Mum2

Thank you ?

15 minutes ago, 007 RED said:

Mum2….  Sorry to hear about your dilemma.  Certainly not an envious situation to be faced with.  I know a lot of information has been provided already.  Some of it good, some of it not so good.

 

The first thing I would say that it’s good to hear that your son has been released on ‘bail’ and I would concur with previous comments indicating that your son will have to stay in Thailand until the Court hearing which may be a month away.

 

I appreciate that this whole episode has been a great shock to you and I hope that you have someone back there to give you additional support that you no doubt need until your son returns.

 

Please don’t get upset, but I think that this has not finished yet.  There may well be a few more unwelcome surprises in store for your son.

 

Firstly, you mentioned that your son was due to return in four days.  Obviously that is not going to happen now as he is prevented from leaving the Kingdom because he does not have his passport.

 

He needs to contact the airline as soon as possible and explain his predicament to them.  He needs to cancel his return flight and hope that they will allow him to rebook the flight home once the Court case has been completed.  The problem is that the airline may say that if he does not show up at the airport he has effectively cancelled his ticket and will not be entitled to any refund.  In fact, the airline under those circumstances (what is called NO SHOW) can charge a penalty, though most would not.

 

If the return segment of ticket is cancelled and not re-bookable your son will be responsible for booking a new flight once the Court case is complete and he has his passport back. Unfortunately a single flight from Bangkok to the UK can work out as expensive as a return fare.  Even if your son has travel insurance, the insurance company will not cover providing a replacement flight for him given the circumstances.  So something to bear in mind and possibly prepare for e.g. arrange for additional funding to be available.

 

Secondly, from what I gather from your earlier posts, your son (or his friend) has paid the bail sum demanded by the police.  I hope that either your son, his friend or an independent person (e.g. Embassy rep) read the bail receipt before he signed it.  If not, then unfortunately there may be another unwelcome surprise on the horizon once the Court case is complete.

 

Your son would have been in a very vulnerable position after his arrest and this will be made worse by the fact that he may not speak or understand Thai.

 

It is a fairly common scam that a person in your son’s predicament is persuaded to hand over the ‘bail’ sum to a third party (a fixer) who then arranges the ‘bail’.  The fixer returns with the bail document which is in Thai, explains the terms of the bail to your son and then gets him to sign the document.  He is then told that he is free to leave the police station, minus his passport which will be held by the police until the Court case is completed. 

 

What will not be apparent unless your son, his friend or someone else read Thai is that the ‘bail’ document will record who posted the ‘bail’ and there is a very good chance that it the fixer, not your son or his friend.

 

When the Court case is complete and your son returns to the police station to collect the bail money, it is likely that the police will inform him that as he didn’t post the bail he is not entitled to the money and there is a very good chance that the money will have already been collected by the fixer. 

 

So please advise your son that this may happen and not to get upset with the police as this could only lead to further complications.  Unfortunately there is little if anything that he can do if this is the case as he has signed the bail document which would have stated (in Thai) that the bail bond was posted by the fixer.

 

I hope that things turn out better than I have painted and that you son gets back sooner rather than later.

 

Good luck, and get the frying pan ready for his return, just don't make to many bruises.

Thank you - I am hopeful it is sorted in a month he is concerned it may be nearer 2. The interpreter who is apparently a volunteer read him the paperwork (I guess this maybe the fixer - is it worth a conversation with him? He is the one my son has to contact every 12 days to say where he is). I am concerned he needs his passport to get a criminal extension visa from another island and he doesn’t have it. ) what a mess? 

4 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

One thing not mentioned.

I assume your son entered on a Visa exempt 30 day entry.

Do you know what date he entered Thailand.

He knows he needs to check out a visa extension thing 

No passport - court in about a month, looking at the foreign office website that appears to be the standard form. For what they consider ‘small’ crimes the police can and do set bail and the amount he paid is not outrageous for a foreigner it would appear.  

