Kerryd

Remember the "big crackdown" on "bikers" and how they were going to revoke the visas and deport foreigners that were members of "1%" motorcycle clubs ? I haven't heard of any actually having their visas cancelled (or denied when trying to renew them). There's only what, a few thousand foreigners, living in Phuket. I'm sure it won't take any time at all to run all their names through national and international police databases and weed out all the honest ones from the ones who may be using false names and fake/stolen passports. Or - it's news meant to placate the small crowds of demonstrators who will now go home and put their protest signs in the cardboard recycling pile, content in the knowledge that one foreigner will (might) be deported.

Lol at how quickly they mention deportation and blacklisting and then back off and say it's not being considered in his case. I guess he's "too rich" to face having his visa revoked for mere assault. Now of course it was all a "mistake" and it wasn't a "kick" it was a "trip" and her "high ranking police officer" is just a sergeant. So you can bet that soon the charges will be dropped as the doctor suddenly decides (or is "convinced") to be forgiving and accept the (rich) foreigner's version of the event.

" as she sat on steps leading from a million baht-a-month seaside residence" A million baht a month ?!?!? And he runs an "elephant sanctuary" ? Methinks someone might want to take a peek at his finances.

Keep in mind - this was NOT his "first trip" to Thailand (according to the article he's visited many times and is touring all (77 ??) provinces. (Last I checked was only 76 plus 2 special "Administrative Areas" - Bangkok and Pattaya - which don't count as provinces). So it's unlikely he's used Grab before but never taken a tuk-tuk. "a claim Hong found surprising, having used the service during his numerous trips to Thailand over the past two decades." (Referring to the Grab taxi service.) It seems the Korean was trying to make "content" for his video channel. Wouldn't be the first time a self-claimed "influencer" tried to get something for free by promising to "promote" someone/something on their (tik tok/whatsapp/twitter/youtube/etc) channel. Maybe the "59 year old" taxi guy wasn't impressed and refused to give a free tour (or a discount). It's not like getting a shout-out on some minor-league Korean influencer's you tube channel is going to increase Somjit's business. And it wouldn't be the first time some "influencer" got the cold shoulder and decided to slag (someone/something) because they didn't get their way.

I just checked to see if the fees increased for Canadians. I don't recall what they were before, but the "e-visa" and the Consulate websites are very cryptic about the fees. Took some digging to finally find the Consulate (in Canada) "fees". And then noticed the difference they charge for a Single Entry and a Double Entry Tourist Visa. $65 for a Single Entry (3 month validity) but $325 for a Double Entry (6 month validity) !! FIVE times more !! Date effective - last October so just a 4 months ago. And they want to increase tourism ?!?!?

Where would AseanNow be if it weren't for The Thaiger copying news stories from the Bangkok Post ! Love that we get our Pattaya news from a Phuket based media site that copies it's stories from a Bangkok news site ! Riding bikes at night here is like playing Russian Roulette. Even without the drunk/untrained drivers on their cell phones, you still have crappy, poorly maintained roads with numerous hazards. It's bad enough in the daylight when you can see what is happening ! I go for my morning walk just before sunrise when it's light enough to see but I can be back before the sun is glaring in my eyes. And it's light enough I can see any new hazards along the way to go with the old ones that have been there forever. Like rebar sticking up through the concrete. Bent manhole covers almost falling into the drains. Garbage tossed on the side of the road. Construction material (including left over sand and concrete slowly being washed down the roads). Low hanging wires that you hope aren't electrical. And of course, the drivers who, even at 6 am, are not paying attention to anything but the phone in front of their nose. I always walk "against the traffic" so I can see the motorcycles and cars heading at me or coming from side roads. So many times I've had to dart off the side of road into a shop "parking" area or behind a power pole to avoid getting scraped by a car/scooter that isn't paying attention or someone coming from a little side-soi that zooms to the main road and starts turning into it before having to stop because there's oncoming traffic. At night though ? It's probably way safer to be on a scooter than walking - or biking - on the side of those same roads !

