that he could bribe guards inside the prison - but couldn't afford a 2,500 baht fine ? And we KNOW how the system REALLY works. You get banged up for overstay and they lock you up in the local slammer until Friday (normally). THEN you get sent to the IDC in Bangkok so that you have to stay in a cell until Monday when you are taken to court. THAT is when you get told what your sentence is (fine, deportation, overstay, etc). You don't get "attacked in a bathroom, beaten by cops, locked up, "asked" to pay 50,000 baht instead of 500, then go to court, get "asked" to pay a fine, then get sent to the IDC in Bangkok anyways so you can go to court again. There's a lot of BS going on in that story. Zero chance the cops (or anyone else, even an angy "ex") would have known he was on 4 days of overstay. And then tracked him down and attacked him in a public bathroom. Did that make the locals news here back in late November ? He says some Russians "lent him the money" to pay his 2,500 baht court fine (in Pattaya). But he had money to bribe the guards so they'd move some prisoners to a different cell ? And get them to "buy cleaning products", bring in food and send messages to his mum ? He was able to get a phone smuggled in - by who ? A person willing risk arrest by hiding a phone in a pack of baby wipes -that the guards somehow missed - but couldn't pay the (bail or bribe) ? And he could call his mom but she couldn't send him the money ? He says he spent 8 days in the Pattaya jail and was sent to Bangkok on 5 Dec. So he would have been arrested on 27 Nov, "went to court" on the 28th and, if his story was true, should have been sent to the IDC on the 29th (Friday). Instead, for no reason at all, he claims he was kept in Pattaya for 8 days before being sent to the IDC on 5 Dec (a Thursday). Maybe too late (maybe) to get him a court date on the Friday so he would have appeared on the 9th. But ! He claims he spent 15 days at the IDC in one sentence. ("and a Bangkok deportation centre for 15 days") Then later says he had to pay 500 baht a night for the 5 nights in the IDC before he flew home. ("..after paying for the flight home plus 500 Baht (£11.94) per night for the five nights in the deportation centre") (Maybe it's supposed to be 15 days in total, 8 days in Pattaya and 7 days in the IDC. But then his numbers don't match up as he says he was supposed to pay 500 baht in Pattaya (the day after he was arrested) for the 1 night he spent in detention there, but he claims he ended up spending 8 days. So what, pay for 1 night, get the next 7 nights free ? And then says he had to pay 500 baht per night at the IDC for 5 nights when he was there for 7. And NO mention of going to court in Bangkok or being sentenced to deportation and blacklisted. He just says he had to pay for his plane ticket and 500 a night for the time he was in the IDC. This story has more holes than an go-go dancers fishnet stockings.

Lol - I just mentioned a couple days ago about how you almost never see any Chinese getting into trouble in Pattaya (bar brawls and such) and with "Western tourists" it's almost always drunken fights with each other or bar bouncers). And with the Indians it's almost always something to do with ladyboys. Getting into fights with them, getting pickpocketed by them or taking them to their hotel rooms and waking up in the morning to find out they were robbed by them. And here is yet another story about an Indian and ladyboys right on cue. Good scam if you can get away with it. Buy a cheap, fake gold chain at a market, take a couple pics wearing it, then pretend it was stolen and try to claim an insurance payout for the value of a real gold chain. Does insurance even cover personal jewellery ? You'd think that would definitely off the books. Too easy to "lose" something and then try to claim it. (Nevermind the insurer trying to authenticate the actual value of the item beforehand.) I remember years ago I'd leave Walking Street in the wee hours and go to the MacDonalds on Beach Rd to get an early morning snack before going home or I'd walk from Soi 7 down to Walking Street. I'd sit on a bench on the beach side of the road and watch the shenanigans. It was better than most sitcoms on TV and far better than most of those fake "reality" shows. I never had a problem with the ladyboys. As soon as one would make eye contact I'd just shake my head a little bit to let them know I wasn't interested and they'd ignore me. Then again, I wasn't dripping in gold necklaces, rings and bracelets - or trying to barter with one of them to go to a hotel room while 5 of my friends tried to hide across the road and point at other ladyboys they thought looked better (or cheaper). Almost every problem that happens down there is the result of people doing exactly that. Flashing huge amounts of gold and acting like an entitled ponce in front of people that barely have enough to money to eat. Or guys (Indian and westerners) looking for a cheap deal. There's a lot of reasons why things are "cheaper" down there. None of them good. Does seem a bit odd though when you consider how many times you hear stories about an Indian having a problem down there compared to a Caucasian (and literally never a Chinese).

This guy is Samuel LEE Jackson. The actor is Samuel LEROY Jackson. You're welcome.

