Mai Krap

The problem here is very basic, the guys in question were very high profile fugitives from modern countries yet they remained at large for years in Thailand. More importantly they were given positions as teachers and god only knows if they molested kids here. Rape/Pedophilia is a commen theme in Thailand and I dont really care who disagrees on that. Its one of those subjects thats a unspoken topic and off limets. Just look what what happens that we know of, The poor girl who reported a rape only to be raped by the police and all the inuendos of the police raping girls on a regular basis, just ask around. Everytime a woman or girl points out a rapest in Thailand it seems the witchhunt begins to prove they are a whore and I want to bet the house that 95% of all rapes here go unreported.

The real meat of the story is if high profile fugitives who are known sexual preditors and wanted for violent crimes in the U.K. and U.S. can parade themselves as teachers here what else are we missing? Child molestation is not just a Thai problem but here less is being done about it than in any country outside of Cambodia. Correct me if Im wrong but is it not a life sentance now in the Phillipines, not that they are getting it right either but their was a mass exedus of perverts concerning kids there a few years ago. The story goes they packed up and moved to Cambodia. In the 90s Thailand was known for kiddie sex and was a destination for these types who openly flaunted such things here. Thank God or Bhudda or whoever those days are over and behind us. Now its time to clean up the schools and the best way to do that is to either have the Thais or ones home country issue teacher certificates that include a yearly fingerprinting and backround check for sex crimes to anyone who wishes to teach children.

Im under no delusions here and Im not on drugs. I realize Thailand has many problems just as any devolping and even developed nations have. I do not expect to see many of them corrected in my lifetime but this is one issue that I believe could be elimininated, the issue of wanted felons of violent sex crimes being placed in charge of children in the backwaters and cities of Thailand.

A small update. At one point he had claimed he was in the United States Navy which very well may be true and may explain his duel nationality status. Evidently when he was originally charged with rape in Las Vegas the police had no idea that he was holding a Canadian passport so he slipped away and then entered Thailand as a Canadian tourist. I first saw him in 2002 so we know he was here since that time and I believe he was here for at least one year or more before I saw him hanging around in Loie.

The FBI has his birthdate at December 29th 1956 which would make him 50 years old. The Las Vegas pictures of the man which had him appearing much younger were evidently from his use of cosmetics and hair treatments and such as is normal in Las Vegas where growing old is the only sin, well that and kidnapping then raping women. Time has not helped Brian Jones apearence, he has not aged well on the run.

From this mornings calls to some old friends I was told that sometime after 2004 a police task force showed up in Loie Province and questioned about every westerner in town about the wherabouts of Brian Jones. He was nowhere to be found and nobody knew anything other than the fact he had pulled a runner. We see it often here in Thailand where guys show up with girls and play house for a time then one day you see the girl and the man is out of the picture. There is nothing new nor strange about that in Thailand. The difference here is now this guy is all over the news for being wanted by then captured by the FBI.

Evidently he was spotted again in Chang Mai around late 2004 or early 2005. There was also a rumor that he was arrested in Pattaya last year and deported which we now can confirm was never true. There are also some rumors he was involved in black mailing here in Thailand as a way of raising money, that will be hard to confirm unless someone steps forward. I can confirm this, I thought the guy was scum the first time I ever talked him and so did the other half a dozen guys who were around Loie in 2002/2003.

Its true criminals escape justice and run all over the world. What makes this story diffrent is here you have a guy on Americas Most Wanted and the FBIs most wanted for a violent sex crime being placed as a teacher over young children, this makes me want to vomit and is not excuseable for any reason. Im sure the person or persons responsible for hiring this man to work with children will never be held accountable in any way. They must have known he did not have a passport, how could they not? How many more Mark Karrs and Brian Jones do we have amongst us? How many Thai pedophiles work at elementry schools? Who is looking after these kids safty and welfare? Thailand please wake up and stop making excuses when it comes to the safty of children!

I was told the FBI was looking for him after he submitted his Candian passport and it was denied or some drama. The poor girl he was living with who is a very nice lady and well respected, even loved by the locals both Thai and Farang got one phone call and was left high and dry to pay off his bills as he skipped out on her after the Candian Passport fiasco.

Thank you for the inside reporting... and look forward to any other info you can find.