So it was actually THREE Brits, 5 transgenders and two "other women". Maybe. "The holidaymakers allegedly called the five transgender escorts to their villa for a mass romp along with two other women on the island of Phuket, southern Thailand, in the early hours of February 22." "When we arrived we learned that the foreign tourists had reached out to three transgender prostitutes to come to their villa and agreed to pay them 4,000 baht each." During the party 2 of the ladyboys were asked to leave. The Brits then tried to short the remaining one by only giving him/her 2,000 bath instead of the 4,000 originally agreed upon. So it was between 2-7 women and transgenders, depending which line of the story you read. Interesting video. The one with the knife is butt naked - but apparently stopped to put his shoes on before running around with the knife. The boys got some licks in themselves before the end. That ladyboy probably woke up with a massive headache the next morning. And you see one more in just his underwear and another (driver of the white car) so it's not like they showed up, had a beer and were then asked to leave. Seems they'd gone way past that point before the trouble started.

Meanwhile the biggest crook of them all went from facing 8 years in prison to a 6 month vaca in an exclusive private suite before being "released" on parole, having served what, 3-4 hours of his sentence ? In the current system, and with so many cops, it's almost impossible to climb the ranks without taking - and paying - bribes to get ahead. And unlike some countries, they don't pay the police enough to be honest and when they are caught they rarely face any real punishment. So there's no incentive to change the system or be "honest". It's literally impossible to reach the highest ranks of the police (or other services) without having a lot of dirt under your carpet. It's just a matter of how well you can hide it.

Wasn't that story from like - early last year or something ? (Yeah, like last September when his name was one being considered for the Police Chief position.) It was quite awhile ago. Why is it coming up again when it seems to be the exact same thing ? There's nothing new in that story to suggest there's new allegations or charges.

You can be sure we are only hearing one side of the story and you can bet he's full of gut-wurst because he's not about to admit what HE did to provoke the confrontation.

4th case in less than 2 weeks of someone having a motorcycle accident that no one has heard of until it shows up in a UK "newspaper". What is with the media in Phuket/Krabi these days ? Sheesh, if it wasn't for "online media sites" and places like the Mirror and Sun, we'd have no idea about what's happening literally in our own backyards ! Of course, this story already had a convenient GoFundMe set up and linked in the story (it's in the linked article). However, it this case he apparently had the accident in Krabi when he and his wife were there visiting his daughter who was travelling in Thailand at the time. It says he and his wife were on the scooter when he crashed into a metal barrier. But he apparently did have insurance that paid his bills in Thailand and flew him back to the UK, despite it being a "motorcycle" accident. Accident apparently happened on 19 Jan. He spent "weeks" in the hospital in Thailand before being flown back to Wales on a stretcher and he spoke to the (online) media site 5 days later. (The article is dated 11 Feb so he returned on the 6th ?). So he gets back to the UK on the 6th and in less than 3 days they already know the renovations he wants to do "probably" won't be covered because they are "means tested" and he thinks he won't pass the test. So they set up the GoFundMe on the 9th. (Only looking for £30,000 though.) (Got to start bookmarking all these stories. It's happening so often maybe they should stop renting motorcycles to people in Phuket/Krabi altogether !)

You people just - don't - learn, do you ? 1) It was reported in the Daily Mail (UK). NOT in local Thai news media. 2) NO date or even time period mentioned, not in the Mail story or on the GoFundMe page. 3) NO location other than "Thailand". 4) GoFundMe set up BEFORE the news story was published. 5) GoFundMe set up by "non-family" members. GoFundMe set up on 8 Feb. Story appears in the mail on 9 Feb. This is the 3rd story in what, a week, about someone that has had a motorcycle (scooter) accident and their insurance has (allegedly) refused to cover them. Note that Brenton's Facebook profile is "locked" as is one of the people organizing the GoFundMe. Her partner (the other organizer) has a few posts going back almost 2 years. Not one photo or mention of Brenton. Surely some of you know people in Queensland. (Note they don't say more than just "Queensland".) Maybe give him a call and best wishes on a speedy recovery.

My buddy flew back to Canada yesterday. I told him he was nuts but he said it was already getting "too hot" to stay in Thailand. I reminded him that it was like -20 where he lives but he said it should start "warming up" next month. I told him I'd spent time in Alberta and -10 in March is not "warming up" ! If I was put on a plane heading back to Canada now I might consider trying to escape as well ! I generally try to arrange my trips for late June/early July. Last time I was "home", late June 2019. I was "at the lake", sunny afternoon, close to 28 degrees. Then it started clouding over. Then it stared raining. An hour late I was shivering and looked at the temperature - it was down to 7 degrees ! In an hour !!! I had to scramble and tear open some boxes of old clothes that had been packed for nearly 15 years to find something warm to wear. Next time - early August. No more of that "winter weather in the summer time" stuff for me !

