sibeymai

"Darling, I'm going out to see my girlfriend. Don't know what time I'll be home. Want to come ?"

Wife trusts me so much I could tell her I was seeing her sister. How is this possible ? Go figure.

I'm no bleeding heart liberal, but neither am I exceptionally intolerant of other people's faults or failings. In my mind a sentence of 33 years for the crime of possesion seems overly harsh. Even more so when the majority of someone's productive life is involved at the same time removing absolutely the person's opportunity to make good for their mistake. Also, the sentence of hardship effectively given to his wife and child is difficult to justify. As far as I am aware it has never been established that Steve ever sold anything. Of course he may have, but that has never been proved and therefore has no legitimacy in this debate.

It's never been adequately explained to me how locking up a drug user is helpful to society. Sure there are cases of psychotic drug users who do need to be locked up. But there are many more recreational drug users within our midst who present no danger to society, convicted or not. If we are to help a drug user is a prison environment necessary or the best place to achieve a positive result ? Steve should do time, no question. But personal use should not mean life.

I've just finished looking around the web site. The cotent is nothing new for anyone who has readh about the Bangkok Hilton or the book Midnight Express. Any foreigner who lives here would be very ill-informed not to know about the conditions in jail here or the penalties throughout Asia for drug offences. But people who through their own stupidity end up in jail do not loose their humanity just because they are locked up. It's all too convenient for some members of society to just forget about people in prison as if having thousand of ignored inmates somehow makes the world a better place.

Once upon a time this same mentality resulted in thousands of people b eing transported from the UK to Australia - out of sight, out of mind. The truth is that removed from the oppressive socisty attitudes which resulted in their imprisonment, many of these people became upstanding members of society when given their freedom. What a pity Steve will not have the same chance. Provided that by being imprisoned he has earnt his lesson shouldn't he have that chance. Isn't that what prison is supposed to be for ?

In Steve's case I think visiting is humane and justified, repatriation to the UK preferable and a pardon, (after serving at least the equivalent of a UK sentence) acceptable.

If it wasn't a murder to reduce the number of tourists it would have been something else. Perhaps all the bad press about the police and taxi mafia on the island, or somethimg equally disagreeable.

Regardless, Samui's time in the sun as a tourist nirvana will end as surely as development will continue unceasingly until it's just another over-exploited and over developed destination like so many others. And the same will happen to the rest of Thailand given long enough.

Why do those responsible think there is something special about Thailand which will magically preserve its tourist appeal ? There's an unspoilt alternative springing up somewhere else in the world at least every day.

When the golden goose has become the ugly duckling people will start to ask why....but those with the answers will have made enough money so they can go elsewhere and leave the garbage dump they created to the locals to live with.

Thai's have nobody to blame but themselves and their "mai pen rai" attitude which is all too often used as an excuse to do nothing...which after all is something which a large number of Thais seem to be very good at.