Advice sought on serious drug matter

[Mick501]

Girlfriend of three months is facing a charge of possessing a couple of kilos of ganja.  Her version is that she was living with her ex.  The police raided the house and found the drugs.  She was in bed at the time with their infant son.  She had no knowledge of the drugs.  The ex was generally abusive and had affairs, and used violence or threats to ensure his extra curricular activities were not disturbed by her.  No money was spent on either her or the child to make her think there was anything unusual.

 

The ex boyfriend apparently initially wrote her name on something, which is why she has been charged.  He has since made a statement that she was not involved.

 

There does not seem to be any evidence to implicate her.

 

She is very naive and has never seen ganja.  Indeed, she thought a cigar being passed around at a bar was ganja (which I witnessed and is a significant reason why I believe she would have no involvement.  Anyone dealing in kilos knows the difference)

 

She has had a basic consultation from a Thai lawyer.  She has no money and pretty much got the advice you would expect from a lawyer who briefly skims the case (if that) - plead guilty, say you are an addict and serve maybe two years.

 

Hoping  to find out whether a "fine" can be paid to avoid court,  even though she has been charged.

 

Also seeking to be pointed in the direction of competent legal professionals who might be able to offer advice.

 

thanks in advance.

[Swedenlars]

Girlfriend of three months is facing a charge of possessing a couple of kilos of ganja.  Her version is that she was living with her ex.  The police raided the house and found the drugs.  She was in bed at the time with their infant son.  She had no knowledge of the drugs.  The ex was generally abusive and had affairs, and used violence or threats to ensure his extra curricular activities were not disturbed by her.  No money was spent on either her or the child to make her think there was anything unusual.
 
The ex boyfriend apparently initially wrote her name on something, which is why she has been charged.  He has since made a statement that she was not involved.
 
There does not seem to be any evidence to implicate her.
 
She is very naive and has never seen ganja.  Indeed, she thought a cigar being passed around at a bar was ganja (which I witnessed and is a significant reason why I believe she would have no involvement.  Anyone dealing in kilos knows the difference)
 
She has had a basic consultation from a Thai lawyer.  She has no money and pretty much got the advice you would expect from a lawyer who briefly skims the case (if that) - plead guilty, say you are an addict and serve maybe two years.
 
Hoping  to find out whether a "fine" can be paid to avoid court,  even though she has been charged.
 
Also seeking to be pointed in the direction of competent legal professionals who might be able to offer advice.
 
thanks in advance.

Pack your things right away and go somewhere else. And please believe me. If not, well then things might get nasty any time soon.

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[Mick501]

2 minutes ago, Swedenlars said:

Pack your things right away and go somewhere else. And please believe me. If not, well then things might get nasty any time soon.

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Fairly extreme suggestion.  Could you please explain why you think that is the way to go?

[baansgr]

Thai Lawyer fees are probably the most xpensive in the world with no reason or breakdown of charging structure. Police corruption is rife so is a possibility...Why was your gf living with her ex....or have you inherited the problem from outset....puts a new twist on a sick buffalo.

[Tayaout]

This will not end well. 

[Mick501]

5 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Thai Lawyer fees are probably the most xpensive in the world with no reason or breakdown of charging structure. Police corruption is rife so is a possibility...Why was your gf living with her ex....or have you inherited the problem from outset....puts a new twist on a sick buffalo.

Inherited the problem.  She hasn't been pushing for financial help, to her credit

[Swedenlars]

Fairly extreme suggestion.  Could you please explain why you think that is the way to go?

Well, after having lived in Thailand many years I know what is going to happen to her and later on to you as well. Furthermore, it might be even a trap in order to get involved yourself. To cut the story short, stay away from people who are involved in drugs. Even more from those who have already a case like you girlfriend. Playing a hero in such cases is not a good idea. Unless you don't mind losing a lot of money or worse. And BTW, what I'm telling you is far from extreme.

 

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[timendres]

5 minutes ago, Swedenlars said:

Well, after having lived in Thailand many years I know what is going to happen to her and later on to you as well. Furthermore, it might be even a trap in order to get involved yourself. To cut the story short, stay away from people who are involved in drugs. Even more from those who have already a case like you girlfriend. Playing a hero in such cases is not a good idea. Unless you don't mind losing a lot of money or worse. And BTW, what I'm telling you is far from extreme.

