Charma

I too don't see the Thai police changing very much in the near future. But TV programmes can have a positive effect. The UK police were particualrly shaken by a Thames TV documentary in the early 1980's. It followed the investigation of a rape by two male detectives. They behaved dreadfully towards the victim, basically disbeleiving her story, shouting at her and accusing her of lying, encouraging her attacker etc. It was so bad that rape investigation has never been the same since. A massive re-training programme followed, policies were changed and specialist officers were introduced (mostly female) to support victims during an investigation.

I do not think a foriegn TV programme would have that effect in Thailand, but would a domestic one? There are two reasons I do not think it would happen:

1. Thai TV would probably not want to disgrace their police force
   
2. Thai males dominate the society to such an extent that an outcry would probably not happen in any case
   

My wife and I have stayed at a tiny "village" style place that is inside the park. It is only a collection of straw huts in a lovely spot by the river on the left, just before the information centre. It is run by locals, has no electricity and is mainly used by Thais who like to get away from it all. It was a great place and the locals killed a chicken for a few baht for us to have a barbeque by our hut. Can't remember what it is called now - will try to remember to ask the wife if she can.

I think you are right. I would guess that the Thai police are where the police in the UK were about twenty five years ago when it comes to investigation of rape. There was a huge outcry at that time over the treatment many women recieved from disbelieving (male) officers. Things have improved massively, with dedicated doctors and police officers and better training for all involved.

With Thailand, the situation is only made worse by an understandable tendency to want to protect their countries (or their islands) reputation and prevent damage to tourism.

Unfortunately, I could not watch the programme as it was only aired in the northern regions. Wonder if anyone else out their did watch it?

I came across this story from the UK News & Star regarding the rape in February of Corrie-Anne Holt:

A NEW investigation into the rape of Dalston teenager Corrie-Anne Holt shows how police in Thailand tried to cover up the attack.

A video shot shortly after Corrie was raped shows the traumatised teen recalling the attack as she sits on a step rocking back and forth, at the home of a woman who heard her screams for help.

Corrie was travelling on the island in February when she says she was drugged and dragged out of a bar in front of police before being physically attacked.

The video, initially seized by Thai police, was only released after the intervention of the Foreign Office.

Corrie, 19, first spoke publicly in February about the rape on Koh Samui.Corrie, 19, first spoke publicly in February about the rape on Koh Samui.

It contradicts police claims that she was dressed provocatively in a see-through top and that she was so drunk she was unable to speak properly.

Corrie, a former pupil at Caldew School, was horrified that Thai officials appeared to be more interested in protecting the area’s reputation as a tourist haven than in catching her attackers.

The video is going to be screened on UK TV tonight in Look North's "Inside Out" programme. The programme presenter and producer apparently travelled to Samui to investigate the story. Screening tonight at 7.30pm on BBC1.

More good news for Samui's reputation? Full story here: http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/viewarticle.aspx?id=413091

vehicles entering the island are being thoroughly checked, especially the suspicious ones.

About time they started checking the suspicious ones!

How refreshing to see a politician with a bit of backbone. Would be great if there were more Margaret Quirk 's around.

I can certainly echo Meadish's comments. Most Thai women I know really do not like being alone in the house. However, in your case it does seem to be more of a case of mistrust and fear that you will find someone else. You also mentioned that you are fighting together in public (is this over the same thing?) which is not a good sign.

It is not difficult to see why many Thai women are fearful of their farang partners straying. She probably knows that you are a target for many Thai women who would love to "poach" you from her. This is much more of a threat to her in Thailand as it would be for a wife back home in a western country. Your only chance is to overcome her fears by reassurance, but that will not be easy. The more you argue, the more insecure she will feel. You obviously value your freedom and so it seems at the moment that you are heading for a break up.

The first thing you could do is make it clear that you not accept arguments in public. She should understand this well. After that, only you know your wife and whether she will resond to a heart to heart about your future and your need for time outside of the relationship. These forums are OK for general advice, but after that it's a bit limited without knowing the people concerned. Best of luck.

My guess is that they are referring to a local "application" of existing law (and recent "clampdowns") and are once again allowing company purchase of land, but maybe only for smaller plots. As other have pointed out, getting the land registered does not really make it safe for the future. There could be an investigation to see if the company is legitimate and that the Thai investors are not stooges. There could be another clampdown or a change of personnel at the land office. By this time the developer will be long gone wioth your cash.

I guess if you are happy with a 30 year lease, that would be the most certain option for you. Would be worthwhile updating here any further info you get from the developer though.

