Temple bell-ringing complaint leads to immigration probe

[SheungWan]

The problem with a certain temple in Pattaya is not that the monks are ringing an innocuous charming bell at 4am in the morning; it is that whenever there is any form of chanting or noise-making, the noise is amplified and cranked up really high. It wasn't always like that and eventually I gave up and moved out from the condo block nearby. A friend who still lives in the block and speaks good Thai went to speak with them about it and all he got was the stupid laugh in response.

Edited October 6, 2018 by SheungWan

[Ctkong]

3 hours ago, Khun Paul said:

Oh yes go after the owsner and the Foreigner, Noise complaints always fall on deaf ears as they are so used to the NOISE intrusion in their lives, to them it is normal. Like litter and Rubbish , Not seen nor heard.

Quite stupid, showing the rest of the world, just how bloody petty they are. Childlike in their response. 

We have seen many cases of retribution against foreigners for making a complaint against authorities be it the police, immigration or customs... be aware that rules in Thailand are much different from your countries ..

[lamyai3]

2 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

Anita Ward is dead

Anita Ward only rang her bell for 3½ minutes. The temple is ringing it every day, from 3.30 to 4am...

[Ctkong]

1 hour ago, Lupatria said:

After your post, better keep your suitcase at hand ????

If you are not happy with the host, you can pack your bag... and look elsewhere that fit your mindset. Grumbling about traditions will not solve your angst. Personally I think it is charming with the bell tolling... but then I am Buddhist. 

[Artisi]

3 hours ago, unamazedloso said:

This seems racist. Always blame the farang!
firstly, religion is a buisness and nothing more therefore should deal with operation times.

Secondly there is more than one religion here and by law there should be no discrimination therefore the temple should be sympathetic to its surroundings as it doesnt own the surrounding area.

The Thais have acted like stupid babies yet again and opened up the door for 10mosques to open surounding the temple and god help everyone then!

The 4am thing is stupid. Its bells to wake the masses that monks need attention, money and food from what i see. Monks are brain dead, drunk drug addict, fags. Not all but most i see. This story reflects what happens where i live but not just the temple. All my neighbours do the same at 4am. My little boy said to me whats the drums noise and then inadvertently hit his own drum kit. OMG you should have heard the temple bells then. Lasted all day and because of racism and not associating with these idiots they will always think we were annoyed by the bells and retaliated but didnt at all.

This is why Thailand is not civilized. Theres no empathy for anyone else and there is a constant brain washing that thais are somehow different and culture is somehow significant. Well heres a fact. No one is significant, get over it, live life and be fair and treat everyone equally so we can enjoy our little time on this planet.

Im disgusted in the story. Absolutely furious because there seems a real anger at foreigners being displayed yet again.

 

Saw a positions vacant advertisement during the week  for a lighthouse keeper somewhere in the pacific, could find it and give you the link if interested. 

[KhunBENQ]

2 hours ago, Artisi said:

If you are doing the right thing regarding being able to stay in Thailand without too much hassle, what harassment do you envisage? 

Well, I don't want to scaremonger, I am just a pessimist.

 

He is now the master of the immigration orders and policies.

As you might know from the forum the immigration policy is far from detailed and exact.

Different offices, different procedures about proof of financials, age of documents etc.

Will an affidavit of income be enough or will you have to proof flow of money from abroad, source of income? Legalization of documents? Raising the financial requirements?

He might streamline the procedures to the most arduous.

Sure the good boys will still be able to stay legal but the bureaucratic effort might rise.

I don't trust this super-cop.

 

I am happy if am proofed wrong.

 

[lamyai3]

40 minutes ago, Ctkong said:

We have seen many cases of retribution against foreigners for making a complaint against authorities be it the police, immigration or customs... be aware that rules in Thailand are much different from your countries ..

There's nothing in any of the media articles to suggest that the foreigner has anything to do with the noise complaints. The original serial complainant was Thai and the last I read they were trying to pull her in for attitude adjustment, and I understood the second complaint also came from a local. The foreigner appears to be nothing more than collateral damage in an attempt to hit back at the condo owner. 

[Artisi]

15 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Well, I don't want to scaremonger, I am just a pessimist.

 

He is now the master of the immigration orders and policies.

As you might know from the forum the immigration policy is far from detailed and exact.

Different offices, different procedures about proof of financials, age of documents etc.