Also note that the regular staff in those places are NOT licensed pharmacists and are NOT allowed to sell prescription drugs over the counter. Even if the pharmacy sells those drugs without a prescription. I take a tablet a day (Miracid) to control stomach acid and go to the Fascino near me every couple of weeks to get another couple of boxes. No prescription - but they won't sell it to me unless the pharmacist is there. If (she - it's always a she) is there they'll sell me as much as I want. (It was prescribed to me at the hospital when I first had the problem treated - 12 years ago.) Pretty much anything that's "behind the counter" can't be sold unless a pharmacist is present, even though they really don't do anything. Buddy of mine has blood thinners for his heart condition. Back in Canada - has to have a doctor's prescription to get them. In Thailand - he can get them at any pharmacy - no prescription needed - but only if the pharmacist is there.

So she says she was almost scammed by someone using "deepfake voice-cloning AI" - and now is going to use "deepfake voice-cloning AI" to try and convince the Chinese that they should keep coming to Thailand ? "On Wednesday, the premier revealed she was recently targeted by a scam caller who posed as another country's leader using AI voice cloning. The bogus government leader informed her that she had yet to make an expected donation." That tech is going to cause some serious problems for a lot of people in the future.

This seems to be a recurring theme over the past 2 years. Wealthy Chinese kid comes to Thailand and is "kidnapped". Parents recieve ransom demand. Kid turns out to be partying in Bangkok with friends and claims to know nothing about the "kidnapping" (but doesn't explain why they stopped contacting their parents or using social media). Seems to be a way for rich kids to get a big chunk of daddy's money when he's not being as "generous" as they expect.

Actually it can be an issue. I knew that a long time ago and in 2019 I took a trip back to Canada. After arriving I put my passport in a pant pocket and a few minutes later put my phone (with it's plasticy cover) into the same pocket. I felt it jam something, took it out along with my passport and saw that the "face page" of my passport had a tiny rip, barely an inch (2 1/2 cms) long. I ended my trip a couple days early so I could go to Vancouver and visit the passport office. Normally, to get a new passport, you only need to fill out one form and have a "still valid" passport under the new system. But I was told because my passport was "damaged" - I had to go through the whole procedure as though I'd never had a passport before in my life. (I'd been issued 6 passports over the years before this.) And apparently I was deemed a security risk ! I tried to use my (still valid for 5 years) passport and my (Canadian) driver's license as ID - but they said a valid passport wasn't "proof of ID" ! And neither was my driver's license. They wanted a paper copy of my birth certificate to prove I was Canadian ! A piece of paper with nothing but my name and place of birth on it but nothing to actually say I was the person named on it. I had to scramble to get to the Ministry of Vital Statistics (or whatever it's called) but shocker - they can't print Birth Certificates in Vancouver. Can only be done at the main office - in Victoria. So they sent a rush request to have a copy printed and sent to my hotel in Vancouver. I was supposed to fly out on Friday evening and this was Tuesday afternoon. I went into the Passport office again on Wednesday morning with all the paperwork and a "guarantor" who - had to also have a valid passport and swear that they knew me for more than 5 years. And Security took her into a back room to grill her in private to make sure I wasn't some terrorist trying to sell passports on the black market. I was born and raised in Canada and had spent 22 years in the military and another 10 years as a civilian in Afghanistan supporting our military but some minimum wage failed wannabe cop was acting like I was Osama's BFF. They finally agreed to give me a "temporary" passport valid for just 2 years - because I couldn't "prove I was Canadian" !!!! If I couldn't "prove" I was Canadian - then why were they giving me a valid Canadian passport good for 2 years ?!??! And the next day (Thursday) the courier delivered the copy of my birth certificate so I rushed back to the passport office and - too bad so sad. The only way they'd accept the birth certificate is if I cancelled my existing application and started a new one - from the beginning. The coming weekend was a long holiday weekend and if I re-applied I wouldn't get my new passport until the following Tuesday at the earliest, meaning I'd have to change my flight and add 4 more nights in a hotel (at $200 a night). So I didn't bother and went back to the hotel. The next day (Friday) they called at 15:30 to tell me my passport was ready so I zipped down to the passport office again. (I racked up over $400 in cab fares alone going back and forth over those 4 days.) Get to the office around 16:15. No passport. Wait. Wait. Wait. 17:00 rolls around and the commissionaire is locking the doors and turning off the lights and I'm thinking I'm screwed. It was almost 17:15 when a clerk called my name and handed me my still hot-off-the-press (literally) passport and I was able to go back to the hotel. I'd paid for Friday night as my flight wasn't until 23:00 and I didn't want to be sitting in the check-in area for 9 hours - or running around Vancouver with my luggage. A year later I went to the Embassy in Bangkok with my "temporary" passport. Filled out the one page form, gave them my new passport photos and bingo. 10 days later I had a regular, 10 year passport. No hassle, no security BS or having to have a "guarantor" swear I was really me. All that because of a 2.5cm tear in one page of of a passport. I'll make a photo of it. (I keep all my old passports - which also made the rent-a-cop at the passport office suspicious.) Notice the huge rip in the page that had Security all in a dither because they thought I was some kind of terrorist or something. Good to know though that you can get a Canadian passport without having to actually prove your Canadian eh ! Another gift to the terrorist's of the world I suppose.

