Bday Prang

All these holier than thou types whinging on about corruption made a very peculiar choice when they decided to live here . You all knew what it was like before you made the move, did you really think you would be able to change things ? Or are you just happy moaning and virtue signalling ? Please give it a rest. Never forget all your problems could be solved with a one way ticket out of here

It was not a warning for anybody

I think more than 99.9% of the population are already "quiet" regarding this, It's just a very vocal minority that vehemently oppose things , Both in the Thai public and on this forum, and every one of them is nothing more than a victim of "reefer madness" propaganda

Glad you feel like that , issan does not need people like you or Russians

THe irony is obviously lost on you, please don't encourage Russians to visit this "awful" part of Thailand especially Surin (its really terrible here)

If it was really meant to scare potential overstayers into compliance there would be more efficient ways of reaching their intended targets than publishing in Thai language newspapers This was never intended to be a warning to foreigners

Why force the shops to shut during school hours ? The kids (who are not allowed to purchase anyway) will all be safely behind the school gates at this time.

lifting the ridiculous ban on cannabis is considered by most right minded people to be a step forward, You should educate yourself as to why it was banned in the first place. That might give you a correct and interesting view of life. Or do you prefer to just blindly accept government propaganda from the USA

I doubt they ever did

I doubt they do much early morning trade anyway. (except for the school run of course)

just how far from a school does a shop like this need to be situated?? is there even a regulation ? Or is it up to Chuwit to decide?

He's certainly been "born again" but what is the prime objective of this latest reincarnation? I doubt it is for the benefit others

And long may it continue, Conversely when they do become proactive about some matters , alcohol sales times or immigration matters the whingeing on this forum is deafening

"Anonymous concerned parents" ? If there really were any they would have contacted the authorities themselves or demonstrated outside the shop, Why contact this nobody ? Why did the school itself not complain? One of his cronies spotted this shop close to "shock horror" a catholic girls school and he just thought it was too good an opportunity to miss Who on earth does this clown think he is ? making inspections , issuing seven day deadlines ? all somewhat well above his non existent paygrade, Of course the shop did not contact him , why would they? He is just a troublemaker with his own agenda. His new found moral compass didn't bother him when he employed prostitutes Age limit for sales is 20 years old as "Madmick" said , its a non issue

Morality is absolutely defined by culture / religion, If not then by who ? It is very subjective, as is the concept of "morally corrupt"

Its not news at all , think of it more as a promotional video I don't think it was meant for our eyes at least certainly not as a warning. I was Surprised that the OP has only translated a small part of the article, the rest of it probably about 80% was a further self congratulating report about their "successes " but in dealing with chinese call center gangs( which is actually a serious issue with millions of Baht having been stolen) Why this more serious case was not included in the op and the op fixated on the lesser victimless offence of overstaying is anybody's guess Is this part of their "public information " campaign do you think ? I doubt it, they won't have thought of posting on here ...would they ? ? Although I could see a confidential hotline with a £5000 baht reward being very popular with some people on here "TVF bounty hunters". "Grassed up abroad" They could make a sad reality TV show about it I'm a bit weary of those who continually try to lecture others,, whingeing on about "being a guest", being a guest in that context implies that one is staying for free (as in a guest a close friends house for example) a bit of a burden possibly and expected to be somewhat compliant, submissive and grateful The other context of "guest" would be as a hotel resident (paying guest) which is a more accurate description, as we do not stay here for free, we are in effect "customers" . A totally different arrangement or at least it should be Why are you plugging the Elite visa scam (surprised they allowed that too) do you work for them ?or are you a customer (Still in denial) I do agree with your comments on our home countries immigration failings however, the Thai model seems to work just fine compared to the UK although they do have their own way of doing things, but why not ?

The vast majority will have been Burmese , Cambodians and Laotions working illegally on mainly construction sites or fishing boats, Possibly redundant and surplus to requirements, so the employer either informs immigration or just stops paying them off. Its a well organized operation

Just like there is no reason to worry about the police or the courts unless one is truly guilty ? Recently many of "those up to no good " were found to have been aided and abetted by immigration! There is always a good reason for everybody to worry about corrupt officials , especially those wearing uniforms, whether guilty or not.

There is no actual "crackdown" this is just the results of the normal execution of their duties, The whole charade was just a mutual back patting exercise and an opportunity to blow their own trumpets, after all there is no praise like self praise

From what I have read there are two people on here with a fundamental misunderstanding of ME tourist visas and you are one of them People like the OP are confused enough already without people like you inventing your own regulations. Why would you even do that ?

it also works "great" for back to back stays of upto 90 days How could you possibly know what it is designed for?

Look at all the "Top Brass" involved, Always impressive to see a well disciplined and solid chain of command, and very reassuring to know that they can cope with one off incidents like this at the drop of a hat. How very exciting, yet predictably selfless, to see four of the most senior officers of the various divisions not hesitating to get involved at the highest level. it must have been awe-inspiring watching these seasoned professionals put down their mobile phones, and swing into action, like a well oiled decision making machine It's only right that they get some well earned recognition for the brilliant solution to a problem that was obviously a logistical nightmare, that would have confounded and possibly overwhelmed more junior officers Sending the female officer around the island to visit a few hospitals, is the stuff of genius absolutely brilliant, on several counts: she could do it on her motorbike so no need to risk letting her loose in the BMW. She may well discover a few Victims who are not really badly injured, and who knows, might even be the odd overstayer amongst them Meanwhile the four senior officers involved can sit back and bask in well deserved glory and admiration from tourists and locals alike not to mention fellow professionals from the comfort and safety of their air conditioned offices

Other than immigration / tourist police and the TVF "visa compliance brigade" I doubt anybody else gets so worked up about overstayers, not really anyone's business

Plenty on here whose Thai is far less than rudimentary, non existent in many cases, they also seem get by !

I couldn't agree more, although I would, maybe, replace No 2 on your list , the electric bill, with the exchange rate value of the Baht. I find it sadly amusing, all these uninformed foreigners crying outrage and deciding what should and should not happen , based on their "moral compasses" or on how they think things would be done in their home countries, ( which they have chosen to leave) So many living here seem to want to turn Thailand into a carbon copy of their own miserable country of origin, Have they forgotten why came here in the first place ? It's a bit bizarre that foreigners living here on what is effectively a temporary permission to stay would waste so much time and effort expressing their opinions and stressing out on something over which they have absolutely no control, and very little understanding Should their "righteous" fantasies of Thailand becoming a fully paid up member of the "democratic first world" ever come to fruition, most of them would be on the first plane out of here. No doubt to Cambodia or Laos where they can try to start their campaign for social change all over again It is what it is, and its better to just enjoy the show