Scouse123

22 minutes ago, shirtless said:

There is a major problem with the Thai work ethic, it doesnt exist. They will soon bend the rules as developers apply some pressure.Mai Pen Rai

How right you are!

They would sooner take their underwear off than do an honest days work. Also, it's the Thais who employ all these people from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. why?  we all know, slave labour and don't / dare not complain.

The British police can use DNA kept from crime scenes 30 and 40 years ago whilst they were waiting the relevant technology to now capture and convict criminals in 2016.

However, in one of the biggest ever crime murder cases Thailand has ever had especially regards foreigners, the Thai police are asking you to believe, (which ever newspaper you read), that the DNA was (a) conclusive (b) lost (c) misplaced. (d) used up.

Scandalous absolutely mind-blowing that they expect us to believe this. But, they are not used to questioning or scrutiny as The good General constantly shows on TV when asked something he cannot answer.

Some people here seem to be placing a lot of emphasis on the families of the victims and British police evidence.

The Police from the UK were far from happy with the Thai police and the way the investigation was carried out and said so when they returned to the UK and were CONSTANTLY MISQUOTED by the THAI press.

The British police were muzzled and ordered to discuss nothing with the press or TV by the UK government. They were herded like buffalo to see only what the Thai police wished to show. Any further inquiries were treated with hostility and reminders that this fell under the jurisdiction of Thai law. The whole visit of the UK police was a charade by the British government to add legitimacy to a disgustingly flawed investigation.

Prayut stated his opinions as to what had gone on and how the case was to proceed from the outset without being in receipt of the facts.He made it clear they were guilty, so you can forget any chance of independent reports or opinions, even doctors were threatened for not toeing the official line, and DNA was announced linking the boys before it was humanly possible in that time frame to have carried out such tests. Of course when the defence wished to retest the DNA, they said it had all been used up!!!.......

Of course the Thai police would have been ' fawning ' all over the victims families. They find this about as difficult as pressing 10 fingers together to form an insincere apology when it suits them.

The Thai police are WELL KNOWN FOR THIS TYPE OF BEHAVIOUR Make no mistake, the Thai police will have been briefed and scripted as to what had to be said to the victims families. When they say they are carrying out further investigations, what they are actually doing is ensuring they have heard all sides, formed their ploy and have the means to rebut any allegations. They use ' INVESTIGATIONS '  as a means to protect their vile behaviour and get their story together, not as a means of justice.

36 minutes ago, simon43 said:

The landlord is definitely not in cahoots with the druggie tenant.  There is no faking anger here.  He is an old guy and both he and his family just want me back at the resort and paying the land rent again, without all the problems that this tenant is creating.

 

Well, that scenario isn't going to happen because I want a peaceful life without the threats from this tenant.  If I do take on the resort again, it will be managed by another person and I'll enjoy my life in another country.

Well,

it seems you have your answers already and have decided which direction you are going in, so just do that then. You will get a different opinion by every single poster here as we are not on the ground there and all think different.

2 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

How was the cabin?  Did you get a sleeper???

Guys,

I recently did the train number 85 from Bangkok to Surat Thani on my way to Koh Samui. The train left about 30 minutes late from Bangkok.

I took the first class carriage on the sleeper which is a 2 berth sleeper. My bill was 1500+ for the bottom berth including the bus and fast ferry to Nathon ferry pier in Samui. My friend stayed in the top berth which was an extra 1100 baht. Top berth is cheaper as less headroom. It was an early evening journey, so no view and nothing to see. I did it for a one off ' wanted to know experience ' It wasn't romantic and because evening sleeper, no view, which would be the whole point of a train journey.

There is a double lock door for security on your cabin, there is a couple of cabin lights, mirror, small eating table, window, aircon, and that's it.

The beds are made up by train staff shortly after Bangkok departure. A meal on the train was 200 baht, so for two of us was 400 baht. Coffees in the morning were I think 35-40 baht each. A toilet at the end of the corridor, one Thai style and one European that contained a small shower area. Second class did not have this level of security, separated by curtains as opposed to a door!! and I would not choose that style of journey, also your luggage is not secure as it is in First.

