photojourn

Of course, the Prosecution can now Appeal the sentence - 3 courts here - or have things changed recently?

Not likely as it was the Chief Provincial Public Prosecutor who ran the the case and it was he who suggested four years when asked for a sentencing recommendation by the trial judge - who happened to be the Chief Justice of the Chiang Mai Provincial Court - so it can't even be argued that the case was run and heard before a junior judge or prosecuted by a junior prosecutor.

I would have thought Bangkok Bank would have a fraud management or investigations department. A police report is probably what's needed to start the process rolling.

Good luck and keep us all posted on any developments.

Check out Sawadee.com for accommodation. (I like Chinag Mai Gate but there are plenty of nice places in CM)

Check out the rest of the posts in the CM forum.

Check out chiangmai-luxuryhotels dot com

thailand-travelonline dot com

chiangmai-vacations dot com

That article is journalism at its worst. PAD are pure hearted, good, protectors of the Monarchy, saviours of the country, wise and benovolent. If only more people understood. We need a thousand ASTV to propogate the message of truth to the world.

Hail to Sondhi Limthongkul, great leader, and Chamlong, great leader: their wishes are Thailands wishes, their thought's Thailand's thoughts, their heart is Thailand's heart.

I was waiting for the Punchline then, but there wasn't one

You must be a PAD support to write that.

Whole heartedly agree. There mus be a punch line somewhere.

I would suggest that we wait until there is more information about the shooting before we all go off half-cocked.

I agree!

HUH?

Case is over and he bought his way out in two years from now for 100, 000$ he paid to a mystery girlfriend, corruption made that possible.

How much more information about the shooting do you think we're going to get now???

Pretty well sums it up. Sounds like a very Thai solution. Hurry up and wait.

>> What does the text in bold mean? You doubt in happen since the dismembered girl didn't say so...?<< Your bolding - not mine.

What a ridiculous statement to make. Perhaps you haven't heard of forensic testing??

Or perhaps you are implying that the Thai police are too incompetent to perform a forensic exam?

Or perhaps the dead woman communicated with you?

Because this was a Thai girl you differentiate? On what grounds? That the victim is Thai? Or that the victim was a female?

You don't make any comment about a totally innocent man - a tourist- sitting in a restaurant drinking water getting three bullets.

Curious that you use the phrase "he had to kill her". I don't see any necessity for anyone to have killed anyone.

Then again, it's that sort of logic - that someone "had to" - that sees this piss-weak excuse of "uncontrollable rage" or "passion" or "was suffering stress due to family problems" used so many times in Asian countries as an excuse for people not being able to exercise self control to mitigate their actions.

>> Had made more sense if the girl had been lying of her id + in fact was a man or the likes...then it would have been a crime of passion/hate<<

So from your post, if the girl had turned out to be a transvestite or other than her photo depicted it would have mitigated the crime?

Interesting that a Pakistani gets a life sentence in Bangkok for killing a Thai girl and an Australian gets four years cut to two years for killing an American in Chiang Mai.

Did he (Australian) dismember his body? Did he rape him?

On the other note, maybe because Australians are farang and Pakistanis are not

So in your mind because he didn't dismember the body - only put a bullet into his face as he lay on the ground after being shot twice in the chest justifies the Aussie guy walking out in two years?

As to the matter of rape, there was only a claim by the defendant that this occurred. Again, does that justify one being sentenced to death and the other four years and both having their sentences reduced by half by pleading guilty - even though the police had ample evidence to convict in both cases without a guilty plea?

The Aussies defence of being enraged is accepted and the Pakistani's is not. The Pakistani has to pay compensation to the family and the Aussie doesn't.

Perhaps read the what happened in the Chiang Mai trial.

http://photojourn.wordpress.com/2008/08/19...alian-murderer/

Perhaps what is really means is that killing an American, Canadian or other European isn't considered as serious a crime as killing a Thai.

It's interesting to note that two days after Douglas received his four year sentence -reduced to two years for a guilty plea- Thailand's Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's life sentence given to a Pakistani man for murdering a Thai female teacher and then dismembering her body in 2006.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Pakistani-Ma...urd-t68675.html

Interesting that a Pakistani gets a life sentence in Bangkok for killing a Thai girl and an Australian gets four years cut to two years for killing an American in Chiang Mai.

Like other people here I'm glad that you and your family are okay.

It's a little bit late after the event, but I'll see if there is any interest from the UK media regarding this matter. Feel free to PM or email me with any further updates.

A 61-year-old former Perth resident will serve just two years and nine months imprisonment for the murder of a 46-year-old Hawaii resident in the northern Thailand city of Chiang Mai after making a cash payment of Bt100,000 (US$2,955) to a woman who claimed to be the girlfriend of the victim in a trial that lasted less than three hours.

William Thomas Douglas, formerly of Willetton, pleaded guilty in the Chiang Mai Provincial Court to shooting Gary Bruce Poretsky at the Keari restaurant on the morning of March 22, this year and was sentenced to four years imprisonment for murder, one year for having an unregistered firearm and a further six months for carrying a firearm in public.