Regarding his 2004 photo...which is about when you knew of him; did he really look like that (he'd only be 38 then) or was the photo retouched to change his look to appear older? It's so fundamentally different from his appearance only 5 years earlier in 1999 (in the America's Most Wanted article).

Was he teaching or otherwise working in Loei? Did he ever say what his source of funds were? It's curious that in none of the articles I read, did they mention what line of work he did in the USA, but can assume he was fairly well-off driving a 'Vette and living in big house in a gated community.

I believe his running from the law is what aged him, for sure he looks closer to 50 than to 40. Im guessing his hair greyed early but in Vegas its easy for men to keep their hair colored to go for that whole cheesy Vegas look. The paper might also have the age wrong, stranger things have happend. I was told soon after he disappeared from Loie that he was on the run and that something happend about his passport at the Canadian Embassy. After that I believe the police were asking about him up in Loie but I had moved down to Ko Chang and never saw the guy again so didnt think much of it.

As far as how he made money in America? He got drunk a couple times and talked like he was a bigtime drug smuggler in America which to me translated into he was selling hi grade Candian leaf to high and highly paid wait staff in Vegas. That kind of smalltime thing can make a decent cash flow from what I hear. To be honest thats why I didnt give it a second thought when I heard the police were looking for him. I figured he had gotten arrested for weed and jumped bond or some simple matter that is non violant. In Loie I understand he had a work permit and he was selling orange juice all over town at one point. I cannot confirm he had a work permit, only that he said he had one. From what I understand he was leagle up until the passport expired and then his troubles began as he appeared and submitted for a new one.

The sick thing about this is I see plenty of people who are as dodgy as this guy. What is one supposed to do about it, become an agent for the police and do their job or something? How many times has anyone here been out and met some scumbag and thought to themselves "I bet this SOB is a violant criminal with warrents somewhere?" Its time for the Thai Government and Police to step up and do their jobs to protect all the school children in Thailand.

Why in the helll are all these scumbags allowed to run all over this country posing as school teachers. The bare minimum of standards should be a thirty day background check before one is placed in a school as a teacher. How ffffing hard would it be to get fingerprints from every teacher and submit them to their home embassy to find out exactly who they are and if they have a history of pedophilia or in this case kidnapping and rape. How many of these scumbags would apply to be teachers if they knew for sure their fingerprints and picture would be submitted to their embassy for a police check? That would end 99% of the bullshit that goes on here and would have busted this guy and Karr before they stepped foot into a classroom to be alone with children.

Everyones heard the saying "The inmates are in charge of the assylum" currently in Thailand "The pedophiles are being placed in charge of the children!" Its time for a dramatic and speedy change to end this intolerable situation!

I met this scumbag up in Loie a few years ago. We had to run him off a few times for being a loud mouth and he was well hated by the Thais and Farangs around Loie. To say he was weird and or creepy would be a understatement. Im sure more stories will be coming aout about him as he was not very secretive, we all knew him as Canadian Brian the bigtime bullshitter. As soon as he got 2 beers into himself the bullshitting would begin and not end till he was sent home, ran off or stumbled away on his on. He was selling orange juice up there till one day when he disappeared.

I was told the FBI was looking for him after he submitted his Candian passport and it was denied or some drama. The poor girl he was living with who is a very nice lady and well respected, even loved by the locals both Thai and Farang got one phone call and was left high and dry to pay off his bills as he skipped out on her after the Candian Passport fiasco.

Me and a few others always suspected he was the kind that beat on women and you could just see by the way he carried himself around them that he had no respect for women. He was very nasty in public to his then girlfriend but he never took it far enough for any kind of intervention nor were there any signs that he beat her, that does not mean it never happend, It could have easily behind closed doors.

What will be interesting is to see who has been sending this guy money while he was in Thailand and to see if they will get pinched for aiding and abeting a fugitive from justice. I hope they investigate the man in Thailand before they send him to America. Guys like this leave victems wherever they go. So now I can confirm this guy was in and around Loie during 2003 and 2004 so thats one more place to look.