I don't see that pic in any of the articles posted yesterday or today.

I knew there was something missing from the story. "Upon learning of Hughes’ predicament, her friends and family quickly rallied together to support her. Kerry’s colleague and friend, Tammy Hudson, set up a JustGiving page". Same idea as GoFundMe. She arrived in Thailand on 9 Jan, planning on staying 1 month. Accident was on 22 Jan (according to Glasgow Live which seems to be the originating media site). " I had large lacerations to my face needing sutures, horrendous back pain, a head injury with bleeding to the back of my head, broken nose that needed surgery and a wound in my left knee. I was unable to walk unaided but needed to get out of hospital" "After finding out about the freak incident and realising that Kerry would not be making her flight home, friends and family rallied round. The nurse's colleague and close pal, Tammy Hudson, organised a Just Giving to help cobble the cash together to get Kerry home and make a dent in the medical bills. More than £10,000 has been raised so far." (About 450,000 baht.) Uh huh. It's always "a friend" that sets up the fundraiser, isn't it ? And she apparently flew home - Business Class - on 30 Jan. Which is odd as she was supposedly staying 4 weeks so would have flown home around 7 Feb, yet her friends and family "rallied round" when realising she wouldn't make her flight home (which would have been a week after she apparently did fly home). (Amazingly fast recovery !) Pretty bad when Thaiger (based in Phuket) has to get it's "local" news from an online click-bait site in Scotland. You'd think an accident on Koh Lanta that involved a foreigner (white woman at that) would have made the front page of every media site in/around Phuket. Yet when I do a search, all the results stem from that GlasgowLive site/story. And wow - her "friend" was able to set up a fundraiser almost immediately after the accident and in less than 6 days had already collected more than £10,000 ! Especially considering they (supposedly) waited until after the Insurance company refused to cover her. How did her insurance company even know what kind of "scooter" she had rented ? And ! "I was admitted to ICU for days then had an email from my insurance saying they rejected my claim due to the scooter I hired being classed as a motorbike." So, accident on the 22nd. Treated on Koh Lanta and transferred to "the mainland". In the ICU "for days". Finds out that her insurance claim is denied. "Friend" sets up a fund-raiser. Apparently raises over £10,000 in less than 6 days. She recovers and flies home (business class) on the 30th. (I'm guessing her "friend" must have brought a laptop into the ICU so the woman could check her emails.) And shocker ! There's another story of another person who had a motorcycle accident and their insurance won't cover it ! And in that story, the accident happened on Koh Samui on 30 Jan but they've already set up a fundraiser and collected over $17,000 (US). (Of the $35,000 US they are trying to get. About 1.25 million baht at today's rate.) Apparently his travel insurance doesn't cover "motorcycle accidents" And shocker - the fundraiser was set up - by a friend ! And here's where it really shows. "Bad compound fracture. A clean break of the tib and fib in his lower leg.” Followed by: "Following the accident, Kirk underwent emergency surgery to save his leg." "Last week, doctors were scheduled to implant an internal fixation rod to stabilise the fractured bone. However, the surgery was postponed until today due to the discovery of sepsis in his lungs." "Despite the necessity of the procedure for his safe return home, it is considered elective." "He faces the daunting prospect of having to fly home in business class after further procedures to mend the shattered bone." Uh huh - saving his leg is "considered elective" surgery ? And I've flown Business Class many times and if you are booking a one way (or upgrading from an Economy fare) it's not that "daunting" considering the circumstances. And the fact he's only flying from Thailand to Australia. And sepsis is when the body screws up while fighting an infection. Mainly starts in the lungs (according to the Mayo Clinic and the NIH). Even these days the mortality rate is 20-65% in severe cases. If the accident was on the 30th and the doctors had scheduled that surgery "last week" but had to postpone it because they discovered sepsis in his lungs - it would have had to have developed and spread in mere hours after his accident. Sure hope he survived. Dang. I'm doing something wrong. I had a motorcycle accident a couple years ago (hit the rear of a truck that ran a stop sign right in front of me). Had a crush injury on one foot (nearly severed the big toe and part of the foot completely) and a shattered wrist. Even the very expensive Bangkok-Pattaya hospital was only going to charge me 500,000 baht total (hospital stay, operations and other expenses). A hospital in Sri Racha did it for 280,000. (My Thai friends drove me around to different hospitals while I was in the back seat zoned on a dose of Morphine I didn't want but the little "village" hospital doctor insisted I needed. My friends were trying to find the "cheapest deal" even though I had 4 insurance policies. The mandatory motorcycle insurance, a separate "motorcycle accident" policy from the bank, my health insurance from the bank and my Class 1 motorcycle insurance.) For some reason I can't figure out though I still ended up paying a whack out of my own pocket. Not sure if I was supposed to submit a claim afterwards or what (and of course, no one could explain it to me). Note to self - next time stay at Bangkok-Pattaya. Better care and closer to home. (Less than a year later I was having major issues with the plate the doctor in Sri Racha put in my wrist. The screws were tearing up the tendons in the wrist because they weren't put in properly. The wrist specialist at Bangkok-Pattaya looked at an x-ray of my wrist and literally started laughing ! (I'm serious - he was looking at the images on his computer and laughing at what the other doctor had done !) It seems what I should have done is immediately get "a friend" to set up a fundraiser, then make up a sob story and sell it to a "reputable" media site like the Mirror or Sun and then have others pay all my expenses. For 1.25 million baht I could have had 1st class care at Bangkok-Pattaya, fixed my motorcycle and gone on a nice long 5 star holiday to "recuperate". Sheesh, why wait until an accident ? Just need a generic photo of someone in a hospital and a sob story with no actual details. Oh, and a "friend" to set up the GoFundMe (and give me the cash). Hmmmm - that might be the hardest part.

