sambum

"........the seven policemen at a checkpoint where she and her friends were stopped denied the extortion allegations" Well, they're not likely to admit it are they - especially the mood that the PM is in at the moment with regard to "Thailand's reputation being damaged"!!!

With advances in modern technology, especially the media, - such revelations can be published worldwide within seconds, whereas in the "bad/good old days" it could be nipped in the bud before too much damage was done, and the knowledge was kept within the country in question. In China and North Korea for instance, much information is pinned down by Governments that are non democratic, and Prayut's outburst against Thaksin ("that man"!) shows that he is of the same ilk, and would love to have a situation where no one could broadcast information damaging to himself or the Government, so beware of "dirty tricks" to come - especially in regard to any forthcoming "democratic" election!

And the police decided that there was nothing unusual about his death based on the fact that there was no signs of a struggle, and he was found in bed at the time. Case solved - next!

Quite a few people in the past have commented on the fact that an inordinate number of people have died in Pattaya due to "falling" from high buildings!

"............she should have stood her ground." Difficult to do when you are a visitor, and have been "bundled off" to a police station for no good reason!

Why doesn't he announce it himself?

Since when has a caretaker got the authority to punish kids? He should have reported the matter to a teacher/head teacher, and leave it to them to sort out.

With reference to your penultimate sentence, I seem to recall that in the incident concerning David and Hannah, the main suspect was allowed to trample all over and around the crime scene as "the police were short staffed and they needed assistance"

"Why should the death of a diving instructor suggest that Ko Tao island is a deadly island,...." Because it is not an isolated incident by far. Apparently he is one of FIVE (5) diving instructors that have met their end in very dubious circumstances on Koh Tao. And that is just diving instructors - never mind the tourists/ backpackers that have died in mysterious/unsolved circumstances. "This is a very annoying island........" I would suggest that is putting it mildly!!! "So first we investigate the cause of his death and then we can draw conclusions" I don't believe there will be an "investigation/autopsy" if the following interview with one of his friends is anything to go by. It looks like "natural causes" has already been decided, which comes as no surprise if previous "mysterious deaths" are anything to go by. "The medical professionals who arrived said there was nothing suspicious. I was informed that the police declared there was nothing to investigate right away. It took place so quickly. I don’t even believe an autopsy was performed. In our conversation, I brought up a few of the local fatalities,..." As a previous poster has suggested, it would appear that the authorities are more concerned with trying to convince prospective tourists that Thailand is a safe place to travel to by sweeping these "mysterious deaths" under the carpet, rather than making any positive efforts to make it so!

No doubt "a certain poster" will find the charges reasonable, or even say it's your fault that you have to pay such high charges because you choose to live/work here!!! ????

Nothing to do with British tabloids! The fact that he was from Birmingham, and the story was reported in a Birmingham paper would indicate normal practise to most people, but not to you, apparently! The other deaths have a lot to do with it - as per the article:- "However, Neil is said to be the fifth instructor to die in the past few years on the island following a series of unexplained deaths and murders of backpackers and tourists, tainting its reputation". When you have a series of unexplained deaths, of course another unexplained one is obviously going to be linked to the other ones! If investigating officers had this "nothing to do with the other unexplained deaths" attitude, I wonder how many serial killers would still be on the loose in other countries - the USA and the UK being obvious examples? P.S. "How do we know he was fit and healthy ?" I would think that the fact that he was a diving instructor would give you a clue on that one!

From a blazing inferno and explosions taking place when he was disorientated and probably injured/shocked himself? Not everyone is "Superman"!

"I see many people breaking road rules in front of them and they do nothing, absolutely nothing." Correct, they don't get paid enough to actually do the job properly, so unless there's more than a few baht to be made from the situation, they will merely "maintain a presence". I remember seeing a video on here (ThaiVisa) a couple of years ago when an elderly farang motorist/cyclist had got into an altercation with a much younger Thai man, and while a policeman was taking their statements, the younger guy blatantly knocked the old guy to the ground with a cowardly "side swipe" and the copper did absolutely nothing - just carried on writing in his notebook as if nothing had happened. I remember feeling shocked at this lack of action from the BIB, but I hadn't lived in Thailand for long at that time!

How many times do you have to be told? "No proof of the event" because this happened MANY YEARS AGO, and the details you mention above are unavailable (in fact I have replaced my passport since then and surprise, surprise, I don't know where the old one is. (Does that surprise you in the same way as I can not recall to the nearest baht how much was in the account?) - but there you go again, I'm biting! NO MORE - I've got a bad taste in my mouth!