This is an excerpt from the full story which can be found at: http://photojourn.worpress.com

I wasn't able to paste it in here earlier due to commercial reasons. Due to the bizarre nature of the proceedings the story is extremely long.

I was the only working journalist in the court. The ABC version was written from Bangkok and both Fairfax and News Ltd have embellished the story.

I suggest it is worth reading the full story. If the mods remove the reference link Google: "Cash payment lightens sentence for Australian Murderer".

After reading the full story people can make up there own mind about what really happened in the trial.

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</h3>

Bad link above. Should be "wordpress", not "worpress"

Thanks JackSpratt.

My apologies to everyone.

Indeed it should be photojourn.wordpress.com

There will be an update to this later today but the essential information is that the family of Gary Poretsky are absolutely devastated by this decision.

They have also confirmed that Gary had not been in Thailand for many years so could not have had a girlfriend here from several months prior to the shooting.

A 61-year-old former Perth resident will serve just two years and nine months imprisonment for the murder of a 46-year-old Hawaii resident in the northern Thailand city of Chiang Mai after making a cash payment of Bt100,000 (US$2,955) to a woman who claimed to be the girlfriend of the victim in a trial that lasted less than three hours.

William Thomas Douglas, formerly of Willetton, pleaded guilty in the Chiang Mai Provincial Court to shooting Gary Bruce Poretsky at the Keari restaurant on the morning of March 22, this year and was sentenced to four years imprisonment for murder, one year for having an unregistered firearm and a further six months for carrying a firearm in public.

This is an excerpt from the full story which can be found at: <broken link deleted>

I wasn't able to paste it in here earlier due to commercial reasons. Due to the bizarre nature of the proceedings the story is extremely long.

I was the only working journalist in the court. The ABC version was written from Bangkok and both Fairfax and News Ltd have embellished the story.

I suggest it is worth reading the full story. If the mods remove the reference link Google: "Cash payment lightens sentence for Australian Murderer".

After reading the full story people can make up there own mind about what really happened in the trial.

<h3 class="storytitle">

</h3>

While you're at it, Amorn is also selling a coin-operated barrel petrol pump for 18K baht.

I saw coin operated 8kg (I think) washing machine at the electronics store in the underground carpark of Carrefour on the superhighway over the weekend. I seem to recall it was an LG (but wont swear up to that) for Bt8,000.

If its a legit job with a legit company she can just do a border run, get a 30 day visa exemption and then convert to a Non B.

Cheers

Thanks for the information. It is a legit job with a legit company. I presume she cannot convert her exisiting tourist visa into a non-immigrant B without leaving the country?

My understanding is that her first non-immigrant B will be a single entry until the paperwork for her work permit is completed. Can someone clarify that please?

Thanks again

There is a time limit on how long you have been in country to convert a visa.

I think its a week but not sure.

If its converted she will get three months stay and she can chose if she needs single or multi re entry permits if required.

After the work permit has been issued immigration will extend her visa again for one month while the one year extension is under consideration.

After on month they will extend for 11 months if all the paperwork is correct.

We have just gone through this for one of our employees , it was quite straight forward.

Cheers

You can convert a visa, if you apply more than 21 days before the 'Permitted to Stay' date on your passport entry stamp.

Thanks very much for all the information. She'll be delighted she doesn't need to leave. The job is in Chiang Mai and I recall reading here in the past that Chiang Mai require a minimum Bt50,000/mth income for foreigners to issue the WP. Is that correct?

If its a legit job with a legit company she can just do a border run, get a 30 day visa exemption and then convert to a Non B.

Cheers

Thanks for the information. It is a legit job with a legit company. I presume she cannot convert her exisiting tourist visa into a non-immigrant B without leaving the country?

My understanding is that her first non-immigrant B will be a single entry until the paperwork for her work permit is completed. Can someone clarify that please?

Thanks again

a teaching job ?

No. Not a teaching job

We are a progressive company based in Chiang Mai with extensive internet based businesses. Due to continued growth we are currently recruiting the following positions.

1. Editorial writers.

A Thai national with very good verbal and written English language skills.

This position would best suit a candidate who has some journalism or copy writing experience or a high achieving graduate.

The successful applicant will be required to translate articles and text written in Thai into English, as well as write original material for publishing on the internet.

The successful applicant will need to be creative, have strong interpersonal and communications skills, be familiar with the internet and search engine usage, and be able to work as part of a close-knit but small team of professionals who pride themselves on the quality of their work.

The position is a full-time one working from the company’s office close to Wat Prassing.

Applicants will be required to demonstrate their translating and writing abilities during the interview process.

Please submit applications in writing (in English) with a recent photo (if available) along with your resume, a covering letter and one piece of English language writing by August 10 to [email protected].

We are an equal opportunity employer. Applications from both qualified males and females are encouraged.

2. Editorial Assistant

A Thai national with good verbal and written English language skills.

