Theft charge against Briton ‘justified’ but dropped to let him fly home

[webfact]

Theft charge against Briton ‘justified’ but dropped to let him fly home

By The Nation

 

 

 

File photo : Chris Todd//his Facebook

 

Police are defending their decision to charge a Briton with theft of a mobile phone at Chiang Mai International airport, despite his insistence that he intended to return it to its owner.

 

Chris Dodd, 29, spent 10 days in jail in February after he was charged with stealing the phone belonging to a German tourist and remanded in custody by a court

 

The charge was dropped after his family and friends back home raised ฃ20,000 pounds (Bt 828,690) to pay a fine on his behalf. Dodd has since returned home and continues to protest his innocence.

 

Photo : BBC

 

He has also complained in interviews with the local media that he was forced to have his dreadlocks shaved while he was detained and had to sleep in an overcrowded jail where nobody spoke English.

 

Dodd, a tattoo artist, told the BBC that he found the phone just as he was about to get into the taxi after arriving at the airport.

 

The broadcaster says he told them he picked it up the phone and while looking for its owner he moved it to a different location, which is considered theft in Thai law.

 

Pol Colonel Krissana Pattanacharoen said police at Chiang Mai International Airport had been approached at 8.40pm on February 26 by a German tourist who said she had lost her mobile phone in the terminal.

 

CCTV footage showed a foreigner with dreadlocks and white cap pick up the phone from the floor of the passengers’ lounge before leaving the airport in a public van.

 

Police then traced the van to a guesthouse in Tambon Sripoom, Muang district and found the phone in the possession of British backpacker Dodd, who comes from Poole, Dorset.

 

“The SIM of the phone we confiscated from the British man had been removed, and the password and language changed,” said Krissana. “All the data had been wiped clean.

 

Police then took him to the Pupingrachaniwet police station to be charged.”

 

Based on the evidence, police charged him with theft and he was taken to Chiang Mai prison pending trial. He was freed on bail on March 11.

Krissana insisted that the shaving of the dreadlocks had been done in accordance with the regulations.

 

“We strictly follow the laws with respect to basic human rights,” Krissana added. “We are gathering information from his interviews to consider legal action against him.”

 

BBC quoted Dodd as saying: “I was stripped naked, sent in, given a blanket. Then, the next thing you know you’re being taken into the cells, where they house massive amounts of people.

 

"Nobody spoke English. It was really intimidating. You just have to fight for a space on the floor and you have people’s legs all over you.”

 

Dodd could have faced up to five years in prison had he been convicted but the charges against him were eventually waived so he could return home.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30368302

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-04-25

[toast1]

Er wot?

He 'found' a phone in the airport, did not hand it in to Lost and Found, but took it back to his hotel?

If you believe that story, ladies and gentlemen, then you'll believe anything. 

If I found a phone I would hand it in at the information desk. Why would I take it back to my place?

 

 

[madmen]

And he did a factory reset. 

[YetAnother]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

but the charges against him were eventually waived so he could return home.

meaning he was just too much trouble

[gomangosteen]

Will those dreadlocks make it through UK customs/immigration, or would fumigation be required first? 

[Hayduke]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Theft charge against Briton ‘justified’ but dropped to let him fly home

 

Which means...the 'correct' type of threats...caused the 'correct' amount of money...to be  given to the 'correct' uniformed official.

 

 

Edited April 25, 2019 by Hayduke

[watcharacters]

 

Since he clearly hadn't intended to  attempt to return the phone to its owner, he'd have been far better off to have never touched it.

 

I don't have good feelings towards thiefs no matter where they're from.

[lemonjelly]

Took it back to The guesthouse and removed the SIM...... thieving scum bag 

[worgeordie]

Collect a hefty fine,give phone back to German,job done for Thai authorities,

regards Worgeordie

 

[new2here]

I was kind of on his side.... UNTIL the allegation (I say allegation as this is reported and not backed up by independent evidence) that the SIM was removed and data wiped... THAT to me is hard to now justify a “I was trying to return it” mindset..

I wasn’t there.. haven’t seen all the evidence.. but for me, it’s hard for me to see a credible reason why one would want to or need to remove the SIM and wipe the data (again, IF in fact that is what happened) if the true motive was to return the item to its rightful owner.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[rskdev]

Lying Scum Bag!!! Those nasty dreadlocks probably smelled worse that the jail cell. Should be blacklisted.

[PerkinsCuthbert]

No matter whether you consider that he intended or not to keep the phone - and the balance of probability, by his actions after picking it up, suggest he did - the 800k Baht fine is, in my opinion, a grossly disproportionate response to the theft; does anyone seriously think that such an action, Thai on Thai, would lead to ten days in detention and an 800k Baht fine?

Some might think this a clear case of discrimination; I couldn't possibly comment.

[LazySlipper]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

he was forced to have his dreadlocks shaved while he was detained

Damn... Thai authorities should charge more backpackers... end result is cleaner looking falangs...

 

[Hockeybik]

4 hours ago, madmen said:

And he did a factory reset. 

Yeah, I was kinda on his side until I read that part. Dude, you're lucky you are back home. I'd <deleted> if I were you.

[Tropposurfer]

More examples of white arrogance;

how dare they put in a jail with others he should have been put up at at StRegis to await deportation !!!! and at Thai govt. cost! He a frigin thief and a liar! Tip rat! Bad guys out good guys in I say!!!

[newatthis]

3 hours ago, watcharacters said:

 

Since he clearly hadn't intended to  attempt to return the phone to its owner, he'd have been far better off to have never touched it.

 

I don't have good feelings towards thiefs no matter where they're from.

Yep, the motto here is: Leave the bloody thing on the ground and walk away. If it isn't yours, don't touch it. 