Thanks I have told them to speak to the embassy chap away from the police station 

Just now, Mattd said:

I am no expert on the workings of the Thai legal system, however, I have always been of the impression that bail can only be set by a judge in court, they would decide the amount etc.

So if this is the case, then this 49,000 THB needs checking as the police could be up to something strange by telling the amount now, the courts are closed until Monday, so that would be the earliest that bail could be posted.

Thank you - I have checked on the foreign office guidance and they say in ‘small’ cases bail can be set at a police station

He has paid the 490000 and is waiting to be processed - I have told him he must know his bail conditions (and stick to them) 

3 minutes ago, Panaeolus said:

I would pay nothing to the police if its going to court. These guys receipts are worth nothing. The local cell is dirty but he is safe. Court will be on mainland i believe and there is new express lane for tourist cases like this one

Hi - do you know this for certain? Others are telling me that this is now genuine bail and I don’t know what to believe 

I am not good at relaxing - but thank you I will try and be a bit calmer! 

I am just not sure at this point whether they are letting him out or not.  I have told him to pay the money but they are saying it will be a month before court not 48 hours as the embassy website says. I am at a loss now

Thank you people for your advice - it doesn’t look good to be honest. They aren’t taking payment so the pay and get out option is no longer available. He will have to go through the courts. I just feel so helpless (and very cross with him) 

22 minutes ago, Sandy Freckle said:

Surprise, surprise 

 I read on the foreign office website it should initially go to court within 48 hours but I can see no evidence of this at all. The embassy rep is on his way apparently! 

I can get the money to him but they are taking his finger prints and say they won’t budge on the passport and he has to go to court. I have suggested offering more money to get the passport but not sure that is the best option. Like the guy said earlier I think the time has passed for the quick option. Thank you all for your help 

3 minutes ago, Sandy Freckle said:

Surprise, surprise 

Does this mean the advice changes? The interpreter is there and they are waiting to pay - his friend doesn’t think they are budging on giving him his passport back though... 

I know!!! 

9 minutes ago, sanuk711 said:

Every ones giving advice no ones asking ...WHERE....WHAT ISLAND.  ??

 

Koh Tao 

My son has the money but they keep saying he needs to wait until the interpreter gets there?

5 minutes ago, buick said:

i think this sums it up.  i have a feeling the quick, expensive option may have passed if he is already in a cell.  from what i know, the money needs to be paid to the police within hours if you want to be released as if nothing happened.  and the police don't offer this option to you, you have to ask 'how much do i have to pay to go home now'.  then you call a friend, they bring the money and you go home (in some cases, i've heard of the 'arrested' being able to go to the ATM themselves).

 

it is good that he has at least one friend on the island.  he may need food delivered to his cell by his friend.  i had a friend in a similar circumstance (locked up in bangkok over the thai new year for drugs) and his friends brought him food and shared with others in the cell.  that made him the #1 guy in the cell.  he was eventually released on bail and was allowed to leave the country but he had to come back for the court case if he wanted to be able to return to thailand in the future.  he lived in hong kong and made at least two trips back for the court case.  he also had a lawyer.  but as i recall, his airfare and hotel costs were higher than the amount he had to pay as a fine and attorney fees.  since he was locked up over the thai new year, he was in the cell for 6 days.

They took his friend to get the cash straight away but because she panicked and tried to get the full amount in one his account got locked so it took a while to sort. They did however keep allowing him his phone in order to contact his bank and unlock his account etc

Just now, simoh1490 said:

Before deciding on an approach the OP needs to consider those things.

Op? 

Just had this from his friend but still not sure if they have paid any money over yet.... 

I think they’re taking this pretty seriously and he’s not looking like he’ll get his passport back but will let you know,  they say he has to wait until midday to see the interpreter. 

Just screen shot your message and sent it to him. Thank you for your advice all. 

Thank you - the issue seems to be there is no one at the police station to pay!!!