razorramone

They do , at least all along Phaholyothin

I put them in the same place I put the receipts shops give me. Not worth the time or effort even to collectable bag them, it's less than 1p.

Sounds like there is no clear procedure.

In Colinneal's case, he got the same probation sentence as me and he had no problem leaving. No overstay fine - although was your visa expired?

Yet BWPattaya's friend is found guilty and fined, and immediately immigration police swoop in to arrest, fine and deport for overstay.

Both are the same situation: An overstay while in the court system, found guilty and released, but then immigration react in 2 completely opposite ways.

My lawyer asked immigration today, and got told I am not on overstay as I am being held by the courts and required to complete community service. I shouldnt have a problem if/when I leave. And hee strongly advised me NOT to go to immigration and ask for a visa extension, as it may put me on their radar.

You can leave from an airport and pay the 20K baht fine and return after getting a tourist visa in a nearby country. The new overstay rules do not start until March 20th.

The only problem you might have is if you are on a list for those that cannot leave the country or have been blacklisted for your conviction.

Oh thats good, I thought the rules were in effect already.

Yes I heard I may be blacklisted, it would be odd if I wasnt allowed back into the country and therefore broke the probation terms.

I had some trouble with the police six months ago, arrested and released on bail with my passport held by the police, Last week I was luckily given a 1 year suspended sentence with community service, and got my passport back.

But during the court case, my visa expired. So I'm now on an overstay by three full months with the max 20k fine facing me.

I'm not sure how to get it fixed. I don't want to continue overstaying and risk being deported at any time, especially because technically it counts as a crime and could break my suspended sentence.

But if I just turn up to the immigration office, it sounds like I would get fined and deported? And if there is a blacklist then it will be impossible for me to meet the conditions of the sentence (complete community service and report to the probation office every 2 months).

I could leave and come back to get a fresh visa, but with the new crackdown on overstayers again, im not sure if im allowed back in.

Anyone know how the immigration police deal with this? It seems like it's impossible to both complete the terms of my sentence by the court, and stay legally in the country.

I asked my lawyer but he just deals with criminal law, no idea about the immigration law and police.

Why don't you play it like the Thai's do? Leave the country, wait out the statute of limitations, and then come back. Unless the pending case suspends the statute of limitations, you should be fine. Immigration doesn't cross-check with the courts to my knowledge.

That would only work before an arrest warrant has been issued. I've already been arrested, charged, and bailed pending trial. Go anywhere near an immigration checkpoint and it's bye bye bail. Not worth the risk.

Anyway to answer my own question:

I asked a couple of other lawyers and found a suspended sentence basically means you are free to go about your business. Unless it is a high profile case, serious crime, or your visa has expired, in which case immigration police will be there to take you to the airport.

Potentially the judge can order you to report to the police, attend rehabilitation, but that's just for Thais normally. So fingers crossed.

Cheers for everyone's ideas anyway.

Your lawyer should be

able to answer these

questions to enough of

a degree of certainty to

calm your nerves.

Any 'second opinions',

as loosely as that term

can apply on this forum,

is only going to give

you more to worry

about

Yes he should....but many laywers here are not well versed with the practices of immigration as regards foreigners

Yeah exactly this. My lawyer is competent and has a good amount of criminal experience with Thais. But procedures for foreigners are not so well documented, seems a lot is left up to the judge and clerks. Eg Last month we tried to apply for a travel permit, and only once at the court did we realise you have to pay the extra bail money before the judge even listens to your request - not the same as for Thais.

Right now it's not clear at all what a suspended sentence for a foreigner means. Whether I'll be forced to stay here, deported, or if its left up to me. Real pain in the ass trying to decide what to do with my condo.

Luckily my visa is not about to expire soon, I have until April. Yes I had heard of people getting fined by immigration on the day they were released from prison in fact.

And yes I have already seen how huge a difference money makes. Fortunately I could pay bail, I dont see how anyone could prepare a decent defence while jailed on remand.

That's the end of this topic then. Just saying

Any details and it will be easy to trace, and im trying to avoid media attention. I've heard it makes sentencing harsher.

Cant talk about the case.

I may be facing a suspended sentence, fingers crossed, it's a lot better than the alternatives.

I'm just curious what happens to foreigners that get this? There isnt much information available, apart from that it's offered to 1-3 year sentences for first time offenders for smaller crimes.

But what does it actually entail?