[Baerboxer]

5 hours ago, toast1 said:

Er wot?

He 'found' a phone in the airport, did not hand it in to Lost and Found, but took it back to his hotel?

If you believe that story, ladies and gentlemen, then you'll believe anything. 

If I found a phone I would hand it in at the information desk. Why would I take it back to my place?

 

 

 

And why would you change the SIM card and language if you intended to hand it in!

[Caldera]

If it's factually correct that he did reset the phone, I think a court in any country would have a hard time believing that he intended to return it as claimed. Not handing it in at the airport is highly questionable in itself.

[Ulic]

He is a thief but a snatch and grab of a gold necklace in Pattaya gets a ladyboy/motorcycle driver a 500 baht fine and next day release, this poor sap spends 20,000 pounds. A hell of an expat tax. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Just curious...what exactly is criminal theft under Thai law?

 

If I'm walking down the street, look down and find a 1000 baht bill laying on the ground, pick it up, and take it home... Can the police charge me with theft for finding money and not going somewhere to report the lost money???

 

I'm not defending what the guy is alleged to have done... Actually taking/thieving a phone from someone clearly is theft... But finding something that's been lost and not returning it, that seems a bit more of a gray area.

 

I guess, a phone is something that you're more likely/almost certainly going to be able to trace back to the original owner who lost it... But something else like a 1000 baht bill, it's going to be basically impossible to identify who may have lost the item and return it to them.  So then what?

 

 

Edited April 25, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[marcusb]

Theft charge against Briton ‘justified’ but dropped to let him fly home

 

 

Does that mean he didn't pay any fine?  I see him as guilty but if he truly paid that high of a fine it is ridiculous.  

[PerkinsCuthbert]

9 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Just curious...what exactly is criminal theft under Thai law?

 

If I'm walking down the street, look down and find a 1000 baht bill laying on the ground, pick it up, and take it home... Can the police charge me with theft for finding money and not going somewhere to report the lost money???

 

I'm not defending what the guy is alleged to have done... Actually taking/thieving a phone from someone clearly is theft... But finding something that's been lost and not returning it, that seems a bit more of a gray area.

 

I guess, a phone is something that you're more likely/almost certainly going to be able to trace back to the original owner who lost it... But something else like a 1000 baht bill, it's going to be basically impossible to identify who may have lost the item and return it to them.  So then what?

 

 

I found a 1000 Baht note on the stairs of an upstairs bar in Patpong one night years ago; had a most enjoyable evening.

[jspill]

1 hour ago, Baerboxer said:

And why would you change the SIM card and language if you intended to hand it in!

Why would you believe the police on any details like that after learning they profited 20,000 pounds from the guy's family

[tifino]

it would not matter whether it was a phone, nor an untraceable 1000 note. He was directly witnessed linked to the taking of the item

 

 

could it have been the uk backpacker was a deeper thinker; and had cleared the phone, to protect himself from further complications? one will never know what else was on it' that could have then been attributed to the dreadlocker subsequently 'possessing' it...

 

 

[Franko666]

6 hours ago, YetAnother said:

meaning he was just too much trouble

Meaning the cops got a shit load of money......

[oldrunner]

Permanently barred from Thailand. Useless long haired thief (Minus dreadlocks)

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, Ulic said:

He is a thief but a snatch and grab of a gold necklace in Pattaya gets a ladyboy/motorcycle driver a 500 baht fine and next day release, this poor sap spends 20,000 pounds. A hell of an expat tax. 

 

I believe this is the most news worthy part of this story. 

 

Yes, it would appear that the British Backpacker is a thief (especially if he did wipe the phone and remove the sim). 

 

BUT... and its a big But, Thai's accused of Confrontational thief, snatching Necklaces and phones etc (and in the hours of darkness when crime is considered more serious in Thailand) are presented with insignificant penalties - a slap on the wrist.

 

Whether we feel he deserves it or not is beyond the point that this would appear to be a clear case of extortion to profit from a criminal based on his nationality by those claiming to be upholding the law.

 

It would appear that a larger crime has been committed under the guise of law enforcement - the hypocrisy is outstanding. 

 

-------------

 

Will the Thai woman who robbed a Chinese tourist be facing the same treatment?

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1096803-thai-woman-arrested-for-robbing-chinese-tourist-in-pattaya/page/2/#comments

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 25, 2019 by richard_smith237

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, tifino said:

it would not matter whether it was a phone, nor an untraceable 1000 note. He was directly witnessed linked to the taking of the item

 

 

He didn't "take" the phone... He found the phone unattended, and didn't turn it in....

 

I go back to the 1000 baht note found on the street example I mentioned above... Say a CCTV camera on my soi ends up recording me picking up the bill off the street and going home with it?  What difference does that make?

 

Yes, I found it and picked it up off the street.... I would have no idea how it got there or who to return it to... So is that criminal theft... I don't think so....  

 

But as I noted above, a mobile phone presumably is a bit different in that it contains info inside that would likely allow the identification of the owner, and its return to that owner...  Still, it's not the same as if he directly stole or took the phone from its owner.

 

To me at least, criminal theft is actually stealing something from someone -- as opposed to finding something unattended and failing to turn it in... I'm not defending what he did or saying it was right. Just saying, he didn't deserve 10 days in jail for it.

 

Whatever happened to "finders keepers, losers weepers..."?

 

 

Edited April 25, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Thingamabob]

Very lucky boy. Just what we don't need here. A grubby expat who gives us a bad name.

[khunPer]

11 hours ago, webfact said:

“The SIM of the phone we confiscated from the British man had been removed, and the password and language changed,” said Krissana. “All the data had been wiped clean.

Seems like a very polite British gentleman that makes sure he give a clean phone back to the owner...????

Edited April 25, 2019 by khunPer