thatswhatuthought

I would say that the days of living in a village and having 'no visible means of support' all but disappeared about 8 years ago when there was sharp food inflation. Almost everyone needs to have some cash income from some source to get by.

If a person has a stay-at-home lifestyle, borrows a scooter or hitches a ride when they need to go into town, has a good network of relatives they can barter with and mooch off of, never pays for alcohol, eats very little (especially animal protein), is a skilled hunter (tiny fishes, crabs, frogs, birds, field rats, insects) and gatherer (wild edible plants) it is still possible to squeak by on as little as 2-3,000 baht per person per month.

The average monthly cash income of people who work strictly in the agricultural sector, is probably around 6-9,000 baht per household. A successful farmer who has 100 or more rai of land might average 20,000 to 40,000 per month, but most farmers have far less land than this. Even though a good agricultural worker ought to be able to earn at least 300 baht per day, due to weather and demand for labor, nobody earns this daily wage consistently year around.

Those who own a small restaurant or store or repair shop, sell in the market, work in a government office, etc., might net from 6,000 to 20,000/month.

A small handful of people earn substantially above this.

WHat are they farming? A 100 rai pig, chicken, fish, mushroom, insect farm earn a hell of a lot more.

Great thread.

My MIL is gold as well.

Which Thai word was used for perfect. I know Thai isn't allowed on this forum but transliteration is is ok.

Regardless of whether an accused is really guilty or innocent, allegations of forced confessions as a result of police failure to maintain transparency and attention to basic defendent legal rights will always offer an automatic defense of forced confession.

However, I don't know how anyone can expect better of the Thai police from a history of judicial abuse when the nation is operating now under martial law that provides for warrantless searches and arrests without probable cause, and when the Constitution guaranteeing human rights no longer exists.

Some folks are blinded.

Wrong headline - should say propose to return to the original rate before 1997

Thailand official VAT rate is actually 10% not 7%. But VAT rate was reduced to 7% as part of the economic measures taken following the crisis of 1997. The reduced rate of 7% has been since then confirmed every year.

the following are all exempt from VAT

• Educational services including government and private school
• Audit services
• Medical services
• Health care services including government and private hospitals and clinics
• Domestic transportation
• Renting of immovable properties

sale of agricultural produce, animal and animal feeds, fertilizer, chemical products for eradicating weeds, sale of newspaper, inland transport service, rental of immovable property; or under (2) Section 81 (2) such as sale of agricultural produce, animal and animal feeds, fertilizer, chemical products for eradicating weeds, sale of newspaper, etc.

Finally are exempted from the VAT small business where tax base does not exceed 1,800,000 Baht.

So the poor probably only pay VAT on purchases alcohol, cigarettes and purchases at 7-11 ( and if poor probably shouldn't be shopping at 7-11s

(If poor probably shouldn't shop at 7 eleven )

Can you recommend another convenient store with lower prices?

How much does rice husk sell for?

I thought they might have figured a way store enough water after what happened a few years ago when they had way too much.

This will probably become very annoying soon and can lead to major issues with u and the inlaws. My FIL drinks once in a while and everyone steers clear. Hope u have other arrangements if this gets out of hand.

Now that they (police) have all the Thais accustomed to paying bribes because of their corruption they are going to reward them for doing their job.

Usually it gets me out of trouble.

I don't believe these two are guilty but I don't understand the argument that theses to small men couldn't take out a big guy. One hit to the head from behind with a hoe or stab with a knife. Have you never seen a little guy take a big guy out with his bare hands?

Is the former

suspect/suspects a big guy?

This is really sad, I find it hard to believe that these 2 little runts are guilty.

So nice of you and other posters to use such words to describe the possibly innocent suspects.

I have little doubt police may have roughed these guys up or at minimum deprived them of some of their rights but have nearly no doubt (only doubt is the court has not ruled yet) they have the right guys. Also have no doubt if these suspects were Thai (especially rich) that many of the posters outraged over the abuse of their rights would be screaming for more of their blood.

Police shouldn't abuse any suspects or anyone even rapist murderers but the evidence is just beyond overwhelming against these guys and their DNA samples can be got again by these lawyers and human rights people they confessed and then compared to the DNA results from the crime scene.

The way this is going to go down seems fairly predictable ..... these guys are going to please guilty and do everything in their power to downplay how monstrous their behavior was by saying they were drunk, didn't mean to kill them and so on in hopes of not receiving the death penalty

You've said enough John. Over explaining yourself isn't going to convince anyone.

Avoid pork and beef. Stick to chicken and fish. Advice from a pig farmer.

Water in BKK is NOT safe for many reasons. You won't see the locals drinking it. Rinse fruits and veg with bottled water. Steam just about any meat or veg in a rice cooker. 7/11 Food IS NOT healthy!

Any country will be allowed to copy this without breaking the law if they are affected by Ebola.

Only a matter of time before a few expats get together and form a vigilante group to dish out some payback to the scum in this town tho. Might make the "pack" attackers think twice too !

Haha, yeah right.

Thais will fight to kill, are you willing to do that ?