One of my favorite stories he told was that him and a Thai Army General buddy of his shot it out with some bad guys with machine guns in the parking lot at Don Muang Airport. He described it like he was some kind Rambo and could not make it from the terminal to a taxi without pulling out machine guns and dumping a few hundred rounds off. Well now we know the real story, hes a rapist and suspected pedophile fugitive who is now in custody. I hope this SOB does not get champagne on his flight home. I will make a few phone calls in the morning and see If I can find out any details and will post them here if I can.

A good place to start would be to hire some guys to pick up the trash. Then you could offer some scholarships for vetnarians and set up a program to spay and neuter street dogs and have crews go around giving shots to get rid of the mange. How much would it cost to make some parking lots and get the sidewalks cleared for that matter? I dont see any of these things happening but what the helll this is the internet which for the most part is pure fantasy, maybe someday this place will seek some valid solutions.

Have there been any pictures of the condition of the interior of Don Muang since the mad rush to leave? It is possible the place was ripped to shreads? I highly doubt it would have been mothballed and set aside for later or emergancy usage in the stampede to leave. I can just see crews of guys in there ripping out the copper wire and light fixtures, maybe Im wrong, but I would like to see some pictures or video of the place and see what kind of activity is going on there at the moment.

Is there any store that specializes in Black and White Film in Bangkok?

I would like to meet up with TV posters in Chantaburi. I see the ocasional farang when I am in the city but I have not spoken English in 2 weeks. Anybody interested in lunch? I am usually free between 10AM and 1PM. Will be out of town for a few days but I should be back by Sunday.

Reply here or PM is fine.

Try posting in the Pattaya forum.

If any member of this forum is genuinly interested in purchasing a water buffalo I would be more than happy to help them out just for the entertainment value (Send PM). I find the thread very entertaining and have had a good laugh here.

Supplied below is a picture of one of the many small herds around my house with the picture taken a few days ago.

Can somebody lay out the real back story on this? Im well aware of the outline but there seems to be little if any new information and lots of "were going to solve it" in order to get back to business talk.

Take the night train to Bangkok and sleep laying down and relax, No crazy bus driver. Then in the morning on arrival either spend the night in Bangkok or take the BTS underground and transfer to the skytrain to Ekkamai bus station then 6 hours to Trat direct on a good road with few accidents compared to others around Thailand. From Trat you will have to ride in the back of a truck to the ferrie and there transfer again to another truck to go over the mountain.

The easiest is to have a reservation at a 2000 baht a night room that will pick you up at the airport as to avoid long journies around the mountains and in general the drama of it all. A seperate option is to hire a driver and van in Khon Kaen for 1500 baht a day, just rent it for a week and bring a couple friends along. No matter what anyone says about the roads its better to drive all the way to Bangkok and then take the bypass to Chonburi then take the highway to Trat. Trying to cut through the mountains on that crappy road full of crazy truck drivers sucks and youll waste more time and get more stress than just taking it easy on the realtively flat and wide one direction highway.

If youve never been there before Its easier to stay around White Sands Beach as there are more restraunts there and its a little easier to walk around. Avoid motorcycles unless you are a very experianced driver in Thailand, Its very tricky there. The best food I ever ate on the island was at the italian restraunt "Invito", The seafood pasta dishes are great along with everthing else I ever ate there and main courses were around 200 baht for what Ive paid 30 dollars for in the United States. If you need more details just ask or PM.

I was just wondering if any of the forum members used or would even be interested in getting started with large format photography?

At 39 Megapixles for only 1.59 million baht in Thailand, you could get a Hasselblad, H3D medium format DSLR.

Is that what you meant by large format, Sir?

Yours truly,

Kan Win

P.S. I only have a little one compared to the above, 8.0 Megapixles

I use film and digital in small format, film in medium format, and film in large format for now. Im looking forward to getting a digital scanning back for 4x5 somewhere down the road, One guy had one at Ankgor Wat and I thought it was fantastic. Right now they are around 6,000 bucks.

I dont care for the hassy medium digi setup compared to the Sinar which can be used as a SLR or Monorail Bellows and can take about any lense available, then again I can always rent them for the day if I feel I need them. Its hard to beat a scanned 4x5 negative, its the best of both worlds for the moment. I still love my M-Mount glass but have started to get into some digital in smaller stuff. The new Foveon 14MP sensor with a fixed 28mm lense coming out soon looks pretty good on paper, I plan on taking a second look at those for sure.