It was overall OK as I slept through the night but other than that a non event, so much so that I flew back to Bangkok. A flight and ferry RETURN with Air Asia is actually quite a bit cheaper than than the train at the right time of year booked in advance taking into account food and stuff.

Phuket is by far, a cheaper destination to get to by air unlike Samui where Bangkok Air holds the monopoly on the island itself and all other airlines (except Thai, also very expensive for the short journey) , do the Fly N Ferry route.

They have these days better trains but to my knowledge these are on the Chiang Mai route. There are no fast trains to Phuket as it rapid transit.

I very much doubt it as you are pointing to something which damages the country.

Easy to avoid naming him directly although even if you did, I think damage to country's reputation would trump a drug dealing gun merchant. Anyway, that's what his lawyer is there to advise on.

There are certain times people can be named regardless of these defamation laws.This was like the girl attacked and the guy tried to rape her who fell down the mountain. The point was raised about defamation in this case, If that was the case, every criminal caught and in the newspaper can claim defamation!!!

I am certain and think many foreigners with little knowledge misinterpret the defamation laws and what they mean as well as purpose of them.

It's a hell of a job to get people out of property when they are already in , in Europe never mind Thailand!!!

1. Speak to your lawyer and tell her you need appointment at the crack of dawn tomorrow and go through the story, also your ideas on police involvement ( paying them ) and seek her opinion.

2. Get the local newspapers, press, TV and radio involved. Thais in authority hate this, especially negative publicity on the part of the island as a whole. MASSIVE EMPHASIS to be put on the loss of custom and the Chinese complaints and threats with a gun.

3. Get the aforementioned press to meet you handing in your complaint to the local police station live on TV. Get your wife girlfriend involved explaining everything clearly in language they understand.

4.Make sure you turn off utilities and inform they you do not want them switched back on until you personally visit them with your wife as this guy is illegally occupying your properties.

5.If a deal is done with local law enforcement, make sure you do a deal with the man in charge not the local sergeant/corporal. This prevents the small police getting their feet under the table. The major and Colonels are frequently moved to different jobs in their chase for promotion, they will accept this ' small annoyance of a job '  especially if there is a chance of a TV interview, but they won't hang around to keep coming back for more as your case is too small fry for the bother.

6. Take advice from lawyer before getting landlord to repossess or its a can of worms. Once you have invited him to foreclose by not paying, he could kick you out as well and take over the whole lot himself, in fact, he probably would and then blame his ' wife, family, mother-in-law '  anybody but himself for not handing it back to you. If it got really sticky, he would say you broke the lease conditions.

7. Do not go to bars/restaurants or any places you use as routine! Not trying to scare you, but break your routine.Do not make it easy where if these thugs ask your whereabouts, somebody can point them in the right direction as this leaves you open.

8. Mention privately to police but not publicly before the cameras about his Krathom use. Make sure any damage to resort is filmed and out there for all to see.

9. Do not or ever go to see him alone or just you and your wife/gf. Do not put your partner in harms way where you have drug people with guns whose response can be unpredictable.

10. Ask the lawyer the FASTEST WAY legal way to make life difficult for him, one that is empowering visits from local authorities and police and "grease the wheels as necessary ". If they have seen that you are standing up and not afraid to involve the press and TV, the bribes are usually less and more appreciatively received.

This will be a lot quicker to get your property back as opposed to awaiting a civil court action.

2 hours ago, chainarong said:

How convenient  rules and  regulations are sorely lacking when it comes down to the nitty gritty , no Police officer these days should do any interrogation or interview, whatever, without a camera, it protects the officer and the client and elevates silly B/S and Lies from developing , for those late comers to Thailand , just imagine what happened back in eighties and nineties, plenty disappeared or woke up dead in the morning , now you can understand  why the Thai police have such a bastard of a reputation.................................    

Yes,

But you are forgetting one thing, That would be the logical, transparent and correct way to do things which would give no allowance for doubt. All of the aforementioned traits do not fit with the "Thai way" of doing things!

