Stop! Immigration call a halt to illegal work seminar in Chiang Mai

[MartinKal]

5 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Looks like the government are successfully doing their best to deter people to visit Thailand.

Only the north, I fear

[MartinKal]

4 hours ago, baansgr said:

I would assume the participants paid a fee to the organisers of the event who were in fact working without a permit... Are immigration  really wrong to arrest illegal workers....

It was a matter that could have perhaps better been regulated off stage, without the need to cancel an event that was important for the hotel, local people, and the tourist industry.

 

Some might consider this high profile response disproportionate.

 

Maybe we dont have all the facts.

[EricTh]

They should have hold it in YMCA, I see a lot of seminars there almost everyday.

 

 

[EricTh]

2 hours ago, Number 6 said:

I can see the issue if money is being made. It's business and Thailand and the cops not getting their cut. Fair enough but a license? Hopefully they mean a permit. Anyway, it's hopelessly anti business. Just hope it was something worth shutting down like MLM or how to set up boiler room operation in Thailand. 

 

Shame on the hotel for letting it happen.

 

 

Money is made for digital nomads too doing videos online or selling stuff online while they are in Thailand.

 

Do you see immigration arresting these digital nomads?

 

 

 

 

[Sujo]

In malaysia the news is that it was a currency scam. But they dont explain how it is a scam.

 

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/10/22/10-malaysians-nabbed-in-thailand-over-investment-scam/1802683

[Number 6]

11 minutes ago, EricTh said:

 

Money is made for digital nomads too doing videos online or selling stuff online while they are in Thailand.

 

Do you see immigration arresting these digital nomads?

 

 

 

 

I don't follow the news so closely but entirely unaware of any *digital nomads* arrested other than a few idiots that basically brought it upon themselves (few).

 

Besides, if they are nomadic why do they all need to be so archored in Thailand?

 

[happy chappie]

And tomorrow's new is.....immigration says we have spoken to all involved and it was agreed it was a misunderstanding.

This country is one big joke.

[EricTh]

16 minutes ago, Number 6 said:

I don't follow the news so closely but entirely unaware of any *digital nomads* arrested other than a few idiots that basically brought it upon themselves (few).

 

Besides, if they are nomadic why do they all need to be so archored in Thailand?

 

 

 

To hold the seminar in China where most participants came from would have incurred a higher cost for the organizer, I would think.

 

It's the same reason as the digital nomads i.e. cost of living is lower in Thailand.

 

These digital nomads live in Thailand on shoestring budget but do Youtube videos among other things to earn money.

Edited October 23, 2019 by EricTh

[inactiveposter]

Seminar title - Basic Understanding of Legal Loopholes with Special High Intensity Training.

[ponder]

6 hours ago, cmsally said:

Err , name of hotel not mentioned. It is right there on the photo of the immigration banner !!

Khum Phaya Resort & Spa, Centara Boutique Collection

Website

Directions

 

 

 

 

 

Save

 

 

[ttrd]

6 hours ago, colinneil said:

Shocking holding a seminar without first parting with the required brown envelope.

Immigration police should get a BIG pat on the back for sorting out those major criminals, making Thailand safe.

I will stop laughing soon.!!!!

RE - I will stop laughing soon.!!!!

 

* Have my doubts, but if then we may assume replaced with crying ...

[peter14]

The downfall of Thailand !!  Worsening and worsening 

[Mavideol]

was starting to doubt but just came back to reality, this country really is a militaristic/dictatorship control freak place .... let's see if the MODS let it pass

[ukrules]

2 hours ago, EricTh said:

 

Money is made for digital nomads too doing videos online or selling stuff online while they are in Thailand.

 

Do you see immigration arresting these digital nomads?

 

I heard something about someone being arrested in Hua Hin for putting a banner advert on his website.

[ChipButty]

Been going on for years I think every MLM company in the world has tried to get a foothold in Thailand it used to be almost every hotel along Rachadapiesek road doing seminars at the weekend 

[ChipButty]

2 hours ago, Sujo said:

In malaysia the news is that it was a currency scam. But they dont explain how it is a scam.

 

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/10/22/10-malaysians-nabbed-in-thailand-over-investment-scam/1802683

Cryptocurrencies 

[Burma Bill]

9 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Looks like the government are successfully doing their best to deter people to visit Thailand.

Yes indeed and the participants were all CHINESE - great!!

 

 

[ThomasThBKK]

Quote

Deputy Immigration Police Chief Area 5 (North Provinces) Pol Col Ekkorn Boossababordin said all the suspects had since been charged with illegally working in Thailand and fined 10,000 baht (RM1,382) each.

 

 

Acting on a tip-off, police arrested the group on Sept 20 for illegally organising a currency investment seminar targeted at about 100 Chinese tourists and investors, he told a press conference here today. They were charged on the same day.