This position would best suit a candidate who has some journalism or copy writing experience or a high achieving graduate.

Experience or at least a good general knowledge of social networking websites such as digg, Del.icio,us, Stumble, Facebook, MySpace, etc and how they work.

The successful applicant will be required to translate articles and text written in Thai into English, as well as write original material for publishing on the internet.

The successful applicant will need to be creative, have strong interpersonal and communications skills, be familiar with the internet and search engine usage, and be able to work as part of a close-knit but small team of professionals who pride themselves on the

quality of their work.

The position is a full-time one working from the company’s office close to Wat Prassing.

Applicants will be required to demonstrate their translating and writing abilities during the interview process.

Please submit applications in writing (in English) with a recent photo (if available) along with your resume, a covering letter and one piece of English language writing by August 10 to [email protected]

We are an equal opportunity employer. Applications from both qualified males and females are encouraged.

A friend of mine who is not a member of this forum is currently in Thailand on a double entry tourist visa she obtained in Laos. She is currently part way through her second 60-day stay. She has been offered a job in Thailand and needs to leave to collect a Non Immigrant B visa.

She's been told that the only two places she can collect this are Sri Lanka or Singapore.

Has anyone had any experience and doing a similar visa category stay and have any information on Thai consulates or embassies in the region that will issue a Non Immigrant B visa?

Will she be able to obtain a single entry or multiple entry at the time or will it be a 90-day single entry?

Prior to the tourist visa she held a 90-day Non Immigrant B but things didn't work out with that employer and she never held a work permit.

Thanks

Any updates on this situation?

Thanks omtare but they are looking for commercial office space and probably don't want to have to sign a 12 month lease initially.

Any other suggestions ... anyone?

A client of mine is looking for office space in Chiang Mai. They want to set up an office and need space for between two and 10 people.

The office park out near the airport is full.

Anyone know of any furnished or unfurnished office space that they can rent on flexible rental terms in Chiang Mai? They don't want to rent a whole building for themselves but are interested in looking at different sized offices. I guess they will be most interested in something they can pretty well walk into and establish themslves. Serviced office space would also be of interest to them.

Thanks.

Thanks JimmyM40.

Details on NAT (Nucleic Acid Amplification Technology) for testing blood donations can be found here: http://www.scbcinfo.org/publications/bulletin_v1_n4.htm

I could well imagine that this testing would only be available in BKK. As to why it's more expensive for non-NAT blood I think my assistant and I will need to have a chat with McCormick and ask –– without reference to any individual case/person of course

It's the situation the OP – or more accurately his friend – is in that is more of an immediate concern given the OPs latest post.

Sbathon I've sent you a PM. Please keep us informed of developments. Seems very odd and bordering on criminal that no blood is better than farang blood

I can confirm that Douglas did serve with the 5th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment in Vietnam in 1969 and with another battalion in 1967.

The name of the restaurant for the earlier poster is Keari Chiang Mai – not Koi as widely reported by AP and Thai journalists.

The name of the girl who took Gary Poretsky to Keari Chiang Mai is Jirewadee (first name) and she refuses to talk to foreign press about the events.

I'll be posting updated stories as they become available on my blog page:

photojourn when you post updated stories please be sure the information you provide & or confirm is correct:

1 Australian Reinforcement Unit 11/03/1967 28/03/1967 & Headquarters, 1st Australian Task Force 29/03/1967 12/03/1968

1 ARU was not a battalion it was used as a "Ready Reaction Force" & for providing replacements for battalions - 1st Australian Task Force was where 1 ARU were located so from the above it appears "Douglas" spent his first tour (67) there, not with a battalion.

Now his 2nd tour was certainly with the 5th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment 08/02/1969 07/05/1969

Just for the record.

Thanks for that information. Confirming details of Douglas' military service were difficult to obtain at the time. The man talks a lot in riddles and makes lots of claims without providing sufficient details to allow anything to be substantiated. Checking the Australian War Records office is also not easy from Thailand

The matter will proceed to trial in August following a request by the chief prosecutor to have the case expedited.

According to Pattaya People ...

>>Four Drug Dealers Arrested

In the ongoing attempt to crackdown on crime in Pattaya, Police Colonel Nopadol Wongnorm announced the capture of 4 major drug dealers, 3 men and 1 woman, arrested around the

Pattaya area over the weekend for possessing and selling the ecstasy drug. In total the street value of the 460 tablets that was confiscated amounts to over 1 million baht.

http://www.pattayapeople.com/default.asp?F...IdArticle=12552 <<

That would make the street price for ecstasy a staggeringly high $65.00 per pill.

Sure it looks good for the bib but $65.00 per pill???

Four more people who will get a longer and harsher sentence than they deserve purely based on the value ascribed by the bib.

Sadamnern Ltd. 46/4 Chareonprated Rd just before the entrance to Bubbles sells gummed rolling papers, cigars, rolling machines and a great range of wines, liquers and spirits at exceptionally good prices.

Tel: 053.271.487