bkkcanuck8

14 minutes ago, Tropposurfer said:

 

Why would a policeman/men hang a person, or give a person means to hang themselves deliberately?

 

Granted in some nations all mechanisms to harm self is removed and a constant watch is always maintained on vulnerable people e.g Inebriated Indigenous folks taken into custody in Australia (and where failures to constantly monitor has led to many self-harm deaths in custody).

In Thailand, causing loss of face could lead to extreme reactions... like vomiting on an officer and his subordinates laughing at him.   In the case of negligence it could be choking/suffocating on vomit... and associated cover up.  Or it could be just suicide by the individual.  Either case if it is negligence or malfeasance... I think it more likely it is a combination with the hanging being a cover up.

2 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

Much more to this than meets the eye  "Normal" people do not just get drunk and become suicidal, generally speaking

 

Most people are not "Normal".  If someone is not depressed or does not suffer from depression, getting drunk will not make them suicidal... however, if someone is depressed and does suffer from depression, alcohol can make it worse and the result could be suicidal.  Some of what was quoted... I did get the impression that he could have been (I cannot point to specifics, just the feeling I got when piecing together it)... that said... it is just as likely (or more) it could be jailhouse negligence (and associated cover up) or malfeasance that could have lead to his death.  That said, I think we have wait for what should be an independent autopsy and viewing of the video.  The police unfortunately do not have a good record with honest professional ethical behaviour here in Thailand.  (not saying all, but way too many and the system itself is corrupting)

10 hours ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

I suspect this young beer monster fell foul of 7/11's ridiculous alcohol serving hours. I drink about 2 beers a year and still nearly had a fit when they refused to serve me at 1 minute past 2 oclock or whenever it was.

The legal hours that 7/11 can sell alcohol are 11am - 2pm and 5pm - 12 midnight.  I find that the most strict adherence to the law is by foreign owned companies.  I don't even think the cash register system for 7/11 will allow the franchisee to ring up sales of alcohol out of hours.  If a franchisee were to be caught selling out of hours -- they likely would potentially be at risk of having their franchise terminated by 7/11 corporate.

7 minutes ago, Xonax said:

As such, where does he pay his income-taxes?

US taxes on worldwide income (i.e. including foreign)... regardless of being a US resident or not, he must file annually and he must report all include and it is taxable.  Most banks now require US citizens to give them their SSN and report that back to the US (FATCA).  Thailand is one of the countries that has an agreement with the US.  (most countries you don't get taxed if you are a non-resident citizen)

I can see how Prayut or Prawit can end up being PM on paper... but if the numbers in parliament are too much in favour of opposition, I don't see how either of them would be able to maintain control of parliament to get anything done... and I could easily see them then having to face no confidence vote and lose those votes.   At that point he has to either resign or call another election (and calling another election so soon would not likely improve things).

12 hours ago, 3NUMBAS said:

there must be an army of overstayers all over the realm 1000s of em

Yes, I think they were more relaxed during the last few years (COVID), but now they are out in force to clean up those that thought they could take advantage of the relaxed enforcement. 

1 hour ago, wwest5829 said:

I looked at getting a Thai credit card upon retiring to Thailand. No credit extended … OK, unless it is a “secured” card. Easier for me to just retain my U.S. issued Visa and American Express credit cards. Both reflect US mailing and Thai addresses and contact info. Pay them direct from my U.S. bank account. Tens of thousands of USD credit based on my credit history. Thai outlook … cannot trust … OK, no problem, you do not get my business.

Your credit history is ziltch when you leave your national market (good or bad).  When I went to work in the US from Canada (20+ years ago)... it was no different.   If you were to leave Thailand with a debt, they cannot place a lean against your US property - it is all about risk management.

"I know Farangs have to show money and keep it there to get one - is it the same for Thais .? "

This has more to do with risk, and in other countries where you are on a temporary visa (like the Thai Non-O is still a temporary 1 year visa) you would be in the same situation - only eligible for secured credit cards.   If you were a permanement resident they know that since you are here permanently - there is little risk of you leaving the country and avoiding paying off your debts.   If you are on a work permit (renewable), there is less of a risk since you would have more to lose than someone on a temporary visa -- you might be eligible for a credit card after a number of years.   I think you will find that you would have a hard time getting a non-secured credit card in many western countries if you were on a 1 year temporary visa (more akin to a longer tourist visa) and thus lacked both a credit history in that country and some form of permanence. (permanent residence, work visa with an indication of permanence).

Quote

It's rather intimidating but in reality you DO NOT need to actually do it. 

If they do a show-me order (however unlikely given my balance exceeds the amount by a significant amount)... I am going to go show them.   The normal renewal process has been uneventful and an extremely quick process where all they have ever bothed 'needing' was the last 6 month statement (year statement you have to ask for it to be mailed)... I doubt if you ignore it the next renewal would be as quick or as easy and it is highly unlikely they would accept anything but a full years history.