“They told the participants to invest in digital currency with promise of hefty profits.

 

“The syndicate could have raked in over 10 million baht if it had succeeded in luring the victims,” he said.

 

 

... so deserved and good job.

 

 

wasn't about doing a conference then, was about an MLM/Ponzi sheme... the footage looked like the infamous onecoin so not surprised.

 

Why charged them with illegal working and not attempted investment fraud is beyond me tho...

 

 

Edited October 23, 2019 by ThomasThBKK

[Raymonddiaz]

9 hours ago, bluesofa said:

GPS: General Permission to Sh!t.

GPS Permit after getting a Work permit. 

[ylmiri]

8 hours ago, keith101 said:

But as we all know each Imm office has its own rules and what can be done in one place cannot in another .

Precisely Mr Keith101, the Imm office is a powerful entity by itself, it fears nobody neither does it answers to anyone, so Tourism ministry knows it is useless to complain.

   Why are these people choosing Thailand for convention or big conference ? There are other countries much better and suitable for such purposes.

Thailand is not cheap anymore. It used to be cheap so the impression still lingers on.

[ylmiri]

7 hours ago, ThomasThBKK said:

Holding seminars is allowed, paid conferences def. not, even in bangkok they handle it like that.

 

 

thai laws as always mean nothing anyway, banana...

banana=dick=<deleted>

[ylmiri]

Just now, ylmiri said:

banana=dick=<deleted>

wot's wrong with a little pick?

[mapleleafrag]

Funny, there's a 'Nomad Summit' conference every year in Chiang Mai, next is on Jan 17th to 21st, 2020...  run by Johnny Jen or Johnny FD, whatever he calls himself now... Johnny Wolf was his name when he was scamming losers out of $1000s for his 'bootcamps' and summits as a pick up artist down on the islands before he changed his niche to the digital nomad thing - the guy hosts these Nomad Summits while on tourist visas and makes like $30,000+ (USD) a time from gullible people who buy into his rubbish. There have been a few reddit posts where people show he's photoshopped income reports and lied about a million different things but somehow he still manages to stay afloat. Have to give him credit for that at least! Nowadays he spends a lot of time in Europe since his name is dirt in Chiang Mai among those with a brain and those who've been there a while, but there's an endless stream of naive newbies who buy into the lifestyle and see him as their guru, it's kinda sad.

 

How he hasn't been picked up for it I don't know, he's been taking the <deleted> for years. Him and his idiotic blog and those following him flaunting working online and whatever have no doubt contributed to the tightening of everything. 

Edited October 23, 2019 by mapleleafrag

[KKr]

10 hours ago, colinneil said:

Immigration police should get a BIG pat on the back for sorting out those major criminals, making Thailand safe

if this gets out in the media, we can kiss the MICE market good-bye.
who wants to hold a conference, a seminar, corporate activities, or incentive travel in a country where one can be accused of working without a working permit while attending, co-organising, sitting on a panel, or may-the-as-if-and-what above forbid, ask a question while attending a seminar.
Not to even mention the fall-out caused by the customer group that will not stop talking about this for the next ten years, guaranteed. 
That is 100 attendants times at least 100 mentions per year for ten years equals to 100.000 documented complaints, and that is without mentioning re-tweets of this creative effort of law enforcement on social media. 

They could have at least waited until the end of the seminar, and avoid the media fall-out, but hey, then what about the photo-op. 

you should not be laughing, this is so sad.

[Ketyo]

Good work!  And well done to the immos. Why do Chinese think they don't have to follow rules?Good work!  

[Fred white]

100 chinese but 10 malaysians taken away I guess the chinese were let go

[ThomasThBKK]

3 hours ago, Fred white said:

100 chinese but 10 malaysians taken away I guess the chinese were let go

 

yeah of course they were, they were victims of a 10 million baht scam fasciliated by a bunch of malaysians.

 

Did you guys even read the thread? 

 

 

This was literally a ponzi sheme getting <deleted>, not more and not less...

[hotchilli]

21 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Looks like the government are successfully doing their best to deter people to visit Thailand.

I'm sure T.A.T will step in to clear up the mis-understanding.

[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, Ketyo said:

Good work!  And well done to the immos. Why do Chinese think they don't have to follow rules?Good work!  

They're just letting you know how it works after they've moved in... They make the rules.

Just take a long look at Sihanoukville in Cambodia.

 

[Berkshire]

On 10/23/2019 at 9:14 AM, Just1Voice said:

Everyone at that seminar will go home and tell everyone they know about this b.s., further diminishing Thailands reputation, if that is possible. 

Hmmm....so this may result in fewer Chinese tourists.  Is there a downside.....55555