dunroaming

22 minutes ago, vogie said:

We don't know what your friend said to authorities, I suppose some people are more convincing than others. Suffice to say I have two friends that live on the same housing estate as me and they regularely go back to the UK for treatment with no bother whatsoever.

You do hear different stories when it comes to the NHS and I guess we can only go on personal experience.  When living in Hong Kong about twenty years ago I needed a hernia op and flew back to the UK for that.  I stayed with my ex and used her address  (it was never our home together) when I went into the hospital for the operation.  I wasn't asked for any payment apart from the prescribed pain killers.

More recently a British friend of mine still living in Chiang Mai, flew back to London for prostate treatment.  Again no costs involved.  He also has an ex wife there so maybe uses her address for correspondence.

I think the key is probably whether you have ever paid National Insurance in the UK.  I did, although not when living abroad.

18 minutes ago, jonclark said:

Isn't there a rule that if you are classed as 'not ordinarily a resident of the UK' then you cannot use the NHS for free? Initial Emergency treatment is free for all nationalities but I am not sure after living abroad for x number of years you can just rock up and expect treatment for chronic or acute conditions. I know they have tightened up on women who flew in to use the NHS maternity wards and then flew back  (or used the baby to apply for leave to remain) . If this is cancer then for cancer treatment to begin he wouldn't have to have a GP who would provide the initial referral for treatment to start and also i'd expect the waiting times to be in the months not weeks. 

Not true.  I lived overseas for many years but moved back to the UK ten years ago now.  I have used the NHS regularly since then.  Also any "symptoms" relating to cancer are seen within 14 days.  I speak from personal experience (seen within 4 days) although luckily my symptoms were found to be a non malignant cyst.

Having said that it may depend on where in the country he ends up.  Some areas are better catered for than others.

1 hour ago, robblok said:

He says he can pay for it but still puts up a gofundme. 

 

Just curious why does he not go back for free treatment ?

I sympathise with him over the cancer, we all walk a tightrope when it comes to that.  However it is time to get on a plane and go back to Blighty. In the long run it would be the best thing for him and his family in Thailand.  Don't put them through the trauma and anguish of nursing you when struggling with money.

51 minutes ago, sanemax said:

No they cannot .

If I were to go to an internet cafe , create an E-mail account in a fake name and then send an E-mail .

   How could that E-mail be traced back to me ? 

Seems like a lot of work to send an email.  It is not always what you write yourself but sometimes simply who is on your contact list.  Hundreds of people have my email address because I use it as my main form of contact.  Any of them could have "people of interest" on their contacts list etc. etc.  Nothing paranoid about that.

There were a lot of hoops to jump through for my wife as well. I sympathise with anyone going through this at the moment.  It is a minefield and if you keep meeting a brick wall then I suggest you consider an immigration lawyer.  Can be expensive but sometimes a one hour consultation with the lawyer gives a much clearer picture and puts your chances in perspective.  We didn't use one but I know many who have.

If it is optional just don't fill it in. If enough people do that they will just drop it. If by not filling it in it makes you a suspicious character so what. Foreigners are considered suspicious characters already so no change there.

Seems a light sentence if the man is guilty as charged however as it has been noted one year in a Cambodian prison would feel like 20 in a European one. One difficulty is that it is common practice in S.E.A for the accused to pay a substantial amount of compensation to the victim which inevitably will lead to people claiming the offence happened when in fact it didn't. As there is rarely any actual evidence if the offence involves "fondling" it ends up with one persons word against the other. I am not saying that is the case here as there are more than one "victim" involved and there would need to be a lot of planning for all the boys to be singing the same song.

I have no sympathy for anyone who abuses children or anyone else but in this part of the world the truth takes second place to the desire for money

There certainly are the repetitive comments about it happening in most countries but where Thailand falls down is the policing. The mixture of corruption, greed and laziness means that many of the criminals are able to just buy their way out of trouble.

The timing would suggest she went missing on or around Valentines Day so maybe it was teenage love that lured her away. In a country where secrets and lies are normal in everyday life it wouldn't be that surprising.

The combination of the drugs can cause death and as we know many of the drugs you buy in Thailand are copies of the real thing anyway. However to die from the mix would indicate someone trying to deal with deep depression and surely that would have come across in her Facebook posts or tweets.

I think it is understandable that we question any death because of the amount of cover-ups that we see on an almost daily basis

Maybe the translation is slightly wrong and what they meant was that

"The suspects had to be kept in custody because THEY needed to be interrogated more"

That would be a valid reason for not releasing them. Clearly the RTP have backed themselves into a corner with this so called investigation. The overriding need to save face has resulted in them all losing credibility and therefore face.

If you choose to raise your child in Thailand then I think you should put him/her in an international school with a western curriculum. If you were raised to appreciate values such as honesty, fair play, getting ahead by working hard and respect for others then the Thai education system is not for you and yours. Free thinking should always be encouraged but doing so in Thailand will probably lead to a difficult time in Thai society

Just my opinion

10 million baht to set up home in Thailand is hardly outrageous. When I got married in Chiang Mai I bought a newly built house for 4,000,000,baht and then spent 1,500,000 on fitted it out with all the furniture and a proper kitchen. I then bought a new car for another million and of course all the costs of the birth of our son in Lanna Hospital. I am sure his wife and mother-in-law made sure he also paid for her hand inmarriage etc etc.

However all of this is speculation as none of us know the truth. I would think that if this man is on the birth certificate as the biological father then he can apply for German passport for his son and then take him with him to Germany and give him a proper life.

I want to buy a golden retriever puppy for my son (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!). I wonder if anyone knows of a breeder in Chiang Mai or anywhere where I might buy one? I am keen to find a breeder rather than just buying it from a market as I have heard so many bad reports and know people who have been sold dogs that turned out to be sick or not what they were supposed to be.

Any advise would be welcome

There is crime all over the world but it Thailand it seems that the smallest thing can trigger a lethal response. Thai's are often compared to petulent teenagers who let a grudge grow rather than diminish with time. I can see some truth in that view.

What seems to add to the problem is that there is a very ineffective and often corrupt police force.

I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong but didn't the card allow the foreigner who owned it to buy a nominal amount of land in their own name? If so I wonder how that will pan out..?

I flew return Chiang Mai/Bangkok/Chiang Mai on Tuesday and paid 3,540 baht round trip. Special promotion price. That was booking at the airport in Chiang Mai which is usually cheaper than online. This beat Bangkok Air, Nok and Air Asia in that order. You really have to keep checking as things change daily. I do agree however that Thai Airways is a mere shadow of it's former self