Well there may be more to this story afterall, seems like its a carrot and stick act for a tax break they are lobbying the government for concerning the new eco-car.

Ford eco-car plan awaits tax policy

PHUSADEE ARUNMAS

Ford Motor Company plans to invest US$1 billion in a Thailand eco-car production base for worldwide export, if the government offers competitive excise tax benefits for the project. Ziad Ojakli, Ford's group vice-president for corporate affairs, was part of a Ford management team from the United States that met with Commerce Minister Krirk-krai Jirapaet yesterday to discuss the issue.

Following the meeting, Mr Krirk-krai said that Ford had expressed its interest in further investment in Thailand of around $1 billion for eco-car production.

Annual export volume would be 20,000 cars and the project would generate 10,000 jobs in Thailand.

For now, the government's definition of an eco-car is one that consumes five litres of gasoline per 100 kilometres.

The reduction of excise tax for eco-cars was a crucial issue for Ford, which was waiting for news from the government, said Mr Krirk-krai.

''Ford will make a decision whether to invest in eco-car production in Thailand once a tax incentive is announced by the government, expected to be made in May,'' said Mr Krirk-krai.

Ford executives said the company was also considering other countries in South America and Eastern Europe for a production base, said Mr Krirk-krai.

Ford did not submit an application for the eco-car project to the Board of Investment in December, the deadline for submissions. Six manufacturers met the deadline: Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Yontrakit Co.

Ford could be sending out a warning shot for Thailand to get it together or it might be a signal Ford is preparing to pull the plug on Thai operations!

Cracks, leaks, corruption: Thailand's new airport has a rough start

By JOCELYN GECKER

The Associated Press

BANGKOK, Thailand — The taxiways are cracked, the terminal has leaks and some airlines even wonder whether it's safe to fly into Thailand's new international airport.

Bangkok's sleek and modern Suvarnabhumi Airport, which opened to great fanfare in September, was supposed to transform the Thai capital into Southeast Asia's leading air hub. Instead it has become a national embarrassment and a monument to the alleged corruption of a prime minister deposed in a coup five months ago.

"There is so much bad news about this airport — and so much that needs to be fixed," said Yodiam Teptaranon, a board member of Airports of Thailand, or AOT, the national airport authority. "Everything seems to be happening all at once. It makes everyone concerned."

On Monday, Transport Minister Thira Haocharoen recommended reopening Bangkok's older, smaller Don Muang airport to domestic-bound flights to ease congestion at Suvarnabhumi at least while the new airport undergoes repairs. The government is expected to approve the move next week.

Don Muang was shuttered to make way for the new Suvarnabhumi, which bills itself as the world's biggest single terminal airport. Its name means "Golden Land," and it is the gateway for millions of tourists lured to Thailand every year by the country's splendid white sand beaches and historic sites..

While authorities insist the problems at Suvarnabhumi pose no safety threat, the timing couldn't be worse for Thailand. The country is still struggling to recover from months of anti-government protests that culminated in the military coup and deadly bombings in Bangkok on New Year's Eve.

The AOT board has found 61 glitches, problems and design flaws that need to be repaired at an estimated cost of $45 million. The airport authority hopes to fix the problems within six months and sees no need to close the airport during repairs.

But Thira, the transport minister, admitted last week that "some airlines have concerns" about the airport's safety.

The most urgent problem is cracks on the tarmac. Airport authorities have said more than 100 fissures have been detected in taxiways leading to Suvarnabhumi's two runways. As a result, planes are unable to use 11 out of 51 air bridges for boarding aircraft, causing inconvenience to passengers who are shuttled by bus to and from their planes.

Then there's a shortage of toilets. Passengers have complained so much about dirty bathrooms, authorities plan to spend $1.2 million to build 200 new toilets through the giant terminal.

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Bathrooms are also being redesigned for the handicapped, whose needs were widely overlooked, AOT's Yodiam said.

Problems with the baggage-handling system and computerized check-in services have led to lost luggage and long lines for passengers.

Signs in many areas are confusing or nonexistent. The air conditioning and revolving doors don't always work, and over the weekend a pipe burst in an upper-level bathroom, causing leaks that damaged luggage on a lower level.