Back in '04-'09 I was renting a room in South Pattaya so I didn't have to keep checking in/out of hotels on every trip while I was working overseas. One day I was having coffee at the "bar" on the bottom floor when there was a commotion from the building next door. Girl (early 20s) comes out onto the street screaming and crying - and holding a large butcher knife. A minute later a guy (early 20s) comes out clutching his upper arm which was bleeding from a large cut. I was sort of "ushered off" by the family that owned the building I was in so that no one would try to involve me. Not sure why but the argument may have been about "foreigners" or "not about foreigners". (As in, maybe he was angry because she wasn't bringing home enough money and she was angry that he wanted her to shag foreigners for money. Someone thought seeing a foreigner sitting there might trigger one or both of them so they hussled me away.) A couple years earlier there was another girl that was living in the same building I was in. She and her "sister" worked in a go-go bar that a friend of mine managed. Turns out one of them met a "karaoke boy" soon after arriving in Pattaya and he immediately moved himself into the room she was renting with her sister. That came to an abrupt end a couple months later when she came downstairs one day with bruises on her arms and face. When the "elder sister" of the family that owned the building saw that, he was out the door and gone within minutes, never to return. (Apparently he'd roughed her up because she wasn't sleeping with foreigners for money and he wanted her to start so she'd have more money to give him.) (She ended up moving back home not long afterthat as well.) I just told my buddy to be really careful about getting involved in domestic disputes over here. He had a bit of a scare last year when he saw a Thai guy he thought was beating up a girl near the apartment building he was living in. He tried to intervene and of course the guy started threatening him. My friend was 76 and skinny as a rake so he wouldn't have had much of a chance but luckily there were other people in the area and the situation settled down. I told him he had to be careful because he might think he's saving the girl only to end up with her and the guy both attacking him.