4 hours ago, ukrules said:

Well that's very convenient isn't it. This whole case is rotten to the core.

 

It stinks of massive corruption and there should be a high level investigation opened into this incident.

 

The problem with your suggestion is that it probably came from a high level as to what has occurred.

53 minutes ago, bark said:

Not a mere attack or assault  ???

Would you not give two Thai men 5,000 baht; so that you do not get kicked in the head 10-15 times ??

Maybe suffer brain damage or worse. How must does it cost to replace all your teeth ?

They beat him up and took his money while he was knocked out on the ground.

What the writer was saying was that Robbery with violence is a far more serious offense  and viewed as such by the courts than an attack or assault 

1 hour ago, JerryinTH said:

Given the facts that he played in certain gogo bars, he should have known better or at least know the right people or have his mind right to grease some palms with the help of friends and family before it got to into the system in the first place. 

I read this correct that the actual arrest happened 2 years ago? Will those be counted against his sentence so he can leave 2 years earlier to a prison in his home country? 

Since he didn't plead guilty I doubt they'll credit him the 2 years but who knows.. 

 

Looking at the pictures of him, he is a bit too 'handsome' to last 50 years in thai jail. Probably is a good girlfriend to many inmates now. Pretty sad

The two years will be deducted from his sentence and that means he can apply in six years to go home to Australia to serve the balance of sentence.

The time that must be spent in a Thai prison for a life sentence is 8 years before a transfer can take place.

There is very little sexual harassment of new inmates by Thais in these prisons as there are more than  enough willing participants, both males  and ladyboys all wanting something be it drugs, mobile phones, food, cigarettes etc.

13 minutes ago, harrry said:

The Australian exchange program states that the person will serve the entire sentence but will be entitled to the same remissions and parole that he would have recieved if he had remained in Thailand.  

 

 In the UK it is ' half of the balance ' left to serve at transfer.

So if you got twenty years and served four in Thailand you would serve a further eight in the UK and be freed on licence for the other eight.

You would also get the good behavior class that you had in Thailand to deduct time from your sentences and also to any government of Royal amnesties from Thailand.

Different countries have different agreements. No allowances are made for Thailand's poor justice system or weak cases.

Reading further into this with more information available it starts to make a little cock eyes sense as to how they reached their verdict.

As I mentioned in a previous post, there was no way I believed they can or could give two life sentences for 61 pills. It has transpired that he was given lousy legal advice from the outset. I am not saying the foreigner whose law office is now defending him has fared any better as there is a limit as to what can be done in these circumstances. The foreign law firm just like any Thai law firms are in it purely for the money.

However, it looks now like he has been charged twice. Once for the 61 pills found at his girlfriends apartment and then a joint charge with Lance Whitmore on the 200 pills. So there will be two charges of possession with intent to sell.

It really is ' pushing it to the limit ' the charges of possession with intent to supply/sell ' and what they have done this to the Australian lad.

1. He had no drugs at all on his person.

2. The drugs found at the apartment was not his apartment but a ' girlfriend ' so, why has she not been charged as the apartment belonged to her??  There is a charge in cases like this in Thailand called ' Loo um ' This basically means jointly, as a group, together '  and is used in a number of cases where they catch a number of Thais but nobody is putting their hands up to responsibility. They charge the lot of them and let the courts decide. However, they have charged the Aussie Jake with this alongside Lance, but not by the look of it charged the Thai girl.

3.If it develops she is some bar or working girl, the chances are she is in with the police or other than that, he has taken the fall for her.

He could and should totally have denied responsibility for this. Lance Whitmore was caught red handed but it looks like this guy has been taken down as a ' patsy ' or maybe the police believed he had plenty of cash to give them and was withholding it because oi his status as an international DJ.

Whatever, Jake has had the rough end of this deal. A Supreme court should throw this out but from what I believe they are not going to pursue this as it could take 6-8 years and they cannot apply for prisoner transfer with the case still in the court nor will they get amnesties or good behavior reductions until the case is finished.

6 hours ago, Thechook said:

Speaking out and defaming Thailand's image isn't very smart.  Others have been arrested and imprisoned for tarnishing the kingdoms image.