This thread has made an interesting read. As always, things may not be as they seem! Here's my one cents worth:

Stevieff is perfectly entitled to comment on the peak development - the news story was posted here for exactly that reason. I do think his comments were a too strong (crooks etc) given that the news stories related to allegations not convictions. However, as the story developed the investigation points more strongly towards breaches of the law in that development.

Mr Naranja is entitled to defend the project. However, with a friend "involved" in it, his opinions should be read with this in mind as he clearly seems to wish to defend the project on this basis. I say this because all his subsequent posts were about attacking/insulting Stevieff rather than saying anything useful about the story itself. With a friend on the inside it would have been good to get a bit of useful information into the thread about the Peak perspective, but all we got were an exchange of insults.

I, like others here, am also wary of newbie's who suddenly appear and defend a project/company. No problem with companies getting on to forums to put things right if they feel they have been unfairly slandered, but they should never do it under the guise of a ordinary member.

More and more on this forum I see posters coming out of the woodwork with dubious motives. It is the duty of all members to flush them out.

& member number 2 of the Mong Brigade enters the Arena !!!

Yeah, another insult...

Sue me Fella !!!!!

Why am i entitled to defend the Project ???

Because a Friend has interests in it ???

Rubbish !!!

Was i the one who insinuated that another poster was a Drug Addict ???

Was i the one that insinuated that another poster was a " F%$@ Liar " ???

No & No !!

I did call him a Bufoon but that's only telling the truth !!!

Well where did that come from? Would you kindly like to point out the "insult" in my post. If you could spell buffoon, that would actually be an insult. By the way, your points are not made any more compelling by adding more exclamation marks and question marks at the end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have no idea why you are defending the peak project, other than your mention of a friend who is involved - and that was kind of my point don't you think. If you are defending for other reasons, then feel free to enlighten everyone here.

As for the insults, I tend to leave that to people like yourself. Go and try your "He said, she said" somewhere else. I suppose you do not think that calling somone "Khunt ...." is insulting. Perhaps you could stop attacking others and spell out what you actually think of the project, the rumours/allegations or the people concerned.

This thread has made an interesting read. As always, things may not be as they seem! Here's my one cents worth:

Stevieff is perfectly entitled to comment on the peak development - the news story was posted here for exactly that reason. I do think his comments were a too strong (crooks etc) given that the news stories related to allegations not convictions. However, as the story developed the investigation points more strongly towards breaches of the law in that development.

Mr Naranja is entitled to defend the project. However, with a friend "involved" in it, his opinions should be read with this in mind as he clearly seems to wish to defend the project on this basis. I say this because all his subsequent posts were about attacking/insulting Stevieff rather than saying anything useful about the story itself. With a friend on the inside it would have been good to get a bit of useful information into the thread about the Peak perspective, but all we got were an exchange of insults.

I, like others here, am also wary of newbie's who suddenly appear and defend a project/company. No problem with companies getting on to forums to put things right if they feel they have been unfairly slandered, but they should never do it under the guise of a ordinary member.

More and more on this forum I see posters coming out of the woodwork with dubious motives. It is the duty of all members to flush them out.

A lot of people here getting very up tight and upset, as they seem to think this whole thing is directed at them. This and all the other recent "crackdowns" is part of a process that happens in every country on the planet prior to an election. Find someone or something to blame for the peoples problems and look like you are the ones to solve it.

So lets attack the criminal gangs, the multi-nationals and big business. Immigration though, is always a great ticket in this respect. You can always get the electorate to go along with a bit of foreigner bashing. In this case I think the real targets are from other parts of Asia - Chinese, Burmese, India etc. The Farang are a side show, but good to put in their place anyway. This is probably playing well to a good proportion of the population, most of whom have no connections with farangs and no idea what they really do here. Don't take it personally - it's just politics!

Guess this will not help Bangkok's aspirations to be an international conference venue and Asian hub!

Surprised no one has mentioned the Thai Elite card yet

Looks good - just went through the booking system and was offered two return business class seats at £940 each (2 x 470) plus about £260 in taxes. Let's hope they last the course!

I would be interested to know what's involved. Luckily we live near London.

You make some great points, but I don't think retiring at 50 or younger is all that common. Certainly not the majority of people from the west are retiring that early. I am, but I don't know even one peer I grew up with other than me who is even close to retiring, even those that could afford to.

I do agree, a 30 year lease at 50 is risky if you end up living longer than you planned.

I think that early retirement is a particular feature in relation to Thailand and other Asian countries where the low cost of living makes this much more possible.