Thailand's Department of Civil Aviation decided Friday to hold off on renewing the airport's international safety certificate, known as its Aerodrome Certificate. The airport can continue to operate without the license — Don Muang airport never had one — but the announcement was another setback for the airport.

Some said Suvarnabhumi was doomed from the start. The airport was built on a wetlands, known as "Cobra Swamp," a name deemed by some as inauspicious. Indeed the cracks are believed to stem from underground water seeping through the asphalt and cement.

More than 40 years in the making, the airport was dogged by corruption allegations throughout its planning and building.

Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose administration handed out most of the airport's building contracts, is widely accused of crafting policies to enrich himself and his cronies.

He was ousted in a coup just days before Suvarnabhumi opened Sept. 28 and replaced by a military-installed government that has opened several corruption investigations into the airport.

"You're beginning to see the evidence of Thaksin's wrongdoing in this," Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram told a gathering of foreign journalists Monday.

Newspapers columnists have filled their pages with renewed accusations that Thaksin rushed the airport through despite warnings that it wasn't ready for business.

The Thais want young, good-looking, well-mannered, intelligent and devoted teachers. Yeah, that's reasonable enough, but, they're only willing to pay burger-flipping wages to get it. In the US, min. wage @ 6.75 comes out to just over a grand a month (6.75X8=52 X5=260 X4= $1,040) = a pretty good salary for teaching in Thailand. Not good if one has to pay off college loans or wants to save money.

Basically, Thailand is asking qualified teachers to make a sacrifice in order to teach there (and a sacrifice that doesn't really help one's career path, either), but is only going to pay them as if they are all washed-out losers who are in Thailand for ulterior purposes and couldn't care less about teaching.

And thus, they end up with a problem of having lousy, unqualified teachers.

Problem is for a qualified teacher who isn't in Thailand for the, uh, nightlife, that there may not be enough perks to compensate for the lack of pay. Compare Korea where one can save as much as a couple thousand a month and where better qualified persons can get positions that give 3 months paid vacation (not one month unpaid, as I was offered by one high school).

I'd still like to live in Thailand though. But, if I really had a choice, I might prefer flipping burgers if it pulled in the same as teaching.

Oh please, not more of this, what kind of person with half a brain and 50,000 $US or more in debt for a real Uni degree is gonna hang around Thailand making 500 Bucks a month just so they can drink beer like the current teachers.

Did anyone notice where the people involved were International School staff? These are the best schools Thailand has to offer and they are full of teachers with no Uni Degree. What would happen when they start checking around the local karaoke singalong schools, the ones where the kids sing songs all day. Its great that these kids are happy but unfortunatly happiness does not build infastructure nor econimies. When you start comparing what you see here to other asian countries its just pathetic, what schools does Thailand outrank in maths? Laos? Cambodia? It sure as helll does not outdo Vietnam and is not even on China, Korea, or Japans Map.

What does it say when you have a Thai University Degree and you go to work for a company as their English speaking staff and make 6,000 Thai Baht per month, about the same as a day labor guy with a third grade education?

I for one would love to see this country wake up and become everything it has the potential to be but I do not live in a fantasy world where everything turns out ok just because. If the government wants to improve the forign teachers and raise the standards here they must start at home and then look abroad. Blaming a low budget education systom on forign teachers is a bad joke, no excuses, get it sorted.

Start by setting up Education Embassies to hire teachers in the U.K. and U.S. and do full background checks on every applicant. What in the Helll does sending teachers to Laos every month or three months do but waste peoples time. Stamp them in for one year extendable by another year and then supply them with a honer degree or title and send them back home. Maybe even offer a offshore PHD for coming here and teaching english for 4 years along with a chance for a degree in Asian History or somthing like it.

Make it somehow worth it to come here and teach and just maybe you can get a better class of teachers, what I see now is mostly useless, many drunks, dope heads, perverts, and few who were qaulified and good qaulity teachers before they arrived in Thailand.

I was just wondering if any of the forum members used or would even be interested in getting started with large format photography?

I have a couple Toyo-View Monorail cameras and a Cambo for outdoor stuff. My current images are black and white 4x5 negatives which are then scanned to digital. I have been pretty basic up til now but lately have started getting things together. Its taken some time to find gear over here and its not like America or Europe where things are cheep and easy to find and every city has LFP classes.

