Phuket international school dodges charges for illegally hiring British teachers

[webfact]

Phuket international school dodges charges for illegally hiring British teachers

By The Phuket News

 

Chalong Police Station. Photo: The Phuket News / file

 

PHUKET: An international school in Rawai will not face any charges for illegally hiring two British teachers arrested at the school for working without a work permit, Chalong Police have confirmed.

 

“The case of the two foreign teachers working illegally has already been submitted to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, two weeks ago,” Chalong Police Chief Col Sarawut Chuprasit told The Phuket News.

 

Col Sarawut declined to give any more information regarding the two teachers arrested, both British nationals, arrested at the Palm House International School in a raid by Phuket Immigration officers acting on a tip-off on Nov 4 last year. The case, and the two foreigners arrested, were handed over to Chalong Police to process.

 

Full story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-international-school-dodges-charges-for-illegally-hiring-british-teachers-78667.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2021-01-15

 

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[colinneil]

Brown envelope must have been a  BIG 1.????

[bluesofa]

Just now, colinneil said:

Brown envelope must have been a  BIG 1.????

I've just come up with Bluesofa's law of sarcasm: The size of the brown envelope is inversely proportional to the speed of justice.

[PatOngo]

That's right, arrest the foreign teachers, not the school that hired them!

[Natai Beach]

I think the brown envelope has gone the way of the telephone book.

I have paid smoothing over money 4 times in Thailand.

 

Cash once and just transferred the money over the other three times. Personally I prefer transferring as you have a record of it being paid. 
 

So easy to pay these days.
 

[kotsak]

I bet the brown envelope was delivered with a Caterpillar 797F

[ChipButty]

Something stinks here

[PETERTHEEATER]

37 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Something stinks here

Probably the underwear of the two foreign teachers.

[ChipButty]

Who is liable for the WP? the school or the teachers, or both

[ukrules]

44 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Something stinks here

Yes it does, it is not possible to get a work permit without the cooperation of the school which clearly wasn't coming.

 

The school planned and executed this scam on the people who have now been arrested.

 

Thailand should be on a special list of scamming, lying, cheating countries where citizens of the world are warned by their governments that companies will act illegally and against your interests in the name of saving a couple of dollars each day by employing people illegally.

 

Chances are these poor saps had no idea they were acting illegally - most likely based on what I've read in the past they were told that their work permits were being processed.

 

[stevenl]

3 hours ago, colinneil said:

Brown envelope must have been a  BIG 1.????

No chance of a brown envelope in this case.

[stevenl]

19 minutes ago, ukrules said:

<snip>

 

Chances are these poor saps had no idea they were acting illegally - most likely based on what I've read in the past they were told that their work permits were being processed.

 

They are experienced Thailand teachers and were on tourist visa. No chance at all they had no idea they were acting illegally.

[natway09]

Dangerous precedent ?

[impulse]

The original article is pretty disturbing...  Worth a read.

 

https://www.thephuketnews.com/brits-arrested-in-phuket-international-school-immigration-raid-77900.php

 

Looks like a game of hot potato between the police, the prosecutor and immigration. 

 

I especially like the Facebook post by the school, along with the Phuket News allegations that the school owes them back pay.  Getting them deported probably cuts the school's expenses, I guess.

 

On another note, the article says WP scofflaws can be banged up for up to 5 years.  I thought the changes in 2017 eliminated the custodial penalty for foreigners working without a WP (while leaving that nuclear option in place for employers of illegals)?

 

 

 

 

[hotchilli]

17 hours ago, colinneil said:

Brown envelope must have been a  BIG 1.????

British teachers arrested but school gets off scott-free... Thai justice?

[brianthainess]

The police won't disclose any information. Yep there is something fishy here.

[Bangyai]

On 1/14/2021 at 9:18 PM, webfact said:

acting on a tip-off

 

Probably dobbed in by an over zealous colleague.

[FritsSikkink]

17 hours ago, ChipButty said:

Who is liable for the WP? the school or the teachers, or both

Both

[jonclark]

I think the most pertinent thing we can all take from this is: would you want to send you kids to a school that operates like this, especially if it's a fee paying school?  Plenty of other options.