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

[aussienam]

7 hours ago, ChipButty said:

It has the Bio metrics on board instant recognition dont need to ask Im not sure if it's automatic  I agree they dont need BMW's to do that just a simple phone app would do 

I believe it's to capture sheer numbers.  Scanning faces constantly from pedestrian traffic.  Officials would not be needing to manually stop and ask every foreigner for ID or running a manual face scan. Much more efficient and greater volumes of checks. 

Same concept as traffic cars that scan number/registration plates on motor vehicles that identify unlawfully driven vehicles or persons wanted in connection to the vehicle.  

It is great technology.  It's rolling out across the globe.  No way to hide for crooks unless they conceal their faces or avoid public places.

Edited February 15, 2020 by aussienam

[Salerno]

35 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

Sheesh....The camera on the roof of these smart cars are a facial recognition camera that is coupled to a computer in the car with a direct link to the immigration data base which is the same system that is used in other countries including Australia. No smartphone with wifi could handle anything like that not even in the US. We used this system in Australia several years ago.

No we didn't.

[Mark mark]

Reading the posts around my first one above, ... YES, I think that having to have the 800,000 in the bank would certainly be a problem for some people !

 

I have heard from a Friend that lives in Batembang Cambodia for several months a year, …That there are people that have turned up there now, who say that they have too much problem with getting Visas for Thailand, so they are giving Cambodia a go ! ? …. (And I wish them the best of Luck ! having lived in Cambodia a bit myself. Like a VERY DANGEOUS place Cambodia ! …  If you ask me !!!)

 

… Yes having to have that amount of money in the bank, to be able to get the Non 0- Visa !!!  Like 40,000 AUD ! And I think that this is over the usual average Australian basic wage for 12 Months there now ? I think ? d/t the Rise of the Bart and the fall of the AUD ! .... SO, YES it is a pretty big Ask for a LOT of People I am Sure ! ... And I DO have sympathy for them .... But Still, you want to live in Thailand ! ? .... Well YOU still DO have to be able to afford it !!! Like that Fact or not. ....

 

But then, the Having to have Health insurance threat ? ... Not Reality YET ! for the NON 0- ! ? and I do think my self, that they will not enact that one, as they DO know that it would decimate a huge proportion of the Paying, NON O- residents here !!! ..... But, well that WOULD be a problem if they even do, do that !!! And it will be a Great one to me also being 64 now and 65 soon !!! ...

 

But well reading my reasonable, Local Immigration officials Faces ... I do not think that they will impose this ? ... and if they do I think that they WILL probably be able to get me the insurance in their office, ? or Nearby, locally, and efficiently enough, ... if they do ???

 

But this will just be ANOTHER pretty great expense for some people that just do not have that sort of money and well wages having been stagnant now for over the last 10 Years !!! Yes I DO have a lot of sympathy for these people. ....  And well for myself if this ever happens !!!

 

.... So how much are 2 month tourist Visas any way these days ? and then 1 month extension, ... and I wonder how you would go continually renewing it every 3 Months ? ... on a Good Holiday to a neighboring country ?

[Russell17au]

2 minutes ago, Salerno said:

No we didn't.

What department did you work for?

 

[madmen]

8 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.

Don't believe everything that you read that requires translation 

[rexall]

23 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

I think your getting a little ahead of yourself, most people know that a pension is predominantly a payment received from a government. Superannuation on the other hand is contribution made to your super fund over the years by your employer or yourself is self employed, therefore is you decide to take as an income stream, it is an income stream, not really a pension albeit it is it paid to you like a pension, therefore I would refer to him as a retiree if he has an income stream.

 

To add to the above, take me for an example, I retired at 55 and I live of my life savings, from dividends and bank interest, which get paid to me every 6 months, e.g. both from dividends and bank savings, does that make me a pensioner as these funds are paid to me from an income stream, e.g. every 6 months, NO and that is the end of the story, i.e. a pensioner is someone who receives money from the government, either fortnightly or monthly.

 

No doubt you will care to differ.

In the U.S. many people receive pensions from a former employer, assuming they are "vested" and the company has not gone broke. It used to be the rule rather than the exception for those who spend the majority of their career with one employer to receive a pension, separate from and in addition to Social Security retirement benefits or any other income sources or assets.

[fred110]

9 hours ago, lujanit said:

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

Some are reported by other falang.

[sambum]

1 hour ago, emptypockets said:

My last sentence means exactly what I said. If you think I reeks of something else that's your problem. You yourself said the problem doesn't happen in other Asian countries.

No I didn't - I said " which doesn't happen (as far as I know) in most other Asian countries!" Do try to read the replies properly before commenting on them!

Anyway, before this gets out of hand, I am giving up on this one - I sympathise with the old guy! Bye Bye - Have a nice day!

[Salerno]

16 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

What department did you work for?

Obviously not the one you did. Show us one link from years ago stating we have cop cars driving around using facial recognition.

Edited February 15, 2020 by Salerno

[Parsve]

Once again a catch of one of the big bad boys. I have to admit that I admire those cops for how brave they are that fight those criminals, probably with the risk of their own life.