Happened to me on my very first trip here back in 1993. Spent all my money except what I needed to get back to the airport. Got to Don Muang with 35 baht in my pocket. I'd screwed up looking at my ticket and thought "12:05" was 12:05 "am" and not "pm" and found myself there 12 hours earlier than need be. So I spent some money on a sandwich and newspaper and hung around for hours until check-in opened. In those days, they did a security check and secured your bag/suitcase with a security strap before you went to the check-in. I'm one of the first in line and when I get to the counter - there's a sign saying I have to pay a 500 baht "Departure Fee" ! Nowhere was that mentioned except at the check-in counter. I had to leave and have security cut the strap off my bag. I went to an exchange booth but all I had was some Croatian and Hungarian currency (I was on a Peacekeeping Mission in Croatia when I went on holiday.) They wouldn't take it because they didn't know the exchange rates (no internet yet back then). I went to the airline office (Lufthansa) and they suggested I speak with the flight steward (head guy for that flight). So back into the security check and while waiting in line I saw some Germans who were on a Peacekeeping Mission in Cambodia who had the same problem I did. They were talking to the co-pilot of the flight, who agreed to loan them them the money. I tried to get him to do the same for me and showed my UN ID and everything but because I wasn't German he wouldn't help. So I get up to the front of the line (again) and the guy ahead of me is causing a problem. He's drunk, missed the flight he was supposed to be on and was demanding to be let onto this flight. The clerk told him he'd have to talk to the steward. I step up and tell the girl that I need to talk to the steward as well as I didn't know about the departure tax. A guy behind me, who was a bit frustrated at this point, asked what the problem was and I told him about the tax. He asked the clerk how much (500 baht) and gave her 1,000 and told her to pay for both of us just to speed things up. I told him I'd pay him back in Frankfurt as soon as we landed. He was in business class though and even though I rushed as fast as I could (being in economy class), he was long gone by the time I got to the luggage carousels. (Not sure he even had luggage actually.) After that though, I always made sure I had a couple thousand baht extra on me at the end of every trip "just in case". If nothing else, it was "taxi fare and first night in the hotel" on my next trip, which was important back then as the exchange booths in the airport closed in the evenings and ATMs weren't common. So if you arrived at 1 or 2 am with no local currency, it could be an issue. Not a big deal these days of course. We had the same problem in Canada. Back in the late 90s a newspaper did an "undercover" story on the beggars and buskers around Vancouver. Turns out the average beggar was making over $200 (Canadian) a day ! Which was quite a bit more than I was making as a Sergeant in the military at the time ! And they found a lot of the "beggars" were actually spoiled rich kids from well-to-do neighbourhoods. They'd get paid to watch someone's dog, take it downtown, through an empty food bowl on the street and pretend they needed money to buy food for the dog. And, like all of them, as soon as they have a couple dollars in their hat/bowl/guitar case, they scoop it out and leave a few coins to make it look like they haven't been getting many donations when in fact their pockets are nearly overflowing. A lot of those "beggars" were just collecting cash to party with on the weekends. When they got bored or scammed enough for the day, they'd go around the corner, hop a bus to the next stop, go to wherever they parked their car and drive home. (It seems that a lot of them were also trying to "score" with whichever homeless chicks they encountered as they tended to be "easier" than the girls in their own social circles.) Vancouver had to actually pass a bylaw to prohibit buskers and beggars from sitting within a few meters of ATM machines and the entrances to convenience stores, especially as many of those beggars had become very "aggressive" and hostile towards people that didn't give them money (and that's all they wanted). The city even installed "donation meters" in place of the old "parking meters" so you could drop spare change in them that was supposed to go to social services and helping the homeless. As you can imagine, that didn't go over well with a lot of those beggars.

And just to confuse matters: "Thailand, at present, extends tourist visas on arrival to nationals of over 60 countries". What they are actually referring to are the 30 day "Visa Exemption" stamps - not "tourist visas". However, many places (like the UAE) give people (from some countries) 90 days "visa free" on arrival. If your economy is heavlily dependent on tourism, you usually want to make things easier for them - and more attractive for them to come to your country. Thailand has used it's "business school" system of making things harder for tourists and then when the numbers drop - increase the price of everything to make up the difference. Maybe they've actually started to take notice that bringing in half of China and India wasn't making up for the revenue they were losing by deliberately shunning tourists from "white" countries (Scandinavia, Europe/UK, America/Canada/Australia/NZ/etc). Was in Big C (Central Pattaya) yesterday visiting a friend. Rode down Soi Buakhao after and had coffee with another friend. Rode home just after it got dark. 95% of the "foreigners" I saw in the mall, on the streets and in the bars had one thing in common. Take a guess what that was. Take a guess at who, on an average basis, spends more money on their holidays in Thailand. Granting that "demographic" the ability to stay longer would no doubt add a huge boost to tourist revenues while making life easier for the beg-packer/fake "I'm a tourist - that's been here on short-term visas and border runs for 5+ years" crowd. Which don't really make up that large of the "long term" stayer population anyways. Might cut into the revenues of the Visa agents a bit though. My buddy has the hassle each year of trying to get a double-entry tourist visa, then and extension, then a border run and maybe one more extension to get him through the coldest months of winter "back home". He generally stays 5 or 5 1/2 months per year. A 90 day "visa exemption" stamp would be perfect as it would only require one border run each trip.