Your comment is not very smart. The girl has been viciously attacked and you come on here saying a persons with a broken back and lucky to be alive needs to worry and should not be talking in case it can be construed by some as  ' tarnishing Thailand's image!!! ' 

What an utterly stupid thoughtless statement to make. In your view then it should be swept under the carpet??

Give her a bunch of flowers, a quick photo opportunity with T.A.T. and a promise not to charge her for her hotel room whilst she is in hospital, that'll pacify her, eh???

The whole world needs to know and good on the girl for speaking what happened. I hope she is on the mend very quickly.

Yes,

What you say is accurate.

The police have moved more these days from letting them off completely after receiving a large bribe, to a win win situation for themselves whereby they still prosecute and obtain the conviction; but reduce the amount of drugs alleged to have been captured so the defendant does not spend 20-30 years in prison.

in this case, they two lads did not have enough money or access to it, so the police went for a high profile conviction instead, which is good for " pips on their shoulders " and impresses the public, or they think it does.

That still doesn't explain away two life sentences as opposed to one.

, 

Guys,

i really want an answer to one question only and that is why one of them has been given two life sentences for 61 pills.???

I can only think he had two separate charges but this has not been mentioned in any newspaper reports that I have read. He would not receive two life sentences for just the one charge nor for appealing his original sentence.

I am familiar with court proceedings, sentencing, Thai prisons, Thai courts etc but this has me wondering, I admit I am stumped by this.

is anybody in the know on this?? 

2 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

Someone escaping from a "safe house" after stealing a gun from his guard and is then later shot in the back, the back, in a "hail of bullets" doesn't make you go hmm? 

Yes,

And these ' safe houses '  which are anything but, are just rooms where they hand out torture, elicit bribes, and have been used to extra judicially kill people. These should not ever be allowed. These are the places where plastic bags are put over peoples heads and electric shocks are administered.

They were supposed to be illegal.They are not government areas of detention.

Why was the guy not transported to a police jail cell?? If he had been correctly arrested, why the need for going to some ridiculous ' safe house ' away from public view, no access to lawyers ( not that they are any good at the best of times but something to keep Dad's Army in check ) and questioning eyes and/ or journalists, who are known to hang around police stations for their stories.

The drug dealing guy I have no sympathy for, the processing of alleged criminals however, should be dealt with in transparent fashion. A photo can be looked at and mean anything and has probably only been released as it seems to show it was the fugitive acting dangerous and aggressive.(If it had showed armed forces in anything less than favorable, it wouldn't be out there). Was it through being angry of getting caught or fear of being severely beaten?

How do we know that he wasn't beaten in the ' safe house ' leading him through fear, to take desperate measures?

One or two on here are giving far too much credit as to the abilities of the inept people referred to as a SWAT team.

Kids plucked up and taken into the Army with as much training as their police counterparts. Bear in mind the whole concept of the Thai Army and police is to control their population and not as an outside fighting force to protect the country in a war.They are not designed or skilled to be a deterrent in the event of external conflict so therefore the foot soldiers on the ground are very poorly trained and have the cheapest and minimal amount of money invested in them.

They are completely out of their depth in real hostage situations, as are their leaders and superiors all in ' bought ' positions of rank.

I am equally surprised given their disregard for human life and love of high drama after watching too many B movies, that the hostage is alive at all. That is more through sheer luck than management.

I have stayed in hotels all over Asia and found no distinction between high and moderate end hotels asking for deposits, all I can say is it is very hit and miss,some do and some do not.

Even in  Udon Thani at a cheap hotel of 900 baht a night, they had no mini bar but a fridge with two bottles of water but wanted 500 baht for the room key deposit. It's no problem, it's just they all have different quirks. Yet, I stay regularly at the Tawana in Bangkok, rated as a four star at 2,500 baht a night and they ask me for nothing, however,I am known there and have stayed for 20 years regularly as a guest.

The strangest I had was in Halong Bay, Vietnam. Every piece was itemized and priced in the room including teaspoons. A room check was done before you were allowed to leave the premises and although polite to you, you were not leaving until that room had been verified as all was present and correct.

