British man released on bail in Thailand over theft of mobile phone

[Hooliganzone]

Where's the evidence that he stole it?

Did you read the story I posted previously about my friends phone?

Thais tend to think finders keepers but not so when it comes to forlangs.

One law for Thais another for farlangs

Edited April 22, 2019 by Hooliganzone

[MeePeeMai]

5 minutes ago, Hooliganzone said:

Sorry I do not agree.

Stealing and finding are a big difference, stealing is with intent to do so. Finding something has no intent to do so.

Finding a cellphone in an airport (with no intent to return it) is stealing.  Putting it in your pocket and walking out with it with no attempt to hand it over to the airport authorities is the same as stealing it.

 

If you go to the airport and "find" a unattended piece of luggage (or bag) that is not yours and you walk out with it and take it home is that not stealing?  What exactly is the difference in "finding" a piece of luggage and a "finding" a cell phone then??

 

I don't expect to get an answer ...but PLEASE surprise me.

[sanemax]

8 minutes ago, Hooliganzone said:

Sorry I do not agree.

Stealing and finding are a big difference, stealing is with intent to do so. Finding something has no intent to do so.

Its all about whether you take it or not .

If you take property that isnt yours , its theft .

It doesnt matter where the owner of that property is , 

If you were walking down the street and saw a motorbike with the keys in the ignition , could you drive it away because you "found" the motorbike ?

[Wake Up]

Send the adult home and ban him. Hope he never steals again. Thailand handles this thief the correct way IMO. Anyone who gives him money by go find me is not doing him any favors. He needed to suffer some consequences and not get bailed out by strangers on go find me IMO. Thai bashers are wrong bashing Thailand for punishing a phone thief IMO. He is too old to steal and not suffer jail time IMO. Not saying jail a young kid as we all had to learn lessons in life. But he is an adult and hopefully Thailand taught him you suffer consequences when you screw up and steal.  

[MeePeeMai]

Just now, Wake Up said:

Send the adult home and ban him. Hope he never steals again. Thailand handles this thief the correct way IMO. Anyone who gives him money by go find me is not doing him any favors. He needed to suffer some consequences and not get bailed out by strangers on go find me IMO. Thai bashers are wrong bashing Thailand for punishing a phone thief IMO. He is too old to steal and not suffer jail time IMO. Not saying jail a young kid as we all had to learn lessons in life. But he is an adult and hopefully Thailand taught him you suffer consequences when you screw up and steal.  

Right, he's a spoiled, lazy, good for nothing brat who was rescued by his daddy and the fools that gave him 835,000 baht on "go fund a phone thief".  I bet he hasn't learned any lessons yet and probably thinks nothing of it.  Lifetime blacklist at a minimum.

 

[Hooliganzone]

7 minutes ago, MeePeeMai said:

Finding a cellphone in an airport (with no intent to return it) is stealing.  Putting it in your pocket and walking out with it with no attempt to hand it over to the airport authorities is the same as stealing it.

 

If you go to the airport and "find" a unattended piece of luggage (or bag) that is not yours and you walk out with it and take it home is that not stealing?  What exactly is the difference in "finding" a piece of luggage and a "finding" a cell phone then??

 

I don't expect to get an answer ...but PLEASE surprise me.

I agree with you about that, but what i'm trying to explain its always the farlang at the wrong end of the stick never a Thai person.

Going back to my previous story my friend with his wife drove back for the phone they lost but the Thai person waiting for them only gave them back their SIM card but would not give them back the phone because they insisted they found it so it was now theirs.

[MeePeeMai]

Just now, Hooliganzone said:

I agree with you about that, but what i'm trying to explain its always the farlang at the wrong end of the stick never a Thai person.

Going back to my previous story my friend with his wife drove back for the phone they lost but the Thai person waiting for them only gave them back their SIM card but would not give them back the phone because they insisted they found it so it was now theirs.

I know, I read your posts and I agree that it is wrong and that there sometimes seems to be a double standard here but we must not bow down to that way of thinking elst we become like them (no matter who they are .. Thai or otherwise).  We must be better than those who choose to act like that and stand up for what's right and wrong.