It's all in the Thaiger link underneath the story.

I guess it didn't occur to them that the proper way to do it (these days) is to set up a GoFundMe first, then have a "friend" contact the Mirror (or Sun, you know which ones) to "sell" their story - and get their GoFundMe link published. Then sit back and watch the money pour in. And because your family isn't (directly) involved, no Police, no Interpol alerts and no visits from the local authorities. Then, after your goal has been reached, announce that the "victim" has escaped and that the "authorities" have arrested the kidnappers - but don't give any actual details like locations, dates and names. Those kind of things can be checked after all. The key is to keep everything generic enough that no one can track down where you actually were, when you actually were there and who was actually involved. That's why so many of those scams are set up by "a friend" and not an identifiable family member. And the incident happened "in Pattaya" during a trip "last fall" when you stayed at "a hotel" "near the beach" and went "to a bar". (It's funny too, probably 95% of the GoFundMe scams that center around people in Thailand all seem to happen in Phuket. And the stories almost always first appear in a UK gossip rag (like the Mirror or Sun) - after a GoFundMe has already been set up.) Why can't these scams happen more often in Pattaya so I can check them out easier ?

Have to give lots of advance notice so everyone can be in place for the photos and "gift giving" and so they can rehearse their stories in case someone dares actually ask them a question. You can bet it will be just like whenever the Police tour Walking Street and then announce that they didn't find any evidence of prostitution happening. And it's telling that they KNOW what is going on and they do NOTHING about it.

Note - this link just brings you to this thread. Needs to be redone.

For Canadian residents/expats/etc. Thailand and Canada do have a Tax Treaty. The full text can be found here: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/programs/tax-policy/tax-treaties/country/thailand-convention-1984.html Note: under Definitions - "b) the terms "a Contracting State" and "the other Contracting State" mean, as the context requires, Canada or Thailand;" Article 4 defines what is considered a "resident" (for tax purposes) and that opens a can of worms. Especially as Canada may consider you "non-resident for tax purposes" and then still tax you ! (Hence the "snowbird" or, as it's properly known, the Schedule XIII tax on pensions for people deemed "non-resident".) So if I'm "non-resident" in Canada, then why am I being taxed at all ? And does my rented home in Thailand count as my "permanent" home ? If not and I don't have a "permanent" home in Canada, then by this treaty I would be deemed a resident of Canada by nationality (for tax purposes at least). If you have a home in both countries, you'd be deemed resident in whichever country your personal and economic relations are closest. So if you have a Thai wife and are living in Isaan, guess what ? As most of you are probably concerned primarily about pension income: (The stuff in bold, black parenthesis is mine. I tried to clarify it a bit. Not sure if it's better or worse !} "Article 18 Pensions 1. Pensions and other similar remuneration, whether they consist of periodic or non-periodic payments, for past employment, arising in a Contracting State {Canada} and paid to a resident or the other Contracting State {Thailand} shall be taxable only in the first-mentioned State {I presume that means Canada in this case}. 2. For the purpose of paragraph 1 such remuneration for past employment shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State if the payer is that State itself, a political subdivision, a local authority or a resident of that State. Where, however, the person paying such income, whether he is a resident of a Contracting State or not, has in a Contracting State a permanent establishment, and such income is borne by such permanent establishment, then such income shall be deemed to arise in the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment is situated." Para 1 stipulates that pensions from Canada are only taxable in Canada and appears to apply to Gov't (Public Sector), Military, CCP and OAS (and provincial pension plans). I hate jargonese but Para 2 seems to indicate that if you have pension income from the "other" country (i.e. Thailand) then it would be taxable in Thailand. Article 22 deals with dual taxation. Para 2 states: "2. In the case of Thailand, double taxation shall be avoided as follows: The amount of tax payable in Canada, under the laws of Canada and in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, whether directly or by deduction, by a resident {deemed resident for tax purposes} of Thailand in respect of income from sources within Canada, which has been subjected to tax in Canada, shall be allowed as a credit against Thai tax payable in respect of such income, but in an amount not exceeding that proportion of Thai tax which such income bears to the entire income chargeable to Thai tax. For the purpose of determining such entire income, a loss incurred in any country shall not be taken into account." More jargonese designed to keep lawyers in business. At least they use Canada and Thailand instead of "contracting states". Basically says (if I have it right) that if you are taxed in Thailand on income from Canada that is already taxed, then you can claim the Canadian tax as a credit on your Thai taxes. But only up to the amount that Thailand would have taxed you. So if Thailand decides you owe 100,000 baht in taxes and you've paid 150,000 baht (equivalent) in Canadian taxes on that income already, then you can claim up to 100,000 baht as a credit on your Thai taxes. Conversely (the other way around) - if you only paid (for example) 50,000 baht (equivalent) on your Canadian taxes and your Thai tax bill is 75,000 baht, you'd be on the hook for the extra 25,000 baht. A situation like that can arise when people deliberately ask for their (Canadian) tax "at source" to be reduced for some reason. (It happens. People sometimes ask for a lower tax rate in expectation of having extra deductions at the end of the year and wanting more cash in their paycheques throughout the year instead of a larger refund on their tax returns.) This treaty is pretty much the same idea as the treaty we (Canada) have with the USA. If you work in the States and get hit with (for example) $50,000 (Cdn equivalent) in US taxes, when you do your Canadian taxes, you may only owe the equivalent of $35,000 (Cdn) and you'd only be able to claim that much as a credit, not the whole $50,000. They won't give you a refund for the difference. (But in many cases, you can carry unclaimed balances forward and use them in later years up to a certain point.) Note (last one) - I am not a lawyer or accountant so I definitely am not an expert on these matters. Do NOT take my interpretations of the regulations as cold, hard fact regardless of how they look or sound. I myself would seek expert advice on the matter if the need arises and not rely on my "keyboard expertise".

