blaiz

Thanks Muhendis,

Definitely Izuzu has been top on my list, but i'm really looking for something really top end may be this is as good as it gets here. Thanks for the suggestion

Maybe a little off topic here but I have bought numerous import cars here and i'm done with that I want a car that can actually get properly serviced in this country.

I hope there is someone that can give me a little advice on what would be

the best Pickup Truck on sale (non import) in the country.

Price and Gas mileage are no object

Just the best driving/handling truck available serviceable in the country.

Thanks for any advice,

Cheers

Thaiwanderer,

apologies for any stones cast your way, they were in a dispersion pattern

not sure what 1st world standards i am apparently applying to the reported situation??? it seems like he is the one wanting to apply different rules to the situation

What I am referring to here is some like to believe the LOS justice is in black and white, sorry I'm sure you would be mistaken to believe law enforcement is anything but completely grey. Laws are enforced by the wealthy and powerful and until you stop joining the Thai law bandwagon this is gunna continue. Foreign investment here both monetarily and socially is the way forward for any country. I believe your first post indicates you are willing to allow this grey area to exist and continue to propagate through your comments this mentality. I for one while trying to mind my own business here and stay out of trouble have an opportunity in anonymity to put forward ideas that here may be dangerous and totally against the flow of present Thailand, and this is the beauty of internet social media. Your comments only reinforce longstanding opinions are the roots of evil in this society namely to never question authority and allow laws and regulation to create injustice. While you may truly love this country and its people, you are propagating its perpetual poverty and lack of basic rights by your interaction in this forum. Humanity is a valuable thing that should be stood up for especially in places of safety from prosecution such as Thai Visa.

Caring about 'this country and its people'? you know me so well - to care i should grieve over a farang who appears to have broken the law and is moaning about it and talking down the laws of the country he is a guest in without acknowledging his own role in it all?

no one forced him to do anything - many farangs rely on what others do and have done without apparent problem - thats fine but if for whatever reason the knock on the door comes and the authorities scrutinise what you have done (however unofficially you might think its been 'encouraged' in the first place) you should have the grace to accept the consequences (since surely you assessed that risk at the outset - if not, more fool you)

I am in no way asking for grief or condolence, he may indeed by a swindler and deserve all he gets and I may well jump on the same wagon as you at that point. But unless we are reading this differently, I am seeing a guy that has no recourse here, but to explain his situation all be it one sided and to his benefit, to the press and hope there are some people that will join him in his protest. Regarding “grace” you may have a higher ethical and moral standard than I, but I can tell you I would be fighting this tooth and nail till the bitter f##king end, even if I was wrong, forget grace. Having those 5 condos living here for 10 years he probably has other investments here as well, those condos alone would have to be worth upwards of 2 million US$, plus golf memberships and vehicles etc. This is a guy that has come here and put millions into this country, he must have some connections there must be some heavies on him here, I don’t think this has anything to do with breaking the law.

Thaiwanderer, I like surely as you, break the law as grey as it is here everyday. Whether it’s bagging my own groceries, driving over the speed limit, cooking my families dinner, mowing my lawn, coaching a local football team, teaching my girlfriend to play the guitar etc etc. They will have to pry my family, my home, and my guitar out of my cold dead hands before i lay down to this. I will spend every last dime in litigation for false arrest and reparations, and every media on this planet will hear about it. So as far as I can see from this article while there is no way I would be caught in this situation here, stupidity is not one of those Thai law grey areas, its legal.

some further clarifications apparent in the updated report - he had an appointment with them - would be interesting to find out if he continued in the position after he was on notice or is he just moaning about the original 'injustice'?

now looks like the aggrieved other party is one of the other condo owners who hasn't paid / disputes the fees (may or may not be the developer etc.)

farang condo owners' positions can be protected without a farang being the JP so he's a bit ahead of himself

his comments about that the thai government should tell farangs clearly rather than arresting them is infantile - he knew (or should have known) what he was doing - its not even as if he is a bored retiree with only one unit he owns and occupies and has merely got involved a little with the committee (and even then would be his own look out) - he takes no responsibility for what has happened even though it is entirely his own fault

the 'false arrest' headline is still inaccurate even against what he claims, suggest 'Canadian blames everyone else for his own actions'

Anyhow sterling work by the PG to point out that laws differ in different countries

There are often cases in which "aliens" are arrested in Thailand for doing work which would not be considered illegal for foreigners without work permits in other countries.