That was not the strange part which was in the dining room for breakfast where a    standing sign was in the center of the table stating that there was a $20 fine for any food from the buffet left behind on the table that wasn't eaten!!! 

Apparently, they were fed up at the hotel of Asian guests piling their plates up with " eyes bigger than their bellies " and the waste that occurred. I did laugh to myself, only the. Vietnamese can be so hard faced! 

I remember many years ago a certain Royal request being made by a foreign dignitary/ diplomat to Maggie Thatcher regards how they went on about stopping traffic in London as a certain Royal was on their way to the airport.

Her answer was ever so British but firm..She said, " No, no my dear, we don't do that here! " in a motherly tone.

As another poster said, A helicopter would make far better sense for speed, not wasting peoples work time and helping the horrendous traffic jams on the roads.

There are far too many VIP convoys for little despots with delusions of grandeur in Asia and Africa anyway.

9 minutes ago, boomerangutang said:

 you're probably right.  But his jailers saw a chance to make a bunch of money, so.......

No sir,

He's probably wrong.

You cannot be extradited when you have an unfinished case in the courts in the country where you are being extradited from.

14 hours ago, Thian said:

 

That explains why i saw loads and loads of new restaurants at the road to the Bang Kwan prison in Nonthaburi. I allready wondered why they all opened up there, do they have personell to get food for them outside?

Thian,

The food stalls outside prisons are usually owned by the guards and their wives and girlfriends/immediate family. Yes, prisoners place their orders in advance for the following days.( No waste for the guards families! )

You can't beat a ' captive audience '

People must understand these places are run as both a co operative between the hierarchy, directors, guards etc as a ' for profit ' business.

Extremely confusing and badly written but it in my opinion it can only be explained as follows:

He was arrested under an international warrant at the request of the Danes.

He must also have had a case running for something ' financial ' in the Thai courts. In both the provincial and appeal court he has won his case.Obviously, the prosecutor is thinking differently or is possibly being vindictive as he does not suffer either way as a case trudges through the courts in Thailand, so has appealed to the Supreme court.

At both of these courts he was entitled to bail. He could not be granted bail because simultaneously, he was being held on behalf of Denmark, who have requested his repatriation for fraud and VAT charges to the tune of over $1.3 million USD. That is the reason he is not on bail. The Danes will obviously not drop the international  arrest warrant.

A Supreme court case takes years upon years in Thailand and quite possibly up to 8 years, especially if it is not a priority matter to the Thais, which it isn't.

Posts regarding cell and food charges accumulating are just nonsense. There are no charges at all, there is also no decent food and foreign prisoners must buy their own to survive in good health or as best they can. It is an unusual case but it does appear on the surface, that this guy attracts or gets involved in ' dodgy dealings '

Yes, it would be interesting to know how they were so on the ball especially in an airport the size of Suvaranabhumi!!! What did they do? Show his mugshot around MacDonalds?

I think there must be a tiny bit more to it, mainly because I have no confidence in the abilities of the Thai police.

Anyway, no doubt the good General will be doing some backslapping and ensuring his ' finest BIB '  are rewarded for their outstanding detective work.

Now, what percentage of the 100,000 baht the woman ' alleges ' was in her handbag will they be expecting as a reasonable reward??  She probably went upstairs to the office, saw that the image was blurred as to what was in the bag, thought of a number and quadrupled it..l.......

Yes, it would be interesting to know how they were so on the ball especially in an airport the size of Suvaranabhumi!!! What did they do? Show his mugshot around MacDonalds?

I think there must be a tiny bit more to it, mainly because I have no confidence in the abilities of the Thai police.

Anyway, no doubt the good General will be doing some backslapping and ensuring his ' finest BIB '  are rewarded for their outstanding detective work.

Now, what percentage of the 100,000 baht the woman ' alleges ' was in her handbag will they be expecting as a reasonable reward??  She probably went upstairs to the office, saw that the image was blurred as to what was in the bag, thought of a number and quadrupled it..l.......