[Russell17au]

2 minutes ago, Salerno said:

Obviously not the one you did. Show us one link from years ago stating we have cop cars driving around using facial recognition.

I did not say police cars, This system was used around Lang Lang in South Gippsland during the asparagus picking season, also around Selby in the Dandenongs during the strawberry picking season and around the Mildura area during various fruit picking seasons

[dallen52]

Don't need a smart car if some local dobs you in for a meagre reward. 

 

So much for what the farang has probably done in the village, and taking someone's cast off thai lady..

 

Sad, really sad. 

[metisdead]

Some troll posts with unsubstantiated allegations of pedophilia and the replies have been removed.

 

Some posts with offensive Hitler/Nazi references and the replies have been removed.

[ukrules]

Note to self : Don't buy a BMW brand car, they're out to get us ????

 

I'm sure the BMW Group Corporate brand promotional and intellectual property / copyright department will be very pleased that their corporate 'BMW' brand has become synonymous with 'snitching' on the enemies of the people - the foreigner.

 

I can't wait until they see this come up in google as I've added plenty of the relevant keywords for them to find ????

[echrist]

probably better off hiding out in plain sight, like in BKK where foreigners don't draw much attention. 

[SteveK]

Why are the Thais so hellbent on rounding up people on overstay when there are far more pressing concerns to worry about? How much harm does a elderly westerner do the country by being on overstay?

 

Spending so much money, time and effort to catch people who are doing nothing than staying a bit longer than they should is a bit foolish. Surely they should just wait until these people turn up at a hospital, police station, airport or border crossing and deal with them then? No need for all these very expensive BMWs then.

Edited February 15, 2020 by SteveK

[Parsve]

3 hours ago, sambum said:

One of my touchy points! A "farang" man married to a Thai National now has to prove income of a minimum of 40,000 baht a month deposited into a Thai bank from abroad in order to qualify for an extension based on marriage. On the other hand, a single man requiring an extension based on retirement has to deposit a minimum of 65,000 baht a month! Since when is it more expensive for a man to live on his own than to live with his wife and possibly her children?

 

And who decides that he needs these amounts in order to be able to "afford to live here"? I know of many (farang) people who can afford to live here on substantially less than the figures quoted, and I would hazard a guess that there are MILLIONS of Thais who don't have that income!

It is not about what you need, it is about what the gouverment want.

[Kalasin Jo]

10 hours ago, monkfish said:

Seriously?
They make a vinyl board just for this one old guy?

They love their vinyl boards!

[Fairynuff]

10 hours ago, monkfish said:

Seriously?
They make a vinyl board just for this one old guy?

Don’t be daft, they use the same one for all of these dangerous criminals, they just tipex out the previous name.

[Nicebus]

10 hours ago, murikamba said:

I applaud these Thais who are doing great service in catching farangs on overstay. Farnags think this is his country but it is not. My question is how does others know he is on overstay unless he talks to vilagers how easy to hide in rural areas without police permission (that is what Thais think of Immigration).

Overstay yes.

But really and honestly what harm was he doing.

Not costing Thailand anything and presumably spending his pension here. 

Harmless bloke in my opinion.

[ellathai]

10 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 ?

 

I can tell you one thing, if these clowns think they are funny by claiming this guy to be a hiding kangaroo because of his nationality, it just goes to show how pathetic and child like minds they have, real "racists" trying to justify the taxpayer dollars spent for their BMW ride.

You can still get the pension before 67 check your facts 

[tropo]

5 hours ago, Just Weird said:

 

 

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

Yes, an astute observation - I do think that.

[Jane Dough]

5 hours ago, malibukid said:

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
 

Unlike Thai immigration, that was Men at Work.

 

Rooster

[BTB1977]

So he struck out like a sore thumb in a small village full of Thais.  Next time try Bangkok or a very large populate city where there are thousands of farang that all look alike. 

[Knocker33]

The car maybe smart but the people who are driving it still need grasses to catch anyone. Sad country this has become. How much are these scum paid to grass people up I wonder

[ScotBkk]

12 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. 

Why not hunt them down on horseback? We have all the problems in the world. But we must Focus attention on over stairs as this seems to be worse than the Corona virus. According too to the Thai police

[bkkcanuck8]

7 minutes ago, ScotBkk said:

Why not hunt them down on horseback? We have all the problems in the world. But we must Focus attention on over stairs as this seems to be worse than the Corona virus. According too to the Thai police

Yes, why don't we redirect all immigration officers to work on corona virus cure... it is more important and I am sure they can help ????

[Swedenlars]

Hooray, we've got one from the west again. Maybe big joke was right, we'll get them all. In a way I feel sorry for these guys. Yes, yes I know, if you stick to rules it won't happen. But still......

[LeoCesar]

Thais are so racist!

Almost like the chines 

[Miami007]

I believe that he would have a better chance of flying under the radar in a large city with many foreigners. Being the only one in a small village made him stand out more