How do they determine what is "income" and what is simply a transfer ? I'm a "non-resident for tax purposes" according to Revenue Canada. As a result, they tack a 25% "Snowbird" tax onto my pension, which is deposited into my Canadian account. Once or twice a year I may make a transfer from there to my Thai account. That shouldn't count as "income" and it's already been taxed, but if I go to an accountant, how much you want to bet they will say otherwise. And then tell me that "for a fee" they can fix it so I don't have to pay anything. (When I probably don't have to pay anything in the first place.) I can see it now. Having to take 12 months of (Canadian) bank statements into the RD every year to prove the money from my pension and not "income".

The High Balcony Jump was such a frequent event in Pattaya at one time, I suggest it should be considered an Olympic event. One had to be wary when walking past hi-rise hotels and condos as there was more than just bird poop falling. It seems the city fathers rightly decided that placing warning signs on the sidewalks about possible "falling farangs" might be seen in negative light by some. There could be a number of reasons one could end up a splat on the ground, regardless of nationality. If the condo has security guards, it should have CCTV as well. That would go a long way to solving what happened. Note in the story that the police were apparently called twice. Once when "AP" first tried to enter the condo site. "After security guards were called by concerned residents, AP climbed the condo wall in an attempt to flee and vanished. Then, Pattaya police officers were called to investigate and later found out that AP was a tenant and not a trespasser" And a little later: "After an hour passed from police confirming AP was a resident and not a trespasser, Uaychai said to the police that he heard a loud sound and went to inspect to find out that AP fell to his death. The police officers were called once again to investigate the case." So the guy shows up, rattles the gate, scales the wall, then disappears. Police are called and determine (somehow) that the guy was a resident and then leave. An hour later, the security guy hears a noise, finds the body and the police are called in again. Looking at the pics, there is no way he scaled up the wall to the eighth floor so he would have had to enter the building normally and gone to his condo. Normally the police would mention if the unit was "locked from the inside" or not (though that might not be much help unless there was a deadbolt or other device and not just the button on the doorknob). Too many unknown details to determine what might have happened or why. "Erratic behaviour" could be from a number of causes, like getting home at 1am and realizing your wallet and keys are missing from your pocket. Or leaving a short time hotel after a "date" and seeing your "teerak" entering the same hotel with her (new) date. I doubt he'd have been too concerned about any "notification" from home calling him up (at 42 years old) for military service. Not if he's been living here in a condo for any length of time. When I heard "Russian" and "defenestration" one thing immediately came to mind: