Sabre

To promote sex? Don't you thing Thailand have enough sex already?

Thailand is no slouch, but there's always room for improvement.

I practiced international business law for 14 years in the states. I've shopped my CV around to all the major firms doing int'l law in Bangkok. Never even had an interview. I've been at it for 3 years. I think it's a real tough nut to crack, and you have to have some inside help to get hired on as a consultant. Some Brits may have it easier because they can do immigration law, i.e. obtaining settlement visas, etc. For Americans, legal counsel in the immigration process for Thai spouses and girlfriends is really unnecessary, so there's little demand for it.

I'm not surprised. The big influx of foreign lawyers happened in '97, due to the large number of bankruptcies in Thailand and the region. All the magic circle firms were vying for a position in the market. Many have since shut up shop in Bangkok. There's a lot of competition from local firms who charge considerably less.

Your best bet is to find a good legal recruiter who has contacts with the Firms in Bangkok.

It will also depend on what you mean by 'international business law'. Immigration law is not relevant to foreign lawyers working in Bangkok (except of course for the need to comply with Thailand's immigration laws like every other foreigner in the country). You're looking more along the lines of corporate & commercial, alternative dispute resolution, insolvency, private equity, project finance, and so forth. If you have a solid CV in any of those areas you should be able to get a position somewhere, although the market has been tightening over the past 5 years or so.

he will never be able to practice law as a non-Thai national. It is a restricted profession.

Now, he can act as a consultant however, and have a Thai national lawyer sign off on all his work....

Ill informed nonsense.All the major international law firms in Bangkok have both Thai and non-Thai partners.

No, he is right. Only Thais can get a lawyer's license in Thailand. International Firms have foreign partners yes, but their work permits all read 'consultant' or 'arbitrator' or something else. They do not 'practise' law in Thailand as such.

Believe me, with respect to this issue, I know what I'm talking about.

Having said all that - the brother-in-law of the OP should have no trouble building up a practise here in Thailand if he wants to. The presence of foreign lawyers is recognised by the government and other powers that be, as essential for foreign direct investment therefore their presence is tolerated and enforcement of the law is relaxed accordingly.

I have lived in Phnom Penh for 3 years, tho haven't yet got around to changing my profile here.

The brick attacks and general crime I describe are not taken from my own experience (other than where stated), but from a number of firsthand reports which you or anyone can read on EPA.

They are also taken from pretty much daily reports in The Phnom Penh Post, in which witnesses and victims are interviewed. These are also online for anyone to see.

ataggerated, that's your choice of course.

I assume the last two posters are not native English speakers: much of what is being said is not understandable. Would be happy to address your points if you can get someone to put them into regular English.

Thanks.

I can confirm this is true. I read about the brick attacks in one of the newspapers, I think it was the Phnom Penh Post but I could be mistaken ... it was one of the daily english-language newspapers anyway.

The story told about a guy who took a brick to the head from behind and wound up with a pretty nasty concussion. The reporter had identified around eight people who had been attacked in this way. Some had not reported it to the police. Some had. The reporter interviewed one of the police commanders and he said the attacks had not happened. period.

Cambodia can still be a rough place. It is improving rapidly, but there is still a lot of violence, particularly in the provinces. A friend of mine owns one of the restaurants around town. A few months ago one of his staff members was shot and killed while walking home at night after work. Nobody knows if it was some random act or a deliberate hit. He had a wife and kid.

I often read newspaper reports of robberies (home invasions) where the victims have cooperated and handed over their valuables, then the robbers just kill them anyway for good measure.

A friend of mine was mugged about a month ago, and roughed up pretty good. Luckily he is a kickboxer and once the muggers realised he wasn't a soft target they split, with his phone and wallet.

None of that, however, compares to a much larger danger - the traffic. Cambodians are the worst drivers I have seen anywhere in the world. True idiots on wheels. I have personally seen 5 people die on the roads (at least, they looked pretty dead) over a period of 8 months. All of them cambodians, riding a motorcycle at night with no lights on and not wearing a helmet.