Correct - I remember in particular a local "Visa Run" firm that did just that - one guy drove to the destination, and the other drove back, and although they were a little bit more expensive, it was well worth it for peace of mind.

"I'm not sure it's about physical driving skills which are generally good in Thailand." WHAT!!!!!!

So you are not concerned about my interpretation of your comment? Of course you are, otherwise you wouldn't make it in the first place, and I feel that to ask me to provide proof of an incident that as I have already explained happened many years ago is extremely pedantic. I didn't say it was a significant amount of money to lose - you did:- "I was expecting that you could justify something that apparently concerns you as much as you claim it does and that was such a significant amount to "lose"." I said it was significantly more than the annual cost of a bank card, which it was, but obviously if had been a "significant amount", I would have been asking to see the Manager! And " there's no need to keep whinging about "losing" it". I am not the one "whinging" about losing it - you are the one who is taking it to extremes by wanting proof of something that happened many years ago. I merely pointed out that the bank had closed my account without my permission, and the balance had been used for "Administration Costs", but you are the one who is "whinging" on about how it can be claimed back from the BoT! And just as a matter of interest, how could I claim it back from the BoT, when as I have already told you, I have no proof of the event? This "making a mountain out of a molehill" has to stop, or no doubt the thread will be closed! Suffice it to say that once again you have proved your troll like qualities, and I will take no further part in this pointless discussion, so get your last word in as per usual! You are welcome!

I did not mention any figure on purpose so that I would get the reply you have just posted, and also I can not remember the exact figure, but it was far in excess of that required for card renewal! "Administration charges" covers a myriad of charges which are hidden unless you ask about them first - which of course you won't know about - that's why they are hidden! I can quote you a couple of examples (at least) where I was told a certain service would cost me a certain amount of money, and surprise surprise, the exact charge was far in excess of what I was told originally - due to "Administration Charges" being added to the original quote! Example: I transferred a large amount of cash from my account in a British Bank to my wife's account in a Thai Bank at a rate of "0.25% or 500 baht maximum". The "500 baht maximum" actually came to about 1600 baht because of "Administration Charges"! Apparently, it was because the money was transferred first to Bangkok, and then to my wife's account in my hometown. (She doesn't even have a bank account in Bangkok with that particular bank!) So whose account did they transfer it to in Bangkok in order for it to be sent to her account in our hometown? I would hazard a guess that the money went direct into a "holding account" to get them a bit of interest before transferring it to where it should have gone in the first place, and then add an "Administration Charge" on top to cover the transfer from one Branch to another! I say this because in the UK if I transfer money from one bank to another - it costs nothing, Similarly, if I transfer money from one Branch of a bank to another Branch of the same bank - it costs nothing. Now you can say that different rules apply in different countries, but to charge you for a transfer of funds between 2 Branches of the same bank is totally unexpected/unacceptable(?), and I have never heard of that happening elsewhere. P.S. Your comment "can be checked, unlike your claim." I find in extremely bad taste! As I have already explained, my only witness to the exchange (My "best" friend for more than 40 years as it happens) has since died, so obviously his testimony can not be checked!!! ????

That annoys me also!

CNY? Thought that "was" a harmony group? ????

Not just the Thai Government! Did any prominent Minister in any Government publicly denounce the Chinese for (probably!) unleashing Covid on the World?

No more "All you can eat buffet" lunches for me!

Your usual antagonistic comment, which I call nonsense! I speak from personal experience and not hearsay, which you should understand. For you, I need to cross the t's and dot the i's, so take note! I had a witness to the event, but unfortunately he passed away a couple of years ago, so unfortunately that piece of evidence is not possible, so could you take my word for it? I had a bank account which I had not used for over a year, because I had moved away from the town where I had opened it. I was in the town with my friend (mentioned above) who had an account at the same bank and wanted to make a withdrawal, so I decided to close my account as I had opened an account in a bank nearer my current location. I was told that the account had been closed already. When I enquired who had closed it, the teller said "We have". When I asked why, he said that it was because I had not used it ion over a year, so I asked where my money was, to which he replied "Gone!" "Gone where?" I asked, to which he replied "Administration charges" So my statement was not nonsense, and I suggest that you consider the facts before you make such derogatory comments. I would ask for an apology, but I suspect that that wouldn't happen, so I will put you on my "blocked" list instead (I thought I had already done that?) as I find ALL your comments (not just to me) inflammatory, and in some cases almost troll like.

I suspect that anyone who "comes through the turnstiles" is a tourist!