 

Your friend should have called the tourist police and arranged to pay the "tip" with the police present.  He would not have had to pay anything and it's possible that an arrest would have been made.  Some Thai's think all farangs are rich and have more money than we could ever spend.  They let greed get the best of them and feel that we owe them something because we are in their country.  The tourist police actually do the right thing here sometimes (even though some here will deny it).

 

Theft is theft and extortion is extortion.  Let the criminals be criminals but don't join their gang or adapt to their way of thinking.

[Lokie]

The minute he decided to walk out the airport without handing it in was THEFT, next...

[Gracas]

59 minutes ago, MeePeeMai said:

Right, he's a spoiled, lazy, good for nothing brat who was rescued by his daddy and the fools that gave him 835,000 baht on "go fund a phone thief".  I bet he hasn't learned any lessons yet and probably thinks nothing of it.  Lifetime blacklist at a minimum.

 

I think he has learned a very valuable lesson. He has learned that you can pick something up, for example a phone and then you have a new phone. BUT if you are caught people will through money at you and pay for it all to go away then pay for you to go home.

That's progress, never used to be like this years ago.

[Grusa]

10 hours ago, smedly said:

that is an interesting one - a wallet

 

Again it comes down to "intension", if the wallet contained the persons contact info like a phone number or address for example then you might get away with that to a point - provided you can prove your intension, if it contained the persons name only then you are in trouble unless you hand it in. If it contained an address you better have some way to very quickly prove you made an attempt at contact, ultimately it is always safer to hand it in.  

My wife and I noticed a wallet lying on the floor, just after the checkout at BigC. It was one of these fancy RFID protecting thingies, with a secure compartment for, I think, 5 cards, and an unsecured part with a few more. 

We thought, open it, if there is a phone number we will phone the owner. No phone number. Let's look at the cards, maybe we can contact the bank, or they will give us the number. Contents, a Thai driving licence, a Kasikorn atm card, two Chase Manhattan cards, and some others, all in an American name. We put the cards back in, inte ding to go to the on-site Kasikorn branch, to see if they would give us contact details. Disaster - the thing jammed, and no way could we get the Kasikorn card back out - or any of the others in the secure section. We obviously put in one too many, and jammed it!

Not wanting to cause any more damage, we took it to BigC customer services - who wanted nothing to do with it! We insisted on speaking to a manager, who understood immediately. We asked for a receipt, and that the owner should contact us to confirm the return of his belongings. The manager said he could not give us a receipt, but allowed us to photograph the wallet and such contents as we could access, and a copy of his report.

All this took about an hour. Later that evening we received a phone call thsnking us for finding and handing in his valuables, amd offering to meet us for a cup of coffee. He apparently lives just fown the road from us.

Nothing more was ever heard from him, not even for a coffee meeting. Som nam na.

[Isaanbiker]

 

 

 

9 hours ago, bangkokequity said:

Airports have a “lost and found” … and a paging system! … Any reasonable (and HONEST) person would realize there is a high likelihood the owner would realize their loss in a short time and RETURN to get their phone.

 

It is 2019, and almost every phone has some sort of key code, fingerprint scanner, or protective lock to prevent people from simply opening the phone.  So, how would this person even BEGIN to find the owner?

 

In short, he found a phone and made off with it. Period. Full stop.

 

Willing to bet there is a misunderstanding about the bail … Very good chance that when the (foreigner) press picked this up … they though the “20,000” was Pounds Sterling … not Thai Baht.

20,000 Pounds Sterling is 826,770 Thai Baht … really doubt even our friends in brown could muster the nerve to demand close to a million THB for “phone theft.”

 

     

         I’ve left my phone at a restaurant two weeks ago and didn’t realize it until we came home and I wanted to call a friend.

 

Considering the traffic, it took quite a while to get back and I was more than happy when the owner had taken it and waited for me to pick it up.

 

All your arguments regarding phones, if they have a fingerprint or a face scanner are so irrelevant that it already hurts, reading your post.

 

How would this person even begin to find the owner is a very strange question, in favor of a telephone thief?

 

He didn’t just find the phone; he stole it and there’s no excuse for doing so. Full stop.