3 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Aside from the xenophobia use of the word 'alien' , what sort of nutcase wants to stump up 40 million to live in thailand - and buy a little land - when you can rent and invest nothing. It's not like you get citizenship or anything out of it 

The use of 'alien' in legislation is a normal and appropriate use for it.  In law, an alien is any person (including organizations) who is not a citizen or national of a specific country.  Thailand is just using the English terms used by English speaking countries. 

8 hours ago, proton said:

Pattaya is probably awash with girls under 20 at it, why make an example of these people? Adding trafficking to the charges always makes it sound like slavery but I doubt the girls were forced. The place only exists for girls selling sex.

Someone underage (18 by international UN Convention ratified by around 200 countries) cannot legally sell sex, and since they cannot... it is by default non-consensual - which means trafficking is applicable.   [same logic behind statutory rape - no defence of it 'was consensual'].  Widely publicized nabbing of them, makes it more difficult to let it slide for money... even if it was possible - most western countries laws on this subject extend to their citizens travelling in other countries.  I can pretty much guarantee that someone from each of those embassies are in contact with Thai police requesting to be kept abreast of all the legal evidence as well. 

16 hours ago, 2009 said:

Why is she being praised all over social media for trying to act gangsta?

 

Not the way I deal with things, but given that dumping the contents of something on someone else is still an assault - I have no reason to fault her.   I don't think she should have been fined.

24 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

 Actually it means more than that. It means particles less than 50 micrometers in diameter which  can stay airborne for an extended period of time.

 

Aerosolized transmission is same as what is referred to as airborne transmission.

 

Droplets refer to particles that are heavier than air so do nto remain in the air long *but can be picked up from touching contaminated surfaces).

 

In terms of masks, cloth mask would likely suffice for droplet spread but not for aerosolized (though still better than nothing).

 

I'm flying back to Thailand Sunday and planning to double or triple mask (surgical masks) at the airport(s), on the flight (it is short flight from Cambodia so heavy masking should be possible without fainting!) and on check-in/check out at the T&G hotel.  Once out I will stay home until after the day 5-6 PCR -- easily done. 

 

Not because I fear Omicron in terms of my health - I am quadruple vaxxed (2 AZ in Thailand, 2 Pfizer in US, and last dose just 3 months ago) but because I really, really do not want to end up forcibly hospitalized so worry about test results.

 

 

If you are looking for surgical masks to protect you, you should try to acquire the equivalent of N95ish masks (N I think is an American classification, KF94 masks from Korea are also a good mask to get) and a face shield (that is what my sister wears when she has to fly - diplomat). Surgical mask is more about preventing an asymptomatic person from spreading the disease (in close quarters especially), outside the sun will disinfect surfaces better and outdoors is better as well for air circulation which in combination with the sun -- does a fairly good job... as long as you maintain the 2 metres or so should reduce the risk for outdoors.  

4 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

What a colossal waste of time, which paints thailand in an extremely poor light.

 

Just hold a press conference, have him apologize and then let him leave thailand.

 

Can common-sense prevail here?

 

I understand the need to "make an example" of someone but does that ever really work?

 

Hopefully ALL tourists are provided with translated versions of these "Acts", along with a detailed list of punishments. 

He had conditions on entry to Thailand, he violated those conditions and he should be deported and blacklisted.  In effect it is the same as illegal entry.  Any country would do the same (or potentially more) if put in that position.  All he had to do was take the day and 'recover from jet lag' have a few meals, watch TV and then take a test and when he passed leave.  It is absolutely irrelevant if he was infected or not.  

21 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

It is almost certainly aerosolized. Even the earlier variants were, and given Omicron's higher infectivity and that it is obviously being spread by asymptomatic people, it has to be.

 

As to the whole world having it, seems to be well on the way to that happening, though in many people (the young, the vaccinated) it will be so mild they will never know it.

"aerosolized" = "minute droplets of water"

Surgical masks are not respirators, but they do reduce the spread of those aerosolized droplets.  And for those that say masks are useless, I hope you tell the doctor exactly that if you go under the knife for some reason.  
 

20 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Thais are vulnerable to omicron because the first doses of Sinovac were not effective enough, later they started to give third/booster of Astra and Pfizer. Moderna has just entered the country. Indeed all the vaccines are less effective after a few months, but with the mix nobody knows exactly how long and how good you are protected... And we don't think about lesser doses they would give under the skin or jab as they wanted to do... It are dangerous times surely because the holiday celebrations are going to start and not being cancelled to control the outbreak.