The whole thing is just another example of the appalling state of the Thai Justice system.

From the police, to the lawyers and judges, to the media, even Buddhism itself (particularly the notion of karma - i.e. prisoners must have done something to deserve their lot), all play a part in the rotten system.

I love Thailand and Thais, but there are some aspects of Thai society I find hard to reconcile with the better side of Thailand.

To those who haven't experienced Thai justice first hand these are probably just empty words. To those people, I sincerely hope you never discover the darker side of Thailand.

Too many unfortunate others will know exactly what I'm talking about.

A 70 year with an 18 year old is a happy old fool, having fun, with a willing free will ADULT partner. Such relationships don't belong anywhere near a discussion about pedophilia.

Absolutely right.

This prove that Abhisit is such a clever man. He managed to control the situation, especially control PAD ,UNESCO Thaksin and Hun Sen to stop a war.

Oh please, let's not get carried away ... he has narrowly avoided a political firestorm that he helped to create for himself and even then he has only managed to postpone it.

All denied any wrongdoing but an initial investigation found that Mr Esmaeil has a Thai girlfriend working at a nightclub in the eastern seaside resort of Pattaya.

555 ... they're really getting strict about dating these days aren't they.

I mean, having a Thai gf who works in a nightclub in Pattaya is stupid, but criminal?

By now everybody knows who is behind the setup of this man. Maybe someone can check the bank transfers into the account of the immigration chief. First there were pictures than there were not, than there were movies and x rated images on a computer than they were suddenly not. What stayed was the big company that had to settle a score. the lesson: Do not do business in Thailand. When the influential see that you are doing too good, they will use any trick in the book to get you out and their hands on your assets.

As a rule however, messing with influential Russians isn't usually good for one's longevity even if you are a policeman in a foreign country.

This story will run well beyond him being blacklisted (although he is apparently in the country under the terms of his bail), and I think we may find that this blacklisting may well be just a terrible slip of the tongue. How are they going to effect the visa cancellation? Arrest him and deport him. Now that is going to look very nice on world news.

Russian deported because policeman decided he was guilty. It is almost as though the immigration department forgot to notice that courts even exist in Thailand. The press will have a field day with it.

This is so obviously a travesty of justice that not even the government can ignore it.

The Russian embassy will be all over this story like a rash, hopefully Thailand's esteemed Foreign Minister has received a call already. What is Abhisit's contact number again to get in touch?

Actually the Russian mafia in Chonburi is pretty weak these days, as I understand it. They took a hiding after the bank heist a few years ago.

I think you may be overestimating how much people are going to care.

Unbelievable. I know TiT, but sometimes this place still shocks me. Unbelievable.

They tip off the police to catch the 'smaller" mule while the 'bigger" one on the same flight gets 100% safe passage.

PS. It is also possible to have more then 1 "big" mules, but all the attention turns to 1, so all others are safe. 2.6kg is a small price to pay if you bringing in 100 times more.

I wonder just how long it will take the authorities to cotton on to that fact and stop and search every passenger on the same flight as these sacrificial offerings?

The problem with that is that the customs officers will be treading on the toes of the king pins in the trade and that will do their promotion prospects no good at all.

Sit at your desk, do as you're told, ask no questions and your bonus will be paid end of the month as usual.

Hang on a minute. We seem to be suffering a breakdown of logic here.

How do you know that this woman was the only person searched? Likely they did search every passenger.

Just because there is a 'sacrificial mule' how would that reduce the chances of the other mules getting caught?

This whole 'sacrificial mule' theory seems to be a load of BS to me.

You absolutely right, there is a break down of logic

1. airport customs never search anyone. How often do you fly? I fly 8 times per year for the past 7 years and never been stopped, or xrayed or searched.

2. Once customs are tipped off, this means they are told that a woman on a flight number xxxx is caring drugs, most likely also her name, so logically they would be waiting for her at the passport control to then follow her to search.

Saying all of the above, it does not mean this was the case, however is a possibility and has been known practice and is the easiest way to smuggle large quantity's.