 

Stealing a phone, no matter if there’s nobody nearby is a serious offense in Thailand and they have to set an example for certain reasons. It’s not relevant what you think is right or wrong, he didn’t find the phone he’s a thief who’s using somebody’s misfortune to have something he could use, sell at a phone store.

 

 I’m sure that the majority here would have given the phone to anybody trustworthy nearby to make sure that the owner gets his/her phone back. Let's hope that you forget your phone one day and never get it back. Then you might understand my point. 

 

 

"Although the Thai government assures everyone that theft cases in the Land of smiles are minimal, it is still beneficial to know the basics of Thai laws on Theft cases. Theft in Thailand is generally understood as unlawful taking of a property that does not being belong you. Under the Criminal Code of Thailand, whoever dishonestly takes away any thing that belongs to another person shall be imprisoned for three years and shall pay a fine of 6,000 Baht. Depending on the crime and your prison sentence you can be brought for extradition to your home country. Theft normally involves either fraud or violence in the commission of the crime."

 

   When I see this smile on his face it looks like showing the Thai government the middle finger. What an honest guy he really is. 

[Isaanbiker]

1 hour ago, Lokie said:

The minute he decided to walk out the airport without handing it in was THEFT, next...

It's getting way better. From his gofundme page:

 

      Chris would like to invite anyone who would like to come to Sturminster Marshall Golf Club on 27th April 1-7pm to join him for a drink and share his experiences in Thailand.

 

   https://www.gofundme.com/tbdje-get-chris-home

 

         Join him for a drink he'll pay with money people gave him to get out? Insanity at its best. Is daddy still enjoying Thailand? Could the whole family not bail him out? Oh, I forgot, it's easier to use others. 

 

    

Edited April 22, 2019 by Isaanbiker
Adding one sentence

[MeePeeMai]

It would be fitting if he was forced to return all of his “go fund a phone thief” earnings after he spent it all. 

 

Maybe he’ll get banged for not claimg it on his income taxes. 

[Isaanbiker]

2 hours ago, Hooliganzone said:

Where's the evidence that he stole it?

Did you read the story I posted previously about my friends phone?

Thais tend to think finders keepers but not so when it comes to forlangs.

One law for Thais another for farlangs

He "found" it but wasn't trying to find anybody to make sure that the owner gets his phone back, then took it home and got arrested. What does your friend's story have to do with this fact? Are all Thais now thieves who keep a found phone, but give the SIM card back? A very fishy story. 

[Elreeco]

16 hours ago, sanemax said:

Yes, why even touch it ?

Correct - 100% correct. Don't get involved.

[smedly]

4 hours ago, Grusa said:

My wife and I noticed a wallet lying on the floor, just after the checkout at BigC. It was one of these fancy RFID protecting thingies, with a secure compartment for, I think, 5 cards, and an unsecured part with a few more. 

We thought, open it, if there is a phone number we will phone the owner. No phone number. Let's look at the cards, maybe we can contact the bank, or they will give us the number. Contents, a Thai driving licence, a Kasikorn atm card, two Chase Manhattan cards, and some others, all in an American name. We put the cards back in, inte ding to go to the on-site Kasikorn branch, to see if they would give us contact details. Disaster - the thing jammed, and no way could we get the Kasikorn card back out - or any of the others in the secure section. We obviously put in one too many, and jammed it!

Not wanting to cause any more damage, we took it to BigC customer services - who wanted nothing to do with it! We insisted on speaking to a manager, who understood immediately. We asked for a receipt, and that the owner should contact us to confirm the return of his belongings. The manager said he could not give us a receipt, but allowed us to photograph the wallet and such contents as we could access, and a copy of his report.

All this took about an hour. Later that evening we received a phone call thsnking us for finding and handing in his valuables, amd offering to meet us for a cup of coffee. He apparently lives just fown the road from us.

Nothing more was ever heard from him, not even for a coffee meeting. Som nam na.

your intention was clear and plenty to verify, not sure why you went to an ATM, that puzzles me - well done

[Pattayabeerbacon]

The judge shoulda givin him 20 years for the hair cut alone.