This advice is not extreme, nor is it extraordinary. I have personally witnessed Thai women working with the police to entrap foreigners. While this sounds unlikely in your case, you still are running the very real risk that you will somehow be "attached" to the situation. You cannot possibly imagine (without personal experience), the degree of risk to which you are exposed at this moment. You probably think that the police involved are concerned about justice and are going to follow the law. You need to put distance between yourself and this situation. Serious distance.

[Curt1591]

29 minutes ago, Swedenlars said:

Pack your things right away and go somewhere else. And please believe me. If not, well then things might get nasty any time soon.

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25 minutes ago, Mick501 said:

Fairly extreme suggestion.  Could you please explain why you think that is the way to go?

Whether she is involved, or not, she shows that she doesn't make good decisions. Most people can go through life without getting involved in such drama. This is your chance not to get involved.

Have you been witness to the actual legal proceedings? 

[Mick501]

3 minutes ago, Curt1591 said:

 

Whether she is involved, or not, she shows that she doesn't make good decisions. Most people can go through life without getting involved in such drama. This is your chance not to get involved.

Have you been witness to the actual legal proceedings? 

As I said, she's naive.  Young and still learning about life.  She lives with me and we are a couple so walking away is not really an option.   The events predated me being in LoS.  

[SteveK]

As a foreigner you need to get as far away from this situation as possible. If it were me, I would get a new sim card and move on. If you try and help or intervene in any way, you could well end up being implicated in some way. 

 

Even if you do the right thing and flee, this could still come back to bite you, the Thai legal system is not based on facts and evidence, but social standing and ability to provide brown envelopes.

Edited August 17, 2019 by SteveK

[Mick501]

7 minutes ago, SteveK said:

As a foreigner you need to get as far away from this situation as possible. If it were me, I would get a new sim card and move on. If you try and help or intervene in any way, you could well end up being implicated in some way. 

Do you walk away from friends/ girlfriends when they need help ?

[Swedenlars]

Whether she is involved, or not, she shows that she doesn't make good decisions. Most people can go through life without getting involved in such drama. This is your chance not to get involved.

Have you been witness to the actual legal proceedings? 

No. But the stories of expats who had the courage to endure legal cases in Thailand are endless. Does not matter for your wife, girlfriend or for yourself. They know pretty soon there is alien behind helping in case you trying to help her. If you have a legal case yourself, even worse.. And the winner is always ? The lawyer and Thailand. OK, I stop now. Make your decision. As the Thai love to say: Up to you.

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[SteveK]

5 minutes ago, Mick501 said:

Do you walk away from friends/ girlfriends when they need help ?

Playing the hero in Thailand will end in tears, trust me. You can afford to lose a 3 month relationship, especially when you could end up in legal trouble in Thailand, which doesn't bear thinking about. Things are very different here to your home country. If someone points a finger at you then you will be in a whole new world of stress, and very fast.

Edited August 17, 2019 by SteveK

[timendres]

1 minute ago, Mick501 said:

Do you walk away from friends/ girlfriends when they need help ?

Three months? Not the same as a wife of 10 years. Not the same as a friend since childhood. Not the same as your brother. In three months, you know nothing of this girl's past or her life. Feel free to stay in the box, but do not be surprised when this all goes pear shaped. You have been given the correct advice. Ignore it at your own peril.

[OneMoreFarang]

I understand that you want to support her. The question is how far are you willing to do that?

If you have to pay i.e. 100,000B for a lawyer would you do that and can you afford it?

And how about if someone visits you at night and tells you to stay away from things which don't concern you. Will you still support her?

I don't say these things will happen but I guess they might happen. And maybe it's better you think now how far you want to go to support her.

If you don't help her maybe she goes to jail and maybe her life is ruined. But if you help her maybe something similar can happen to your life. Do you want to take that risk?

 

I have no idea how far criminals go and how much warning they give you. But I think we all agree that lots of crimes in this country wouldn't happen if the police wouldn't look actively the other way. Likely they don't really care about evidence and justice. There are other criteria and possibly influential people involved. You are just a very small and unimportant part...