Some embassy websites say you are immediately deported. But my lawyer thought I may be forced to stay in Thailand for the duration of the sentence. And I have read legal guidelines that seem to suggest you must to report yourself to the police monthly, which also makes me think I would have to stay here. My visa is set to expire in April so would that affect it? Curious if anyone has friends who experienced it.

see:

http://library.siam-legal.com/thai-law/criminal-code-suspended-punishment-sections-56-58/

A tourist friend of mine got pulled over by the police in Asok (stupidly dropped a ciggarette butt) and made to do a drug test, which came back positive for marijuana. He was charged with possession and kept in jail pending trial, until we bailed him out last week.

According to his lawyer there is a maximum punishment of 1 year in jail, pending the police report/trial/judgement.

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There are lots of condos in Ratchatewi/silom which are pretty much dead centre, costing about 25k/30k for a 2 bedroom place. As far as I know that's the two most expensive areas to rent in BKK.

But honestly the BTS/MRT is very fast and cheap, its not a serious inconvenience to live somewhere further out and a lot cheaper. You can be 8 or 9 BTS stops out of the centre and its still fast and easy to get around - and the rents are much cheaper.

Does dealing with Thai imports & customs count? Their 100% tax rates sure feel like a solid shafting.

Is that why everyone is so shy in the gym changing rooms? It takes me back to high school, everyone hiding in corners and getting dressed underneath towels. Not that I'm complaining..

Hard to talk about 'farang women', considering it emcompasses both anglo-saxon and continental women.

I can't say there's many American women I've enjoyed talking to. But spend a day with an interesting french or italian woman... it makes you realise how poor the education system in Thailand is.

This is a stupid proposal. The better alternative is to increase the VAT ( excluding food and a few essentials) and try harder to eliminate the black/cash economy. Already the Gini coefficient is the highest in Asia by a long measure but this proposal will hurt the poor more than the rich and further worsen inequalities. Of course it will be supported by his mates from 'the big end of town'.

How would a VAT increase be more progressive than a home tax?

The rate of home ownership in the urban areas of Thailand is 75%, with 25% renting.

I would consider the 25% too poor to own a home to be the 'poorer folks' of the OP.

It's not one queue for all the counters. It's 1 queue for 1 counter.

So when a new cashier opens up, its a free for all, right?

See it all the time in villa and 7/11.

As much as chinese tourists are annoying, this is some creepy stuff on the part of the photo taker.

Do a google for 'average salary bangkok' and you'll see reports from international HR companies that give a detailed breakdown.

From my experience (from what I have seen) 50-60k

Personally I'd consider that way too high.

I work in an office with accountants and marketing people in their mid 20's with degrees, and their salary is around 30k.

I know graduate architects typically work for 25k/month.

Graduate teachers, 15-20k/month.

Doctors, pilots, engineers, etc, earn more. But they're not the average.

Wow so the bookstore in paragon really is the biggest? In the entire country? Thats disappointing. Its big for bangkok... but compared to the UK i've seen mcdonalds with bigger floor space.

Thanks for the tips about a kindle, I do have one already but i just dont enjoy using it as much. Dasa books in Thong Lo is really cool, I agree.

I guess i will go with amazon. Does anyone know if i will be hit by import fees? Or if I can get them sent through regular thai post?

I think sometime this year Virgin are opening a branch in Thong Lo? I pay 2k a month for them in Chong Nonsi, much nicer than fitness first.

It's pretty obvious Chulalongkorn would not do anything to criticise the junta. It's the home of Thai conservatism and the Thai upper class. I've met plenty of Chula students, some are nice, but all are completely lacking any kind of critical thinking required to think satirically.

The junta knows this. It's just another government threatening Thammasat, one of the few genuinely liberal institutes in Thailand. Glad to see they won tonight

The largest selections I have found are:

Kinokuniya in Siam Paragon. It has a large selection of classic fiction, and business books. But the academic section is lame.

And an independent bookstore ran by an American in Thong Lo, the name I forget.

I'm trying to do the 52 books in a year challenge and I can see myself getting bored by the selection in each of these. Are there any bigger stores?

It seems inefficient to start ordering books off amazon, especially when I'll have to ship them all home eventually.

Is it normal for the police to open fire on bag snatchers?

When I reported a bag stolen in Bangkok, the police had barely enough interest to muster a shrug.

But surely the soap will mess up my clothes!