Dragonman puts forward an extremely attractive package of measures that would attract massive investment from overseas, resrtict development to a few key areas and bring huge benefits to locals. Unfortunately, I cannot see the Thais adopting such positive and sensible measures in the current anti-foreigner climate that exists.

I have owned all the types mentioned. For me the best of the bunch was a 50" Sony Grand Wega projection TV. It was pricey when I bought it (about £7,500) but the picture quality is better than both the LCD and the plasma I subsequently bought. I have changed the lamp once in six years of use.

The LCD has poor contrast and the plasma does suffer from resolution issues.

The problem with many projection TV's is the huge variance in quality. The Sony has excellent brightness and wide viewing angles, but many others do not.

LCD and plasma prices are dropping all the time and LCD's are catching up in size. You can only choose by looking at them and seeing which you prefer.

Of course, you could have been talking about projectors, which brings in a whole other debate!

Even the suggestion of 99 year lease (with the State) has been looked upon with scorn by the Senate, who only 7 years ago refused the Ministry of Interior suggestion for 50 year lease.

I'm afraid that despite not really being suitable for me, or other farangs, I still support restriction on "outside" ownership, as I have seen the consequences in other Countries where I have been involved in Property Law.

I too can see the potential detriment that uncontrolled buying rights may have on the local population. The company ownership issue has shown exactly what foreign & Thai developers are prepared to do, given the freedom, and locals would inevitably be pushed into less desireable locations as the best places get eaten up in spiralling exchanges amongst farangs. However, the thirty year lease just is not quite enough for most. Foreigners are retiring earlier nowadays, with 50 being a late start in many cases. Someone taking a thirty year lease at that point then faces the prospect of losing their home just when they need it the most. If the government had allowed even a fifty year lease, it would have been enough for many to see their days out peacefully. Thirty leaves you in no-mans land and is the reason why many struggle to find a way round it.

Yes

Ahh... the wonder that is the English language.

Perhaps these should be made available as signatures?

Moderation in moderation. We sometimes congregate in work meetings, similar like the Odd Fellows.

Sometimes we go for pissup's in the lower Sukhumvit area as well. I pay.

Crikey, a Mod's pissup. Who do you turn to if someone has too much bevvy and gets out of order?

According to BBC:

"He was detained at the Padang Basar checkpoint in southern Thailand, on the border with Malaysia, while attempting to renew his visa to remain in the country"

Knew those visa runs don't do you any good!

LONDON (Reuters) - Police said on Friday they had arrested a man at London's Heathrow airport over the murder of a woman and her three children at their home in Manchester.

Police sources said the man was Rahan Arshad, 36, the husband and father of the victims.

The bodies of Uzma Rahan and her three children, Adam, 11, Abbas, 8, and daughter Henna, 6, were discovered at their house in Cheadle

Hulme, Greater Manchester, almost two weeks ago.

Police said the bodies might have been lying undiscovered for up to four weeks and post-mortems showed they had died from serious head injuries.

Greater Manchester Police said they had arrested a 36-year-old man after he got off a flight from Thailand shortly after 7 a.m. on Friday.

He will be taken to Manchester for questioning on suspicion of murder.

After the bodies were found, detectives said they wanted to question Arshad over the deaths.

Officers later reported that his car had been discovered at Heathrow and that he had flown to Thailand at the end of July.

Last week detectives released on police bail a 40-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman, who had both been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Full story: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/01092006/325/man-...er-murders.html

If the passport was stolen, the police MUST allocate a crime reference number to your case. If they will not give you this, then file a complaint. This will have to be investigated. I can only think that this reluctance can be down to someone too lazy to help you out. Are you sure it was recorded as a theft and not as lost property?

You buy here you cant legally own – sorry ill whisper you cant legally own got it

You can, you have just got to find genuine Thia shareholders for your company. Of course, that is no easy task!

Why have you waited until the day before you have to pay them the 33 K to ask about this? Have you only just been informed yourself that it needs to be paid immediately?

Also am I completely missing something here as I thought as a foreigner and because its a condo and not a house with land he could just buy it outright in his name?

I am guessing that the developers have already sold the Farang allocation of apartments in this development. They are now looking for the OP to take the risk of using a company registration or a lease. At least they are not leaving it for a last minute scramble to the land office for all the investors to fight over who gets full ownership!

Not sure about the lease side of things. Who do you go to in thirty years time to ask for an extension? God knows who will hold control of the block and land by then?

I reckon there are quite a few condo developments that may not stand up to close government scrutiny if any sort of clampdown was started in the future there. But you still hear people on this forum talking about buying a condo as if it was a rock solid investment.