No, but I have and am willing to hospitalize anyone willing to kill me. He was Thai me Farang. He went to hospital then jail. I went home. Farangs are not always at fault despite some posters views.

A couple Thais even got a few free kicks in befor the BIB showed up. Then a BIB did.

Only a matter of time before a few expats get together and form a vigilante group to dish out some payback to the scum in this town tho. Might make the "pack" attackers think twice too !

Haha, yeah right.

Thais will fight to kill, are you willing to do that ?

No, but I have and am willing to hospitalize anyone willing to kill me. He was Thai me Farang. He went to hospital then jail. I went home. Farangs are not always at fault despite some posters views.

Was it a designated parking area? If so that the gentleman should have paid though I doubt at 0230 hours if any parking lots were in operation except the ones near walking street.

And if it was not a designated parking spot and he was beaten up just for the sake of hussel than I strongly would like to see this man is charged for vandalism and hitting an old man which could lead to serious injury.

And if it was a designated parking area the young guy should .....?

Dude, Its couple of bucks.

pay it and move on.

Or be hit with a stick. Must have been justified to beat the old man then? Soon anything goes.

It's okay. Let British police take DNA from the suspects and compare it to DNA evidence found on the victims. This will confirm Thai police findings and clear up all this doubt.

Surely the Thai police would welcome such involvement?

I'm not sure about the BIB welcoming outside involvement.

It's loss of face at the best of times and now with all the doubts and adverse comment being expressed it would seem they have been forced into it which is even bigger loss of face.

Finally, if they been tampering with or arranging evidence in any way they don't want outsiders finding out since they will report accurately and have nothing to do with any fit up.

An NGO sent them lawyers. The lawyers will be able to get new samples of DNA from them. No country is going to let another country step into their criminal investigation and no country would demand to. If the police were so concerned with loss of face they would not have needed to announce they needed to send the original DNA from the scene to Singapore to be able to identify race due to the DNA testing limitations here.

If the UK wanted to hire them lawyers they could do that but that to is not going to happen and if I recall correctly the British Ambassador, whose office has been more involved than those on the internet, believes the police have the right suspects. The UK can make requests but can guarantee you they won't make a request to recheck these two's DNA as that is for the legal process here in Thailand to handle.

ahhhhh!!! Now i see - your Father own the AC bar on Kho Tao!! the Thai policelost phones, lost DNA, failed to lock down the island after the murder tested the same people twice before choosing they patsy, Burmese migrants earning 5000 baht per month DO NOT smoke LM cigarette the wounds on Miller face are all thesame - puncture wounds from a knife NOT from a garden hoe!! You obviously have what you percieve to be a gain for wanting the suspects whos confessions were burnt out of them to be guilty! You like the Thai police dont care if innocent people who were NOT given access to legal representative are executed. By the way the Police geneeral STATED they were not allowed legal representative because they didnt ask - so thats another lie in your post. Disgusting to mistreat the memories of two murdered young people like this murder covered by corruption then rubber stamped by rumours and garbage posts like yours is beyond belief!!

U got one thing wrong there. Burmese workers that only make 5000 a month might smoke LM. I have two Burmese friends making the same or a little more. One smokes LM the other Marlbro. Most everything else u said could be right.

If she's doing nothing else to support the child and can afford to help get it. She is a parent as well and there for responsible for support financial or other. If it's gonna cause u or the child a lot of grief, forget it.

335,000,000 Baht. 10.3 million dollars already spent. 18.4 million dollars total. This is a joke isn't it?

Shit happens - deal with it without wingeing.

Yep, as above.

Here's how to deal with it:

1. Give yourself a good kick up the backside for being ignorant and having more money than sense, and

2. As soon as the pups appear, drown them in a bucket of water. Not hard. I had to do this on the farm as a teenager a coupla times many years ago. Costs nothing and is effective. How many more dogs does the world, and in particular Thailand, need?

You need help.

Yes, you're dead right - "where there's a will there's a way" but in Koh Tao, apparently Koh Samui, and possibly the rest of Thailand, the will seems to be lacking! As I see it the WHOLE system is corrupt, and to change that as hgma says "Can't be done in a year", but how about starting off with the KNOWN sources of corruption e.g. the extortion monies already mentioned, also the sporadic spot checks and on the spot 300 baht fines for no helmet while driving a motor bike, but 500 baht if you want a receipt! Blatant! 2 queues, and guess which is the shortest?

The type of corruption you are describing is a 'convenience' that serves the community well.

It is when the greedy get involved in high stakes crime that things start to get a little - out of hand, and innocents get banged up. (Drugs, Gambling, Sex trade, Contract killing, etc.)

But of course the most damage is done at the very top, where cronyism and nepotism define big business and politcians alike (several are one and the same). There are also many, very rich generals here as we have recently discovered, so all sectors of the 'elite' seem to be happy. (0.1% of Thais own +50% of the nation's wealth).

The gap between rich and poor is greater here than most western countries, so perhaps it would be better to get money out of politics, than stopping a cop pocketing 200 baht and saving you the bother of getting ticketed 500 baht

How exactly does this type of corruption serve the community well?