Let's be honest. This is something that has been going on ever since the "sleepy fishing village" turned into "Disneyland for adults" back in the 70s. The difference is - social media. The same stuff was happening before (not so much ladyboy stuff on Beach Road but all the rest) except most of it didn't make the news and there was no social media (or smartphones with cameras) so a lot of what went on rarely got reported. And it is not endemic to Pattaya. This exact same kind of behaviour (not so much ladyboy stuff but all the rest) happens literally anywhere you have booze and a lot of single men "on the prowl". Bar fights and street brawls are a fairly routine occurrence in most big cities but they usually don't warrant media coverage unless there's serious injuries or property damage. It's like traffic accidents. They are so common they rarely get mention - unless it's something "bloody" enough to make the news. Sheesh, I remember bars in cities that had/have military bases close by. Friday night (or more correctly, early Saturday morning) brawls happened every couple of weeks in some places. Rarely ever made the news unless there were a number arrests or some serious damage done. Same problem. Lots of booze and lots of (usually) single guys. I came up with a phrase to describe the mindset of most of those guys. When it got to be after midnight or close to last call, they would get the "F*** or Fight" attitude. If they weren't going to get laid, they were going to fight. And often didn't need any excuse for it. And it's not the "quantity" that's the problem. Plenty of Chinese tourists here and how often are they in the news for drunken brawls on Beach Road at 3-4am ? And the Indian tourists are usually only in the news when they get into a scrap with some ladyboys - or get pickpocketed by some ladyboys - or take a ladyboy back to their hotel and wake up the next morning to find all their stuff has been stolen. It's the "quality" tourists from "Western" (i.e. mainly Caucasian) countries that are usually the ones making the headlines for the wrong reasons. Russians, Australians, "UK" and Americans (not so much the nicer, more polite Canadians and New Zealanders it seems). The ONLY way Pattaya can "restore it's image" would be to shut down 98% of the beer bars, go-go bars and nightclubs in the city and restrict the rest to Walking Street. Making Walking Street like the Red Light District in Amsterdam or the Reeperbahn in Hamburg where all the "naughty" nightlife is contained in one small area. (Many other cities in Germany have a small area where ladies of ill-repute can be found. Often it's a small street that is blocked off to vehicle traffic and has large signs on each end to block the view of the street to vehicle traffic and most pedestrians.) That would cause a massive drop in the "demographics" most likely to be troublemakers (single men) and increase the "more preferred" demographics (i.e. families). Yes, there would still be the occasional problems but a huge reduction in the main causes of those problems would result in a huge decline in the number of those problems. (And possibly create other problems as all those bargirls, bouncers, taxiboys and ladyboys would have to do something to earn a living - or go back to working hunched over in the rice fields for the rest of their lives.) But there is too much money in the sex and alcohol business - and too many people willing to look the other way so long as the envelopes keep coming. Which is why the "entertainment" areas in Pattaya have expanded well beyond Walking Street and continue to expand. And why these problems won't be going away anytime soon.

I would need to see an actual reference to that - from a legitimate source - before I'd believe it. Everything I've been reading about the subject suggests they want to see all of your income, even if it's covered by a treaty, and the only way to do that is by filing a return. It is worth pointing out that even a lot of "experts" (as in Thai professionals) don't seem to know what the regulations actually are or will be. I think that was in a Bangkok Post article last year about the taxation of foreigners where they quoted some (Thai) tax lawyers who noted there were a lot of unanswered questions about what was taxable and who was actually required to file. But if there's a Revenue Department document or notice in the Gazette that says you don't have to file a return if your only remitted funds are from non-taxable pensions - that should be pinned to the top of this discussion. As that would definitely clear up most of the confusion for most of the people here.

Strange - I was replying to this, read a new post and now my response is gone. Isn't it usually saved "by the editor" ? In any event. Here is the link to the UK/Thailand Tax Treaty (a downloadable .pdf file). Scroll down to Article 19, para (2) - (page 27 of the ,pdf). https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a80bddc40f0b623026953eb/uk-thailand-dtc180281_-_in_force.pdf "(2) (a) Any pension paid by the Contracting State or a political subdivision or a local authority thereof to any individual in respect of services of a governmental nature rendered to that State or subdivision or local authority thereof shall be taxable only in that State. (b) However, such pension shall be taxable only in the other contracting State if the recipient is a national of and a resident of that State. Note: "Contracting State" in this case is the UK and "other Contracting State" is Thailand. So basically it's saying if you receive a UK GOV'T pension(s), it's only taxable in the UK - unless you are a Thai national and resident in Thailand. However, if you are receiving a gov't pension and - say a Union pension or money from a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIP) - those other pensions/income are taxable. The tax treaty only applies (this part) to "gov't" pensions. However, again, if you've had tax deducted from those other pensions/income, it would be claimable as a credit on your Thai tax return (up to the maximum amount you owe - if any).