Sacrificing 1 mule clearly gives other mules clear passage-do not have to be a rocket scientist to follow this logic.

Chuang- so do you assume or propose they all smuggle drugs to then sell? Are you that oblivious? do you not know there is a tobacco factory that takes up land the size of 3 stadiums just around the corner and most of their workers are African.

Do you approach every single African in Sukhumvit to confirm they selling drugs?

Do you need 100 people to smuggle 0.5 kg of drugs to start selling? could it not be that 1 brings in 100kg and then distributes it?

Why is it that there are so many people who like to argue with pretty much any post others make? Really makes me wonder if you know anything about the trade or simply like to blow smoke in the air.

When's the last time you arrived in Bangkok on a flight from Ethiopia? Why don't you take a look sometime, and see how many people they stop.

"Sacrificing 1 mule clearly gives other mules clear passage-do not have to be a rocket scientist to follow this logic."

Why so? Are you saying they only have capacity to search one person per flight? They catch someone and then ignore everybody else? Ridiculous. Do they only check one passenger's visa too?

'Why is it that there are so many people who like to argue with pretty much any post others make?'

It's called critical analysis. It's nothing personal, believe me.

By the way, I fly at least once a week. Does that make me right? If you don't believe me, PM me and I'll send you a copy of my passport pages.

<br>

<br>Rising heat levels drives up C02 levels...FACT!   So if it's not our man-made C02 emmisions driving up heat levels what's causing it? Natural cycles maybe!<br><br>Oh and your lucky if humans are responsible for as much as 10% of C02 levels in the atmosphere..The largest contributor would be the oceans<br>

<br><br>I believe the figure is 3.8% ... something like that. Humans emit 3.8% of the total CO2 released into the atmosphere every year.<br>

Breathe in (oxygen) and breathe out (carbon dioxide), that is what many organisms on the planet do (duh, doh!).

There are many NATURAL processes that emit GHGs.  Cows and termites farting (duh doh!).

The main issue is the recent release of formerly sequestered carbon in the atmosphere.

That is not natural and relates to our reliance of fossil fuels for energy.

Along with other GHGs (e.g, methane), the release of formerly sequestered carbon is causing CO2 to rise way beyond "natural levels."

That is causing global warming.

That is a scientific fact that is not in debate by scientists.

Global warming is leading many climate problems, social problems, economic problems, etc.

Back to Thailand and the subject: Human induced (largely via the use of fossil fuels and release of CO2) global warming threatens Thailand in at least two ways:

1) acidification of the Gulf leading to a massive decline in fish stocks and possible collapse of the fisheries industries, and

2) flooding along the coast--especially problematic for Bangkok (massive economic impact) and beach towns (will hurt tourism for sure).

What else is likely to happen?

What about more and increasingly severe droughts and water shortages?

Agriculture?

Migration from other surrounding countries (environmental refugees)?

Political implications?

Ah yes, all the evils of the world can be traced back to global warming. http://www.youtube.c...h?v=KLxicwiBQ7Q

3.8% ... and that INCLUDES the burning of fossil fuels. (Duh, Doh)!

Rising heat levels drives up C02 levels...FACT! So if it's not our man-made C02 emmisions driving up heat levels what's causing it? Natural cycles maybe!

Oh and your lucky if humans are responsible for as much as 10% of C02 levels in the atmosphere..The largest contributor would be the oceans

I believe the figure is 3.8% ... something like that. Humans emit 3.8% of the total CO2 released into the atmosphere every year.

Global Warming is a myth . (Just getting that in for all the TV 'sceptics")

Anyone who still discounts the science - should just watch this.

Poppycock!

They tip off the police to catch the 'smaller" mule while the 'bigger" one on the same flight gets 100% safe passage.

PS. It is also possible to have more then 1 "big" mules, but all the attention turns to 1, so all others are safe. 2.6kg is a small price to pay if you bringing in 100 times more.

