Immigration's BMW "smart car" nabs snitched on overstaying Australian pensioner - he thought hiding in a country village would keep him safe

[CLW]

Land of smiles. Nice bunch of people. Reporting foreigners to the police and immigration. Even if they are not doing any harm to them. Gestapo and Stasi are greeting! Hope those people deserve the right karma later on! 

[dcnx]

4 hours ago, Antonymous said:

 

This is very hard to believe. So Thais are now supposed to report if they see any farang 'wandering around'? And then the IO will send the batmobile to investigate? Nonsense.

This is Thailand now. Coming soon to your village / city.

[NanLaew]

2 hours ago, CNXexpat said:

I wonder why the Thais know that the foreigners have no proper visa and extension. 

They don't. See post #47

 

1 hour ago, Isaanbiker said:

The media said that Region 4 immigration had received a tip that a foreigner was wandering about in the Khanun area of Sisaket, though the informant did not know the man's actual address.

 

I'd have thought that it's Khun Han district and a foreigner has reported him. If so, shame on this foreigner. Ditch the snitch. 

No, it's Khanun, the epicenter of rustic yokelry.

 

Are there some nasty, farang snitch types in Khun Han then?

 

1 hour ago, pookondee said:

The so called "smart car" is not a waste of money It can catch kangeroos on the run.

 

They should sell it to farmers in the Northern territory In Australia, where the kangeroos are considered real pests.

Doesn't even need a 'roo bar here tho'.

[bbbbooboo]

Hmm... I suspect that xenophobia disguised as immigration is alive and well. This is reflected in falling tourist numbers of course. TIT

[bkkcanuck8]

12 minutes ago, dcnx said:

This is Thailand now. Coming soon to your village / city.

Yes, there is an order out to report any 'white ghouls' wandering your town.

[shy coconut]

5 hours ago, rkidlad said:

What does this even mean? He was snitched on. That’s how immigration suspected he was on overstay. What on god’s green earth does a waste-of-money BMW have to do with it? Other than the fact that the immigration officers could have been driving a tuk tuk and it would have made zero difference to the outcome. 

I believe the BMW has computers on board linked to the immigration data base which

enables the officers to verify a person's status.

 

Snitched on is an overly dramatic (designed for outraged posters to respond to) word

meaning that someone called the hotline to report him.

 

You will see people posting things like "snitches need stitches" here on Thai visa. They can't

afford sports cars so make themselves feel better by looking tough on the internet!

[Ebumbu]

5 hours ago, Boomer6969 said:

But they'll never catch me.

 OK Boomer. 

[rkidlad]

6 minutes ago, shy coconut said:

I believe the BMW has computers on board linked to the immigration data base which

enables the officers to verify a person's status.

 

Snitched on is an overly dramatic (designed for outraged posters to respond to) word

meaning that someone called the hotline to report him.

 

You will see people posting things like "snitches need stitches" here on Thai visa. They can't

afford sports cars so make themselves feel better by looking tough on the internet!

Someone reported that a foreigner was walking around and they thought it was suspicious. Immigration combed the area and found the foreigner. They asked to see his passport and discovered he was on overstay. How did an overpriced BMW with computers onboard help? It didn’t. 

 

As for the ‘snitches’ comment, that’s what the person who wrote the article quoted. Take the term up with them. 

[Just Weird]

5 hours ago, lujanit said:

I wonder how many foreigners have been reported by xenophobic thais to Immigration.

I wonder how many foreigners have been reported by xenophobic foreigners to Immigration?

[sawadee1947]

Well, good investment in buying those BMWs in order to catch an old man who tries to have a quiet life in a rural area. 

However someone envy him who is happy now to see this evil subject being deported?? 

Is this what Thainess means? ????

[malibukid]

Do you come from a land down under (Oh yeah yeah)
Where women glow and men plunder
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover
 

[gearbox]

1 hour ago, Blue Muton said:

Wow, you're not allowed to take a private or company pension before you're 67 if you're an Aussie? That's harsh if true.

The Australian state pension (old age pension) is not really a pension, it is welfare that you need to qualify for. You don't have to have worked at all, just have 10+ years of permanent residence and be poor enough to jump over the thresholds. Of course as it is welfare the government tries to squeeze it all the time, the current qualifying age depends when you were born, and soon it will be 67 for everyone. There were talks to lift it to 70 but no agreement on that yet.

 

The private pension access starts from 55, and goes to 60 depending on the year you are born. Most people start accessing them after 60 as from there on they are tax free.

 

 

[Just Weird]

5 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

63 year old pensioner, WOW, last check, you had to be 67 + to get the pension in the land of Oz. Maybe he is on a disability pension ?

Maybe he is on a superannuation pension.

[ChouDoufu]

5 hours ago, rooster59 said:

A vinyl board had a heading indicating that the suspect was a "hiding kangeroo" and INN referred to the arrested man as "from the land of kangeroos" in their headline.

wow.

 

think about the "outrage" on social media if a western newspaper or police department publicized the arrest of a thai referring to him as a well-known local animal.

[SmartyMarty]

complete muppets.