[baansgr]

21 hours ago, Razek said:

give it to the nearest police station . ??? 

Don't touch it in the first place. Living through the troubles anything  unattended was a possible explosive. 

[Grusa]

2 hours ago, smedly said:

your intention was clear and plenty to verify, not sure why you went to an ATM, that puzzles me - well done

You misunderstand. We wanted to take the card into the branch, to see if the staff could provide contact details of the owner, or contact him themselves if they had security and privacy concerns. But, we could not as the card was jammed in this extremely secure wallet! 

[soistalker]

A thai steals from a foreigner, and it makes the news, the we get a story about a thai taxi driver who finds $30,000 and returns it ri a foreigner (which is bullsh!t).

A thai rapes and murders a foreigner, we get a guy thrown in jail for finding a phone for longer than that watch seller in pattaya who stabbed a guy.

 

Thais are so transparent.

[ivor bigun]

in the latest TV blog a Thai fisherman found a phone and returned it to an American was he charged with theft for removing the phone. NO NO NO it stinks,

This guy did not return it he stole it end of

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[ivor bigun]

Where's the evidence that he stole it?
Did you read the story I posted previously about my friends phone?
Thais tend to think finders keepers but not so when it comes to forlangs.
One law for Thais another for farlangs

Rubbish,,thats all i will say,never happened to me

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

The only things you can pick up and move to another location without fear of being accused of theft, in Thailand, are beers and girls over 18. ????????????????

[Andrew Dwyer]

Spotted a mobile/cel phone in a 20 baht shop recently amongst the goods for sale, called the cashier over and showed her.

 

The other day, in underground Lotus car park, a woman in a red plate Pajero had got in a difficult position trying to reverse out, her car was virtually touching the next car.

She wanted me to get it out for her, I explained , via the gf, that I didn’t want to drive her car for obvious reasons but would tell her which way to turn the wheel etc, which we did and all was good.

 

Common sense prevails in this situation and you can help someone without putting yourself in a “ situation “.

 

Seems to me the guy took the phone, checked it out before handing it in, if it was an unlocked iPhone XS maybe a different ending ?

[Skeptic7]

On 4/22/2019 at 5:54 AM, teatree said:

He found it at the airport.  Common sense would suggest you should walk to information desk at the airport and hand it over.  Not go to you hostel, go out for food and then think about handing it in.

True-ish...but then those at the info booth pocket it and sell it. No E-Z solution here if genuinely trying to return the phone. 

[bert bloggs]

5 hours ago, ivor bigun said:

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

 

5 hours ago, ivor bigun said:

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

 

Edited April 23, 2019 by bert bloggs

[bert bloggs]

Sorry dont know what went wrong take no notice of last two posts ,

[toofarnorth]

On 3/14/2019 at 9:05 PM, katana said:

He should be locked up for that haircut alone.

I agree, very hot now and I had my haircut today , 60B.  If my hair was as long as this chaps I might need a go-fund-me for a haircut , damn hippies.

[bert bloggs]

5 hours ago, ivor bigun said:

Rubbish,,thats all i will say,never happened to me

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Thas is a very honest country ,just look on the roads or Tesco etc motorbikes unlocked everywhere ,helmets hanging on them ,i left my car with the windows open(by accident ,in Big c ,everything was just as i left it ,do that in my old home town it would have been stripped , unlocked bikes gone in a flash , i see kids bikes propped up while the go off ,there when they come back ,he had no intention whatsoever of giving it back ,he could have gone to service and handed it in ,(no they would not sell it) he went home with it in his pocket ,then went out  and then came home and got caught, he had 100 chances to give it back he did not , he would have been arrested the same in the UK,i dont agree that he was put in prison ,they could have taken his passport and then sent him to trial for THEFT 

Sorry my fault i was really answering Holliganzone .not Ivor Bigun.

Edited April 23, 2019 by bert bloggs

[ttrd]

On 4/22/2019 at 4:18 AM, Razek said:

give it to the nearest police station . ??? 

First you need to locate it and on Your way to do so you have left the spot where you found it so regardless it is considered as teft under Thai Law - yet another useless Law that one may assume comes into conflict With human rights ...