I wonder just how long it will take the authorities to cotton on to that fact and stop and search every passenger on the same flight as these sacrificial offerings?

The problem with that is that the customs officers will be treading on the toes of the king pins in the trade and that will do their promotion prospects no good at all.

Sit at your desk, do as you're told, ask no questions and your bonus will be paid end of the month as usual.

Hang on a minute. We seem to be suffering a breakdown of logic here.

How do you know that this woman was the only person searched? Likely they did search every passenger.

Just because there is a 'sacrificial mule' how would that reduce the chances of the other mules getting caught?

This whole 'sacrificial mule' theory seems to be a load of BS to me.

WIth the exception of Sabre, many thanks for the informative replies above, I'll PM in due course.

What a hurtful thing to say.

After all, my advice may in fact be the most valuable given so far.

If you don't take a bit of time to do some very basic research yourself (which you clearly have not done if you have to ask for the address) then how do you expect to be in a position to evaluate any of the recommendations given here?

The expression 'blind leading the blind' comes to mind.

After all, the recommendations could be coming from the lawyers themselves, masquerading as fellow investors.

And of course you can find personal opinions with google. The internet is bloated with personal opinions.

Now say 'thank you ...'

Comrade ...... You really need to learn how to use google......It'll change your life man ...

Busted for importation of 2 kilos of cocaine, and all he got was an 8-year ban?

Is it just me or does that seem kind of strange? He got banned, so somebody somewhere was convinced of his guilt, but not convicted of the crime (apparently) and not punished in any other way.

It's laughable that nobody is trying to find out who he bribed and re-opening the original importation case.

But this is Thailand I suppose, where every pirate gets to keep the booty even after the ship sinks.

Sounds like the boats were overloaded, hope we have no more deaths.

I have been trying to contact a friend I think was on one of the boats, no luck yet.

Going to Had Rin is no big problem, the Harbour Department can be seen checking and counting heads on each boat at Petcharat pier. Where it all falls apart is that there is no one policing other locations and as the Harbour Department cannot be everywhere, why not make just one departure point. Again, at the other end at Had Rin there is NO ONE checking for overloaded boats and this is where everyone is fighting to get on board while they are stoned and drunk out of their minds and nearly all are sucking on cigarettes over the engines and fuel tanks at the rear of the boat.

Have you ever tried lighting petrol with a lit cigarette? You can throw a lit cigarette in a bucket of petrol, and all it will do is extinguish the cigarette. I guess temperature will be an important factor, but It's not like the movies.

another con-artist foreigner in Bangkok scamming money! What about this place attracts them? This website announced a recent case right here, again in our own backyard: www.accelon-asia.com

Never trust a website with a hyphenated address.

As a recent Aussie import to Thailand, I am not surprised at news like this.

Sadly many Aussie children are now brought up to believe that they can do no wrong, it is always someone else's fault. Fall over and it is the owner of the footpath's fault, not yours. They have to put out caution floor wet signs at shopping centers when it is raining, not just to warn their patrons that rain is actually water, and that makes the floor wet when it falls, but to protect themselves from the litigious public.

People don't have crashes because their driving is not up to scratch, it is because the road is unsafe to drive on, hence Australis seems to have the fastest falling speed limits in the western world. Still these people see no problem with paying just $30.00 (1000 thb) per tire on their car. How much is their life worth????

It surprises me not that these Aussies come here and believe that they can run gunshot over the Thai people, I am always happy when the gunshot gets returned.

Expect it to get worse, we have a whole generation of these common sense deprived Aussies to come.

(Written by one sad Aussie who knows what common sense is, I have an old dictionary)

Wow, you're really a 'glass is half empty' kind of guy aren't you?

IMO, he's pretty much hit the nail on the head,

Actually, i thinks he might be in possesion of a very proficient Makita nailgun

Sure. I mean, I'll concede that it's possible this incident is a symptom of a civilisation in decline. A lethargic, feckless generation of young Australians who are planning a global crime spree just as a way of expressing their cultural imperialism and arrogant world view. A generation who delights in lowering speed limits because they cannot manage to perambulate across a footpath or through a shopping centre without having a major accident and unleashing a storm of litigation, just because they can. I'll admit that's certainly a possibility.