The COVID vaccine half-life is closer to the Flu Vaccine half-life unfortunately...  Vaccinations will lose their ability to protect after maybe 5 or 6 months at best.  Anti-bodies die off over time, and the long term vaccine protection where your body 'remembers' [B lymphocytes; memory cells] do not seem to keep a 'blueprint' for rapidly recreating the antibodies necessary when needed.   This is not noticeable with the Flu vaccine because that one basically gets reformulated every year because there are lots and lots of Flu strains out there - and seasonly the flu strains tend to differ (there is only one COVID strain that we are concerned about at this time [multiple variants]).  For now, regular boosters will likely be needed (maybe every 6 months). This may change as the virus becomes a normal endemic virus that our body learns to deal with.

It will likely be another few weeks before we know for sure, but it seems that the Omicron variant is much more transmissible -- but also less severe (meaning that more people will get it - but the hospitalizations will be less likely to be needed if you do catch it).  If this is true, then our healthcare systems may not be as much at risk of being overwhelmed... which is really what lockdowns are suppose to help alleviate.

1 hour ago, JimGant said:

So, when you remove 800k from your account on the day after you do your annual extension, then replace it 6 months later (prior to the start date of the 6 month bank statement), then you've got an 800k "loan" that is disguised in the once a year consolidated entry. Or, would the 800k out, then the 800k back in -- as just two separate entries, albeit 6 monthm apart, show up as separate line items? Dunno. Obviously, if disguised in a consolidate entry, it makes sense for Imm to request a 12 month letter, But, if separate line items, Imm shouldn't need a 12 month letter. Anybody out there smart on bank consolidations -- and maybe differences between banks?

The transaction history is just not on the system when the passbook is updated (only up to 6 months max), it would show as a consolidated entry with a transaction code of 'CMB' which is a 'Combined No-Book Transaction'.  The most common deposit system codes are documented on that back cover of the bank book.  The older transactions would have been archived and not available online or for book update - you have to do a statement request that includes the transactions from the archival.  You could have a CMB for 1,000 baht but it is really 1,000,000 baht of debits and 1,001,000 baht of credits.

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

Long story but trying to understand why some posts indicate about banks consolidating transactions.

The deposit system and ATM  in those cases likely only carry around 3 to 6 months of transactional history, the rest of the transactions are archived.  When transactions are moved off the system they would basically take all the debits and credits and consolidate them into a balance forward entry - and remove the transaction history before the date of the balance forward entry.  If you go a full year without updating the bank account book, the system would not have the entire transaction history online connected to the system that the ATM is connected to... it would start printing transactions from the balance forward entry - that to the end user just looks like a consolidation of debits and credits.   For Bangkok Bank, I am guessing you cannot get a full 12 month transactional printout at the branch because they also would not have access to the full 12 transactional history online.   Transactional history takes up space, it can slow things down for administrative tasks etc. - and archiving them can keep operations more efficient.  

15 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

As should be the case in all offices.

It depends on whether the local immigration office is determined to mulish about adhering to the letter of the rule or just making sure they adhere to the intent of what the legislation was meant to accomplish.  The letter is you must have x amount of money for these days, the intent was to ensure that this was your money in your account and not placed in there for the renewal then removed from that account after the renewal was granted (i.e. fraud with regards to the intent of the requirement).    If your balance is always just enough to be approved, I expect that the immigration staff would require more to ensure that money is yours (i.e. adhering more to the letter), if your balance is often significantly above - and there is history of that balance being there (though not a years worth), then I would expect the immigration office to require less adherence to the letter of the rule since the intent was always - to make sure you had the money available and were therefore worth granting a visa to.  

2 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Exactly. 

I attend bank and make small deposit. Ask the clerk to please photocopy the last page to show ' 'activity' and update. 

Then next to proceed with the bank letter.

FWIW.. I use an FD and Savings account with same bank. I leave them untouched all year. 

The letter shows records of both accounts. Cost 100baht.

I am assuming the small deposit is for the savings account?.

With my F/D (Bangkok Bank), I did not need to do a transaction - They just did a 'B/F' (transaction entry) with the current date/time.   (Balance Forward) - So date (today, no sequence no, B/F for transaction code, no debit/credit amount and the total balance after that entry with date and timestamp. 

11 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Always find it interesting to see the differences in immigration offices requirements.

I don't doubt what you state about HH. Your doing your extensions there so "know the drill".

 

There are some extension reports where posters will state that this and that was required when in fact it was not however was accepted by io. TM30 being one example.

 

As for Bank Statements clearly as pointed out in this thread, some offices require Statements.

Many do not. Absurd requirement imo if all transactions are shown.

In fact no transactions should be required apart from deposit/withdrawal on day of application. 

Some folk leave the 800k+ all year round. Only take it out for annual visit to immigration.

Some folk have an FD account.

Personally for my Kasikorn FD a/c the minimum deposit is 1000baht.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If using a FD a/c then it is wise to give it to the bank staff at the time the letter is created, they will have the system give a balance update 'transaction' so that the last transaction printed in the bank book is recent (i.e. today)