Thailand expects you to (voluntarily) report all your income, regardless of source or country. That would be totalled to determine your tax rate. (See table below.) Then, any amounts that are not "taxable" - like pensions or other income covered by a Tax Treaty between Thailand and your home country - would be deducted. Then they would apply the "personal deduction". Jingthing mentioned 60k baht for single people and 120k for married expats. Whatever is left would be taxed at the aforementioned tax rate. From Siam-Legal (https://www.siam-legal.com/thailand-law/thailand-new-tax-on-foreign-income-an-overview/) Thai citizens and foreigners who are permanent residents are subject to pay income tax, should they earn their annual income, at the following rates: 0 to 150,000 THB is exempted from income tax. 150,001 to 300,000 THB is subject to a 5% tax rate. 300,001 to 500,000 THB is subject to a 10% tax rate. 500,001 to 750,000 THB is subject to a 15% tax rate. 750,001 to 1,000,000 THB is subject to a 20% tax rate. 1,000,001 to 2,000,000 THB is subject to a 25% tax rate. 2,000,001 to 5,000,000 THB is subject to a 30% tax rate. 5,000,001 THB or more is subject to a 35% tax rate. So, if they do things "the normal way" they'd calculate your taxes like this. Example 1. If you earned 1,000,001 baht in total income (pensions and whatever) your tax rate would be 25%. Let's say 800,000 was from (foreign) Pension income covered by a Tax Treaty and 200k was from rental income not covered by that Treaty. Then, they would deduct the 800k that is covered by the Treaty, leaving you a "Net Income" of 200k. Then they would deduct the "Personal Deduction" (60k ? I haven't verified the amounts.) giving you a "Taxable Income" of 140,000. As that is below 150,000 baht, there should be no tax owed. (But ! This is Thailand ! I would not be surprised if they did tax that 140,000 baht at 25% because your "total" income was over 150,000. So you could still end up paying 35,000 baht in this case.) Example 2. Now lets say you get 400,000 in pensions, 400,000 in rental income and earned 400,000 as a teacher in Thailand. Your total income would be 1,200,000 putting you in the 25% tax rate. Then deduct the 400k in pension income (assuming it's covered by a tax treaty), leaving you a Net Income of 800,000. Assume you are married so you get the 120,000 deduction, leaving you with a Taxable Income of 680,000. That amount would be taxed at the 25% rate giving you a tax bill of 170,000 baht. If you were single, you'd only get the 60,000 deduction so your Taxable Income would be 740,000 and your tax bill would be 185,000. Note: Any tax paid on the rental income or deducted from your salary would be claimed as a credit on your Thai tax return - up to the the total amount owed and depending on the clauses in the Tax Treaty. (So if you owed 185,000 in Thailand and had valid tax credits equalling 200,000 baht in your home country, you would only get to claim 185,000 baht in credits. Thailand isn't going to refund you for taxes you paid in another country.) Example 3. You sole, total income is a meagre 400,000 from pension income covered by treaty. You would be in the 10% tax rate. But as your entire income is not subject to tax (by treaty) your Taxable Income would be zero, thus no taxes to be paid. But they still expect you to submit a Tax Return even if you won't owe any taxes. However ! If you are scamming the Immigration requirements by transferring 65k a month and then each month transferring it back "home" before transferring it back to Thailand again, each transfer would count as "income". And lol if you think you can argue with the Revenue department and try to convince them that it is the "same 65k" and should only count as "65k in income for the year". You would be assessed as having an income of 780,000 baht and be put in the 20% tax bracket. But - as all that "income" would probably be counted as "pension income", it would be deducted from your Net Income, leaving you with zero Taxable Income. However - they may demand proof that it actually is "pension income". And if you can't prove it is, the entire amount is liable to be taxed at the full (20% in this case) rate. And don't bother trying to argue that your pension income shouldn't be included in determining your tax rate, especially as they are just going to deduct that amount anyways. Tax people (and laws) don't work for your benefit, they work to collect the maximum amount they can (within the law). Which is why they total all of your income and use that to determine your tax rate regardless of how much of that income isn't taxable or has had tax already deducted from it. So that they can then tax the remaining amount at the highest possible rate.