[moonseeker]

Get her a good, local criminal lawyer. He will find out how far the situation has progressed and start having talks and try to resolve either on 

police level or state-attorney's office. 

Gonna cost serious money, one way or another, but a good lawyer can resolve. Especially, if the case is as clear as you describe it. Usually the faster

support & talks start, the better. Yes, some of the harsh advise is not out-of-line. You should stay in the background and be aware, which you surely 

already are, you are in a country with very different "ways" from home.

 

 

Best of luck.    MS>

Edited August 17, 2019 by moonseeker

[phycokiller]

ganja is something that you can pay the police to make go away. might be quite expensive tho. 100,000b +. 

[SteveK]

Just now, phycokiller said:

ganja is something that you can pay the police to make go away. might be quite expensive tho. 100,000b +. 

Unlikely in this case.

[Kwasaki]

2 minutes ago, Mick501 said:

Not trolling.  Would definitely rather not be involved, but unfortunately it's a real circumstance.

You wrote

"The ex boyfriend apparently initially wrote her name on something, which is why she has been charged.  He has since made a statement that she was not involved."

So what's the problem. ?

[Mick501]

10 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I understand that you want to support her. The question is how far are you willing to do that?

If you have to pay i.e. 100,000B for a lawyer would you do that and can you afford it?

And how about if someone visits you at night and tells you to stay away from things which don't concern you. Will you still support her?

I don't say these things will happen but I guess they might happen. And maybe it's better you think now how far you want to go to support her.

If you don't help her maybe she goes to jail and maybe her life is ruined. But if you help her maybe something similar can happen to your life. Do you want to take that risk?

 

I have no idea how far criminals go and how much warning they give you. But I think we all agree that lots of crimes in this country wouldn't happen if the police wouldn't look actively the other way. Likely they don't really care about evidence and justice. There are other criteria and possibly influential people involved. You are just a very small and unimportant part...

Thanks.  Some comstructive points to think about. . As I said in the OP, I'm hoping to be steered in the direction of a good lawyer who has experience with this type of thing.

[SteveK]

If you love her and can easily drop $10k with the prospect of potentially being implicated in the crime, go for it. You can find a new girlfriend in 30 minutes, so I think you've been given good advice so far.

[Don Mega]

How did she make parole ?

[Mick501]

4 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

You wrote

"The ex boyfriend apparently initially wrote her name on something, which is why she has been charged.  He has since made a statement that she was not involved."

So what's the problem. ?

She has been charged.  He is willing to give evidence to say she had no part in it.

[CharlieH]

You have chosen to ride this train, get professional qualified advice and guidance, do not rely on guesswork of "he said this" etc from an internet forum.

Don't speculate, if you are going to get involved, make sure you are informed accurately and correctly according to the law and ensure you put yourself and your situation and circumstances to the fore.

[Mick501]

I don't have my head in the sand about the Thai legal system.  Hard to see in this case any reason why there might be retribution.  The boyfriend is pleading guilty.  There are no higher up people implicated or exposed.  The only possibility would be the police being another if they lost the case (which I acknowledge as a real possibility, though probably unlikely)

 

i also appreciate there is potentially a significant cost.  

 

The advice im looking for is pretty much whether it is worth it to spend that money in a legal or sub-legal (payment of fine) sense.

[Mick501]

13 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

How did she make parole ?

She is on bail

[SteveK]

Just now, Mick501 said:

Hard to see in this case any reason why there might be retribution.  

Don't be naive, as foreigner getting involved in a legal case in Thailand, especially one involving drugs, there could be retribution against you in one form or another, which is why so many people are advising you to steer clear of this matter.

[Don Mega]

2 minutes ago, Mick501 said:

She is on bail

Yeah my bad.... I confused parole with bail.... Who paid the bail ?

[Mick501]

1 minute ago, SteveK said:

Don't be naive, as foreigner getting involved in a legal case in Thailand, especially one involving drugs, there could be retribution against you in one form or another, which is why so many people are advising you to steer clear of this matter.

It's sad those people throw away good relationships so readily.  That wasn't the advice I was seeking.  Thanks for your input all the same.