Then again, maybe it's just a case of youthful indiscretion?

Which way is your nail gun leaning?

As a recent Aussie import to Thailand, I am not surprised at news like this.

Sadly many Aussie children are now brought up to believe that they can do no wrong, it is always someone else's fault. Fall over and it is the owner of the footpath's fault, not yours. They have to put out caution floor wet signs at shopping centers when it is raining, not just to warn their patrons that rain is actually water, and that makes the floor wet when it falls, but to protect themselves from the litigious public.

People don't have crashes because their driving is not up to scratch, it is because the road is unsafe to drive on, hence Australis seems to have the fastest falling speed limits in the western world. Still these people see no problem with paying just $30.00 (1000 thb) per tire on their car. How much is their life worth????

It surprises me not that these Aussies come here and believe that they can run gunshot over the Thai people, I am always happy when the gunshot gets returned.

Expect it to get worse, we have a whole generation of these common sense deprived Aussies to come.

(Written by one sad Aussie who knows what common sense is, I have an old dictionary)

Wow, you're really a 'glass is half empty' kind of guy aren't you?

Okay so this has no Thai relationship, but bear with me.

About 30 years ago an american friend (well a work acquintance anyhow) tried to scam the company he then worked for using the same "stolen traveler's checks" scam. He purchased $500 in traveler's checks for a business trip to Saudi Arabia on company business. On his way, at a stopover in Frankfurt, he claimed his traveler's checks were "stolen". He filed for compensation for the 'stolen' checks, and his money was refunded. On arriving in Saudi Arabia, he changed the so-called stolen traveller's checks with a Saudi moneychanger. He apparently thought nobody would notice. The Saudi moneychanger contacted the traveler's check company, and my friend (or acquaintance) was arrested. He was deported back to the U.S. where he was to be arrested for fraud for falsely claiming the traveler's checks were stolen. But to make it worse for him, before he was deported from Saudi, the Saudi officials sentenced him to a public flogging (Islamic law allows it)for trying to defraud the moneychanger. The flogging was filmed by a U.S. news crew, and shown on the nightly network news in the U.S. So when he arrived home he was not only arrested, but he lost his job, and had to reimburse the comapny he had worked for to cover their losses on his business trip.

So he wss publicly flogged, lost his job, arrested for fraud, and had the entire thing shown on U.S network news all at the same time.

Some crooks are just not too bright, are they.

By comparison to my friend that Aussie girl in Phuket was lucky.

You call him your friend, and yet you take great delight in his suffering ...

If the police suspect it's an insurance fraud then there's no need for them to do any further investigation. Write the report, take the 20 baht, job finished. I'm quite impressed that they took this case further though how they got an admission of guilt I don't know.

Medical insurance fraud is also commonplace; the tourist is having such a good time that he doesn't want to go home. A mystery illness ensues, medical certificate from the hospital and the insurers pay for a new flight and additional nights in the hotel as well as the medical bills. Back pain, for example, is very easy to simulate and being unable to walk properly, you can end up in a business of first class seat as well, plus electric buggies at the airport. I saw an example of this very recently.

One wonders why they didn't fill out the report, and then take the insurance money from the girl, who would be arrested for fraud if she didn't go along with it.

But then again, that's a report they have to fill out, and then they might have to find two guys to pin the robbery on, and that sounds like too much work for a measly few thousand Baht. Easier just to arrest the girl and squeeze the cash out of her.

How did they find out? Some cops are known to develop a very good sense for when someone is lying to them. Not all cops, but some. As Thai cops are generally experts at every scam in the book, I reckon it wouldn't have been too hard to catch this bright young lady in a lie.

Poor thing. What do people expect? She had to do something, because you can't claim the dole when you're overseas.

Somebody should have warned her, there aren't many crimes that go down in Patong that the police don't know about beforehand.