PingRoundTheWorld

Probably easier for them to operate here - they fly under the radar as nobody pays attention to them until some big news like this breaks - and they're literally already gone when it does. Gotta wonder how many such gangs there are that we don't hear about because they're successful and release the victims instead of murdering them. Thailand has done great in arresting and deporting some of the bigger fish recently, but there's still probably thousands (at least) of small-time crooks here, including all nationalities but of course many Chinese. Reminds me of what some guy once told me: "the thing I like about Thailand is that it has no extradiction treaty with France" - I did not inquire why that's a concern...

There is zero point to having trannies in the army - they are often mentally unstable (what was it - 40% have attempted suicide at least once?), they are high maintenance and require medication (hormones), and sometimes surgery. Other than being woke and waving the equality flag there really isn't any benefit because a normal guy would bring in more value at less cost. And that's before the obvious logistics like shower and toilets - who do they share with? men or women? neither would be comfortable. And building separate facilities just for them is yet another unnecessary cost. Can't tell for sure from this picture, but "she" looks oddly familiar. Must've seen "her" some someone that looks like her around Sukhumvit... or it's just the makeup. ????

Apparently not, considering they got caught. But then again neither is the police - considering they let (at least) 2 suspects get away when they could've easily caught them. Now they'll probably lay low for a while then restart their "operation" later. As far as the tourists themselves go - exchanging large amounts of money at the airport is stupid to begin with, but if you do the least you can do is carry it with you in a way that cannot be easily stolen rather than dump it in a bag (huh?).

Alcohol only softens inhibitions, so people do things they wanted to do anyway but were scared to do normally. If someone is violent or nasty while drunk it's not because of alcohol - it's because they were violent and nasty *before* drinking but were just afraid to let it show while sober. Either way- we don't know that this guy was drunk, actually sounds more like drugs.

In this case it sounds like the money was going into their own pockets rather than kicked back upwards. One of the first <deleted> moments in Thailand was when a guy who was a drugie himself and a pimp, had a brother who was a cop. My gf (mistake) at the time one night said he's leaving (a bar) to go with his brother to shake down a guy they caught with drugs. This guy was not a police officer yet he went on the "bust"...

Not on Wise, but I've had such transactions on 2 different credit cards. The card company blocked the card, but it does seem like this Uber/Eats scam is ongoing at massive scale. Really wish there was a way to require OTP for all online transactions...

It actually kind of sounds like the reporters are twisting his words to make it sound more sensational than what he actually said. Clickbait.

Best guess- just another hooker with an abusive boyfriend who beats her up regularly. When her boyfriend found out her latest client was rich he made her go to the police to get a bigger payday. Her bruises are not consistent with rough sex - they look pre-existing and would take a lot more force.

This "tourist" is drunk, covered in tattoos and looks exactly like the type to be looking for trouble at 2am. Looks aside, he admitted to causing the fight by getting in the Thai man's face over nothing (a nasty look). Sounds like he got exactly what he was looking for.

To be fair, the type of foreigners visiting Phuket during high season don't exactly command respect or welcome feelings.

The grand majority of bar girls are poorly educated, lazy, and have very little desire to get a better education or job. They get spoiled by the lifestyle and easy money and end up throwing their money away as quickly as it comes in. Gambling, drinking (not on the job), shopping for things they don't actually need, and the worst of all - financing loser Thai "boyfriends" who "borrow" money from them on a regular basis. And of course sending money home to family who treat them as a piggybank. It's always funny (and sad) to see a working girl who makes 5-10 times more money than the average Thai person yet constantly broke - how??

Yet another law setting itself up for failure - why limit legal age to 20 when there are and there always will be younger prostitutes? Making it illegal won't make them stop - it will just ensure they remain in grey/unregulated area and vulnerable to the exact same conditions that legalizing it aims to prevent.

They sure know how to make you feel welcome here... Seriously though- I'm all for deporting actual troublemakers - especially ones who engage in violent behavior on a regular basis - but a "two strikes you're out" system sounds like a terrible idea, since it doesn't take into account the severity of the crime committed. For severe cases just throw them out immediately, for minor infractions show leniency.

I have a friend who was hospitalized at Bangkok hospital Phuket last year. The whole thing, including flying him out to Bangkok, cost about $20k. Sure it's expensive, but it's not 250k.

Medical evacuation does not cost a quarter million. Something (many things) is off here.

Agreed. While the car driver is 100% at fault for everything else - this would've been prevented if he just followed the car instead of trying to overtake it. The rule of the road is don't **** with anything bigger than you - it's better to be wise (and alive) than right.

Financing development, agriculture, and livestock for the less fortunate. He's one of many saints.

After 48 years of marriage, and working for his pension - let the guy have some fun while he's still breathing. The reason he's doing it "spontaneously" is likely because he doesn't want to deal with the nagging and drama or even worse - requests to take her with him. Some women seem to think they are entitled to be the final say in everything - grave error in the long run - wouldn't be surprised if he took her <deleted> for decades and finally broke and decided he just doesn't give a **** anymore.

Exactly what I was thinking - who cares what the ministry of health thinks - it's not their area of expertise nor should it be his decision.

Exactly. This is extortion and should be a criminal offense. Treating a few broken bones does not cost 1.5 million baht. Not even close. They're overcharging her because she literally has no choice except pay up.

Meals? Registering them for school and making sure everything's alright? Dealing with it when they're sick? etc etc etc. Did you have a hired girlfriend take care of them and you're discounting her cost because you'd hire her anyway? ???? (no offense- only saying this because you've mentioned having a live-in paid gf before - not that I see anything wrong with that mind you) I guess the bottom line is that if you already have someone to take care of them (paid or not) at home then it's "free", but if you do not then paying for child support would probably be cheaper than hiring a nanny etc.

Which is probably exactly the reason she's "protesting". Then again he looks like a bad enough guy that some women would get obsessed with regardless of money. Either way she's unlikely to ever see him again. Best case scenario he goes to jail in Poland, worst case scenario he dies in jail. Either way barred from Thailand for at least 5 years (if they don't blacklist him completely). She'll move on the minute that sinks in, so maybe some of the posters seeking to give a "private consultation" will be able to in the not distant future. ????

Who did the Chinese bosses support? And that might just be the angle here...

Because people are stupid and think vaping is like sucking on candy. It's not- it's exactly like smoking and sometimes even worse. The high-end devices and vape juice (eww) may be slightly less harmful than cigarette smoke, but the cheap mass-market devices contain various substances that may actually be more harmful. The biggest problem isn't people slowly killing themselves with smoking - IMHO let them do what they want in privacy and designated smoking areas - the problem is that vaping is being used as a substitute for cigarettes in designated non-smoking areas. A venue I often go to has a huge "no smoking" sign on the wall, and people will freely blow that **** in your face without a second thought. Vapes need to be legalized, regulated (remove the mass-market ones with cancer-causing substances from the market), and treated like cigarettes by venues and users. That means NO SMOKING means NO SMOKING - vaping in no smoking areas needs to be banned and enforced. Also more effort needs to go into educating the public that vaping isn't harmless, and secondhand smoke from vaping isn't harmless and needs to be regarded as smoking.

But that's just the thing- anybody that is in a position to expose and act on anything has no motivation to. What? Police are going to expose themselves? Government? Is there anyone in charge who *doesn't* have a conflict of interest?