[Lemonltr]

52 minutes ago, bkkcanuck8 said:

There are ways around that, which I would not recommend, but given overstay as an alternative -- would be better.  i.e. working through an agent that has back channels.  If you cannot even afford that on top of ... something like I pay which is 10,000 house rental (reasonably nice), electricity and food which should not exceed 20,000 a month if he were careful... and the fee of lets say 30,000 a year... then no... he is not going to add much to the economy at all.  In any case, each country can set it's own standards on who can stay and Thailand is still quite lax ...  Thailand has it's minimum standard and if you don't qualify - you should not be here.  I wound say the low wage labour that is here on mass does more to keep the Thai economy moving than any expat that does not even meet the minimum requirements.

Your concern for the Thai economy above personal desires is heartwarming. 

[geoff65]

5 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

Maybe he is on a disability pension ?

Probably doubt it, If he is on disability pension the government only pays benefits for one month when you go out of the country then your own ya own.

[emptypockets]

3 hours ago, CNXexpat said:

I wonder why the Thais know that the foreigners have no proper visa and extension. 

It's not the Thais you have to worry about. There will be many vindictive, jealous and plain down right nasty farang who will do the job for them.

[Just Weird]

5 hours ago, Antonymous said:

This is very hard to believe. So Thais are now supposed to report if they see any farang 'wandering around'? And then the IO will send the batmobile to investigate? Nonsense.

"Thais are now supposed to report if they see any farang 'wandering around'?...Nonsense".

You're right, what you said is nonsense, the IB has not said that.

[Nakmuay887]

If this car could drive around on its own and identify people on it's own with scans that would be impressive and worth a headline. 

 

Doesn't this car do exactly what any IO in the country already does? And doesn't an IO drive said "smart car" to bust the overstayer? 

[emptypockets]

2 hours ago, White Christmas13 said:

I got my pension at 65

If he's 63 now he will have to wait until at least 66.5 and will NOT get portability until he has spent two years residing in Australia either pre or post 66.5. A lot has changed since you got your pension.

[Marley01]

I’d be stuffed then, everyone in the village knows me. 

[IvorBiggun2]

What a bunch of hypocrites immigration are. Going around in fancy cars arresting over-stayers when they are illegally providing under the table extensions. 

[emptypockets]

2 hours ago, Isaanbiker said:

Good for you. Congrats. I have to wait until I'm 66.5 years old. 

And spend two years home detention before you can receive it overseas. If not you won't get a cent apparently. Maybe for the first six weeks, but essentially if you want to live out of Australia on the OAP  you have to do your time first.

Also to get the full pension you must have resided in Oz for 35 years.

[malibukid]

4 hours ago, tropo said:

You didn't get the point. This Aussie thought he'd be fine living a quiet life in the rural north east. Obviously he didn't think or know he would be caught. He also wasn't looking over his shoulders as he thought he was safe. He didn't count on Smart BMWs coming after him LOL. At the end of the day, they are doing him a favour. He'll be much better off in Australia without being surrounded by a bunch of xenophobic nitwits who somehow learned there are kangaroos in Australia and that they hop.

 

I'd put money down a scorned ex-girlfriend turned him in.

in L.A. we have cars that can hop

[bkkcanuck8]

3 minutes ago, Lemonltr said:

Your concern for the Thai economy above personal desires is heartwarming. 

What I am saying is your average farang that does not meet the qualifications (I do but I can't think of anything I want to spend things on) who can live on much less than I am spending (i.e. 3500 for a room) is not going to be a major contributor to the Thai economy in the way some seem to represent.  I have a large gated community -- most of which are Thai -- which probably spend at least as much as I do or more.  Being farang and residing here does not automatically magically drive the Thai economy into overdrive.  If that was the case they could just open up the borders and invite millions and sit there as a whole country of servants serving the master class known as farang and by some peoples representations - this will be good for Thailand.  Poppycock!  I see other threads where the same group of people generally speaking will argue that Thailand by putting it's eggs in one basket (Chinese tourists) is the cause of them being too dependent on a single source of income.  Well, the Thai economy with 12% based on tourism is still too dependent on tourism as a whole.  Selling the whole country as a servant class to outsiders is not the best for the country.  As such Thailand should be focusing on reducing tourism as a percentage of the economy and limiting the damage done by relying too heavily on tourism and protect the natural beauty of Thailand -- and in the process focus more on 'quality' not 'quantity'.

[emptypockets]

2 hours ago, ThaiBunny said:

You mean Peter Dutton hasn't done that already? Australian politicians are generally pretty adept at the dog-whistle - take the current coronavirus isolation on Christmas Island. It's Dutton and Scotty From Marketing reassuring the "Quiet Australians" that "we're keeping you safe from those filthy diseased Asians"

Link please.

[White Christmas13]

3 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

If he's 63 now he will have to wait until at least 66.5 and will NOT get portability until he has spent two years residing in Australia either pre or post 66.5. A lot has changed since you got your pension.

If he is 63 he won't be getting the pension unless he is on a invalid pension, he

can get the pension with 65 if he is born before 1954 but he need to reside

2 years in Australia again before he can apply.

[Just Weird]

 

 

4 hours ago, tropo said:

He'll be much better off in Australia without being surrounded by a bunch of xenophobic nitwits

You seem to think that were he's going now doesn't have just as many "xenophobic nitwits".

[Superphoenix]

This witch hunts and rants against farangs, lately even from a high ranked gov official is sickening. They’re showing us now not only at immigration offices how much they disrespect us, it seems to be almost everywhere in daily life. For me and my family, time to leave LOS. South America is waiting for us. ????