Will an affidavit of income be enough or will you have to proof flow of money from abroad, source of income? Legalization of documents? Raising the financial requirements?

He might streamline the procedures to the most arduous.

Sure the good boys will still be able to stay legal but the bureaucratic effort might rise.

I don't trust this super-cop.

 

I am happy if am proofed wrong.

 

Well maybe he will pull all the offices into line to follow standard written procedure and not make their own rules. Basically these rules are mainly straight forward (even though we bitch about some of them) - - - but their game and their rules, if we want to play, play to the rule book - otherwise get penalised. 

Edited October 6, 2018 by Artisi

[Lupatria]

41 minutes ago, Ctkong said:

If you are not happy with the host, you can pack your bag... and look elsewhere that fit your mindset. Grumbling about traditions will not solve your angst. Personally I think it is charming with the bell tolling... but then I am Buddhist. 

This "if you don't like it, pack up and go" phrase is a bit worn out by now. Would you dare to tell this to any Thai too? Looks like you have a serious exodus in mind:

 

Surveys have shown that one of the biggest problems in Thailand is noise pollution.  
While many foreign tourists and expats think Thais just grin and bear it, the opposite is in fact true. In terms of being an annoyance factor noise is the number one source of complaints throughout the country.

[Artisi]

15 minutes ago, Lupatria said:

This "if you don't like it, pack up and go" phrase is a bit worn out by now. Would you dare to tell this to any Thai too? Looks like you have a serious exodus in mind:

 

Surveys have shown that one of the biggest problems in Thailand is noise pollution.  
While many foreign tourists and expats think Thais just grin and bear it, the opposite is in fact true. In terms of being an annoyance factor noise is the number one source of complaints throughout the country.

And they make a lot of noise about it ????

[lamyai3]

44 minutes ago, Lupatria said:

Surveys have shown that one of the biggest problems in Thailand is noise pollution.  
While many foreign tourists and expats think Thais just grin and bear it, the opposite is in fact true. In terms of being an annoyance factor noise is the number one source of complaints throughout the country.

Hear hear. Though it seems like more of a case of "can't hear, can't hear..."

 

[ParadiseLost]

If these guys are living there, in violation of the (imm) law, then it seems pretty dumb to complain about anything. Living under the radar does not include acting like a selfish prat in a Buddhist country!

 

Buddha 2 Christians 0 ????

[rkidlad]

1 hour ago, ParadiseLost said:

If these guys are living there, in violation of the (imm) law, then it seems pretty dumb to complain about anything. Living under the radar does not include acting like a selfish prat in a Buddhist country!

 

Buddha 2 Christians 0 ????

What a cretinous shower of assumptions. 

[lamyai3]

1 hour ago, ParadiseLost said:

If these guys are living there, in violation of the (imm) law, then it seems pretty dumb to complain about anything. Living under the radar does not include acting like a selfish prat in a Buddhist country!

 

Buddha 2 Christians 0 ????

There's no link been mentioned between the foreigner who happens to be living there and the noise complaints. There's also no evidence that the foreigner in question is living under the radar or is here without a proper visa. In the OP, threats of visa revocation and deportation were made for the extremely minor infraction of failing to file an address report - a level of heavy handedness I've not seen before. 

[Sydebolle]

I will keep this story as it is the perfect explanation of how things work and how aliens are second class citizen.

An infidel Non-Thai is being thoroughly disturbed (as most other people) by ignorant monks, who in their apparent superiority over normal people can ring bells at random. This results in a complaint which, in any other country, would be looked upon according to prevailing laws (which Thailand has as well). 

But instead of looking up the law, dealing with the monks accordingly and close the file, the said file is not even properly opened but the top, top, top authority is seeking means and ways to shoot the messenger. 

A tip to the BiB; arrest the non-Thai for not having a work permit as calling up the police to report a nuisance or showing up at a police station is, technically speaking, work. 

How pathetic; and to top it off - this story is going around the world and make Thailand, once more again, look even more stupid. How silly that a selected few can make an entire nation the laughing stock of the planet! 

[YogaVeg]

2 minutes ago, Sydebolle said:

How pathetic; and to top it off - this story is going around the world and make Thailand, once more again, look even more stupid. How silly that a selected few can make an entire nation the laughing stock of the planet! 

Seriously tho: 

this story of a noise complaint, with worst case scenario resulting in a foreigner (speculated as filing the complaint and further wildly speculated as being illegal) being deported...this story is going to go around the world? And embarrass the Nation?