Always seems to be those individuals that want to impose their 1st world countries ethics and morals in the LOS. If you really care about this country and it’s people you could at least try to be a little concerned over the many injustices that go on here, whether its between expats/thais or thais/thais. Rather than blame this guy, tell it like it reads unless you know something the rest of us don’t this is a pretty simple case of extortion, at best. I mean come on we have a situation here that can be pulled on any one of us expats here, for merely painting your house.

If had invested in 5 of those condos, (and if they are the blue canyon condos those are a pretty penny).. I would want some pull on that committee myself, I am also a committe member on several condos I own, dont really participate but it keeps me informed. Been living here 18 years never occurred to me to get a second and third work permit to participate on those committees, which im not even sure is possible. I have dozens of friends or at least friends of friends that are participating similarily here on committees whether they be condos, NGOs, charities, or sport organizations none i know of have workpermits for that purpose.

Whether he is the JP or not is non the matter, if this guy was the deciding vote on this committee we would see the same injustice. My guess is this article has been written as he has decided to out this into the media because he believes he has done nothing wrong and this is the only way he can protect his investment and for that matter himself. I figure this guy isn’t going down without a fight, he would have turn tailed along time ago before it got to this stage. This looks like another bullet solution, I think he is lucky to not be lying face down with lead poisoning by now.

I think this is a chance for logical expats to take a bit of a stance in this forum. Granted there is limited knowledge here, but im sure it will all come out soon. My guess is he will take it as far as it will go in the media, this is what might be keeping him alive.

Lets get some facts on this one before we start cutting this guy up, from what i have read so far it sounds like he been railroaded.

Never know one day you might actually be able to invest here without looking over your shoulder for a stray bullet or a jail sentence.

This could get ugly...

PHUKET CITY: A Canadian man who has lived in Phuket for over a decade has been arrested for working illegally in Thailand, a charge he claims stems from a dispute over maintenance fees with the owner of a condominium complex in which he owns five units.

Phuket Immigration Police led by Investigations Inspector Suparerk Pankosol yesterday arrested James Nixon, 49, at his condominium at the Blue Canyon Country Club in Mai Khao.

Taken to Tah Chat Chai Police Station for questioning, Mr Nixon was held at the station from 1pm until 6:30pm.

Accompanied by his lawyer, Mr Nixon spent much of his time inside a jail cell until his lawyer posted a condominium chanode title deed as police bail.

Speaking to the Gazette from inside the jail cell, Mr Nixon explained that he started spending winters in Thailand about 20 years ago to escape the Canadian climate and now owns five units at Blue Canyon.

He told the Gazette that he was not working in Phuket, but had merely been elected by fellow condo owners as their "juristic person" representative at an annual meeting, as required by the Thai Condominium Act.

Serving as a condo owners' representative is an unpaid position and does not constitute work, he maintains.

There are many foreigners on the island in similar positions, and none have ever been accused of working here illegally, he said.

Mr Nixon concedes that Thai labor law as it applies to foreigners is vague about what actually constitutes "work", but he feels the law is being selectively enforced in his case at the behest of the condo management, with whom he has had a disagreement about management fees.

Phuket Immigration admitted to arresting Mr Nixon, but said they could not give more details about the case until Lt Col Suparerk returns from a seminar in Bangkok.

This morning Mr Nixon spent all morning in a holding room at Phuket Provincial Court. He was finally allowed to leave at about 5pm after he was formally charged for working without a work permit and his lawyer posted bail.

"Does the local government really want to ask us to keep investing in properties and not allow us to sit on management committees? There is something funny about this," he said.

Phuket Gazette

– Kamol Pirat

Phuket, Thailand

18:01 local time (GMT +7

Any martial art you put your mind and heart at can be a great asset in self defense, but true wresting particularily Greco-Roman but without a doubt Freestyle as well, cannot be beat. Combine Wrestling, Muay Thai and good knowledge of Jui Jitsu submission defense and you got the whole gambit, I have heard the local MMA clubs arent half bad here.