Could the baying crowd of angry Thai's not of smashed a window and got in/saved the girl? Seems a little wierd so many outside but not able to open the bus/van up

Unable is more likely unwilling, It just sounds better for the news story. Im sure a handfull of folks were standing around pointing whispering Taxi Mafia and waiting for the cops who as usual were taking their time.

I much prefer Cambodian style on these matters. When they can catch a thief they beat them to death in the street knowing that if they make it to jail they will pay their way out.

This scumbag is probably laughing it up in jail telling how he raped the girl to other low lifes and then having a circle jerk about it all. Like I said, letting rats chew his nuts off would be a good start, I could add more details but will not in order to keep the thread open.

Nobody knows the real story here so why bother. We all know a few guys who live with girls who get money from other men and the works. I knew a Ponce a few years ago who bragged about about it to anyone who would listen, me and friends thought he was quite the fool. These guys could have had words on the phone or even arguments earlier, the leg breaking is well over the top but who knows the truth here, it seems nobody is talking either.

Is this "ponce" a pimp or a camp man? People don't use this word very much these days. If he is a pimp, he has stepped up ( or down ) from the usual trick of avoiding subsidizing his girlfriend's lifestyle because she already has an overseas source of income. He is in fact funding his own lifestyle too. This for some is the Pattaya version of the American dream.

Never heard the term Camp Man but I have some use for it. A few years ago there was a young German guy who married a hard core hooker in Pattaya. At first he had some money so they moved to the village and had one kid. Later he ran out of money and sent her back to Pattaya to hook and and send home money while he babysat the kid and sat around drinking Lao Khao.

The first guy I called a Ponce was just that, someone who pimped out his girlfriend to other guys for money and let them pay his way. I think for him it was some kind of fetish thing involved beyond the finances but he was a certified cheep asss to boot.

Yes I guess it is the Pattaya Dream for some, leftover sex and a bar tab. I have no idea what happened in the situation with this guy, I just hope he is more careful in the future, sex can indeed be a dangerous sport.

To the OP, get a life and get out of the house, you live in Thailand no? You should not be able to make it past the first seven eleven without meeting women. Your post made it sound as if your searching out endangered species. Smile, be polite and let things take a natural course in finding someone compatible.

Everybody who has married a girl from Isarn has some kind of story, they all vary but few of the better longterm relationships have occured as a result of someone searching for a wife. Healthy marriages are the results of friends that get together and decide they want to stay together, both have something to offer each other and it goes way beyond the physical attraction.

It makes me more than uncomfortable to see people bringing up the names of cities and universities and describing how to troll for women around villages. While the original poster may have had the best intentions others reading this forum do not. Many perverts/pedophiles/dirtbags lurk around the forum never signing on or posting that have never been to Thailand. Providing detailed instructions for them to prey upon Isarn and its women is just a bad idea. If you feel someone like the OP has legitimate questions maybe you should PM them and even talk on the phone or just introduce them to your sister in law.

As far as bar girl or non bar girl wives I have seen both types go wrong and both types become good relationships. Its funny how American culture now views dating strippers and porn stars as wholesome but it seems everytime Thailand is mentioned on American TV it is related to some act of prostitution and the word whore gets thrown around. Please be careful about throwing the bargirl term around, it can be very hurtful to some nice people, we dont always know the whole story of how or why people do things when they are young but everybody likes a happy ending. If people meet in a bar and it works out, good for them.

As far as Vespa, I have never in my life heard a hetrosexual male describe a jawline as a sexual attraction and I believe the Homosexuals on the forum would find him just as offensive as I do. That leads me to one conclusion, I believe the police in Lopburi should be on the lookout for a Fawrong at the monkey wat trying to chat up both male and female monkies with prominent jawlines.

Nobody knows the real story here so why bother. We all know a few guys who live with girls who get money from other men and the works. I knew a Ponce a few years ago who bragged about about it to anyone who would listen, me and friends thought he was quite the fool. These guys could have had words on the phone or even arguments earlier, the leg breaking is well over the top but who knows the truth here, it seems nobody is talking either.

To bad it didnt happen in Cambodia, justice would have been swift. This scumbag (*&^*%&^%&^%*&^*(&^(*&)(*&) should have his nuts chewed off by rats just for starters!