[Odysseus123]

10 minutes ago, YogaVeg said:

Seriously tho: 

this story of a noise complaint, with worst case scenario resulting in a foreigner (speculated as filing the complaint and further wildly speculated as being illegal) being deported...this story is going to go around the world? And embarrass the Nation?

How could one possibly embarrass Shangri-La?

'tis inconceivable.

[Chrisdoc]

I can't see a Thai complaining about noise from a temple. Buddhism is such an important part of their existence.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[lamyai3]

29 minutes ago, Chrisdoc said:

I can't see a Thai complaining about noise from a temple. Buddhism is such an important part of their existence.

I think it's more that they can sleep through anything... probably why they ring the bell for a full half hour to wake the monks. 

[Artisi]

58 minutes ago, YogaVeg said:

Seriously tho: 

this story of a noise complaint, with worst case scenario resulting in a foreigner (speculated as filing the complaint and further wildly speculated as being illegal) being deported...this story is going to go around the world? And embarrass the Nation?

If this foreigner is / was in Thailand illegally and had been shown the door, why would Thailand be embarrassed about it? 

 

 

[MyFriend You]

16 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

Why  would that apply here? I don't want to be woken up at 4 am and I can why others would not either. What of the poor shift workers who need their rest? Young families etc? This isn't karma, but a retaliatory gesture by the bullies of the BiB.  There is no compelling religious reason to ring their bell.  Anita Ward is dead.

Everyone has a choice in Thailand, move away from the Temple.............where I grew up, my church rings it bell every Sunday morning, you don't hear anyone complaining about that, Mosques call to prayer, five times a day throughout the world, who complains about that.  The foreigner in that bldg - if true - created his own problems by overstaying, has nothing to do with the bells being rung during Lent.

[8OA8]

7 hours ago, TunnelRat69 said:

Everyone has a choice in Thailand, move away from the Temple.............where I grew up, my church rings it bell every Sunday morning, you don't hear anyone complaining about that, Mosques call to prayer, five times a day throughout the world, who complains about that.  The foreigner in that bldg - if true - created his own problems by overstaying, has nothing to do with the bells being rung during Lent.

For whom the bell tolls 

[MyFriend You]

10 hours ago, 8OA8 said:

For whom the bell tolls 

The Book or Metallica - or both  ????

[Burma Bill]

If the complainant is a foreigner who has breached Immigration Laws - let the bells ring out! Please remember our visa entitles us to live in Thailand as a "guest of the country" and as such we MUST RESPECT its laws and culture.

[soalbundy]

Wouldn't bother me, I get up before 4 am, I live 300 meters from the temple and I rather enjoy the bells and the chanting, a nice way to start the day, the rest of my family keep on sleeping. It's not a good idea to complain about Thai customs, especially Buddhist customs, WE have to adapt not the Thais for us.

[ukrules]

Any idea what happened in the end, there was a meeting on October 10th....

 

Was there a foreigner involved at all?

 

Was his paperwork in order?

 

What country was the foreigner from and did the chief of immigration misuse his power like he threatened to?

[Bangkok Barry]

2 hours ago, ukrules said:

Any idea what happened in the end, there was a meeting on October 10th....

 

Was there a foreigner involved at all?

 

Was his paperwork in order?

 

What country was the foreigner from and did the chief of immigration misuse his power like he threatened to?

 

Reporters, like all Thais, are not allowed to question people who are their 'betters' and/or in uniform. So we'll probably never know.

[ukrules]

In fact I see they solved this already.

 

The order to keep it quiet was rescinded and they are now allowed to ring the bells as loud as they always have.

 

It was pointed out that complaining about noise like this could be illegal. No link to the source of this information due to the forum policy on links...

[YogaVeg]

2 minutes ago, ukrules said:

In fact I see they solved this already.

 

The order to keep it quiet was rescinded and they are now allowed to ring the bells as loud as they always have.

 

It was pointed out that complaining about noise like this could be illegal. No link to the source of this information due to the forum policy on links...

For Whom The Bell Tolls ????

[stud858]

Life is amazing.

I tell my neighbour his dog barked non stop from 1 am to 4 am. I can't sleep,  and he was not concerned.

Most people are me me me. Do yourself a favor,  go out and give 10 people a big  hug  today.  Spread love. 

Have a brilliant day everyone.