Over 400 criminal cases brought against foreigners in Phuket

[webfact]

The governor of Phuket says at least 400 criminal cases have been filed against lawbreaking foreigners on the island. Sophon Suwannarat says the cases have been brought by a dedicated task force checking foreign nationals for “bad behaviour”.

 

The task force was set up around a month ago, after a number of high-profile cases involving foreigners.

 

The most well known of those is that of Urs Fehr, a Swiss man accused of kicking a female doctor as she sat on steps leading to his rented Cape Yamu villa. Fehr, who has a Thai wife, has already had his visa revoked and his case is expected to go to trial later this month.

 

By Peter Roche

PHOTO: The Phuket Express

 

Full story: PhuketGO 2024-04-05

 

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[transam]

Sounds like a zillion farangy bum burps will be putting a cloud over the place.......🤢

[Dmaxdan]

So is that 400 recently or since the beginning of time?

[impulse]

I wonder how many of those 400 crimes were technical fouls like WP and overstays and scooter helmets, and how many had an actual victim.

 

[NativeBob]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

has already had his visa revoked and his case is expected to go to trial later this month.

isn't it backward? Punishment BEFORE trial? 

and if his visa "revoked" how he can attend "trial later this month"?

[kwilco]

1 minute ago, NativeBob said:

isn't it backward? Punishment BEFORE trial? 

and if his visa "revoked" how he can attend "trial later this month"?

He will be given a different visa that allows him to be kept in custody.

[ourmanflint]

it is amazing how many news articles Phuket and Pattaya both generate. At least it helps keeping all the scumbags together I suppose

[NativeBob]

16 minutes ago, kwilco said:

He will be given a different visa that allows him to be kept in custody.

Yes! That was exactly a trick how to stay in Thailand for years! some loophole allows you to pass from one court hearing to another to appealing and again. Few guys at Nana hotel area (opposite side) used it in late 1990-s

[Ohyesuare]

28 minutes ago, NativeBob said:

isn't it backward? Punishment BEFORE trial? 

and if his visa "revoked" how he can attend "trial later this month"?

 

The visa revocation is just a bonus, the punishment will come after the trial.  And he is on something like a defendant's visa until the trial is over.

 

Ask your local visa agent if they can hook you up with one.

Edited April 5 by Ohyesuare

[NativeBob]

11 minutes ago, Ohyesuare said:

The visa revocation is just a bonus, the punishment will come after the trial.  

Still quite odd IMHO

What if he would be found innocent by "trial" than what ? They (WHO???) will reinstate his visa? Compensate him every day "in custody"? Shave themselves and join monkhood?

Who (really - who?) decided to revoke his visa? That is not Royal Thai Police biz) rather Immigration?

What a mess!

Edited April 5 by NativeBob

[0ffshore360]

7 minutes ago, NativeBob said:

Still quite odd IMHO

What if he would be found innocent by "trial" than what ? They (WHO???) will reinstate his visa? Compensate him every day "in custody"? Shave themselves and join monkhood?

Who (really - who?) decided to revoke his visa? That is not Royal Thai Police biz) rather Immigration?

What a mess!

" Discretionary " wording is found in most written Immigration documents . Perhaps same discretionary application for some who arrive at the border and get turned around despite holding a valid visa but forgot to grovel ?

[CANSIAM]

Bad guys In, good guys Out.........

[ChipButty]

That means they have to work now

[Excogitator]

1 hour ago, ourmanflint said:

it is amazing how many news articles Phuket and Pattaya both generate. At least it helps keeping all the scumbags together I suppose

Yeah, there certainly seems to be a high level of scumbaggery in those places. If they could manage to keep them there, at least they could declare a partial victory. I visited both once, years ago. Never again..

[kwilco]

6 hours ago, NativeBob said:

Yes! That was exactly a trick how to stay in Thailand for years! some loophole allows you to pass from one court hearing to another to appealing and again. Few guys at Nana hotel area (opposite side) used it in late 1990-s

not such a plan if you are locked in a cell.

[Ohyesuare]

6 hours ago, NativeBob said:

Still quite odd IMHO

What if he would be found innocent by "trial" than what ? They (WHO???) will reinstate his visa? Compensate him every day "in custody"? Shave themselves and join monkhood?

Who (really - who?) decided to revoke his visa? That is not Royal Thai Police biz) rather Immigration?

What a mess!

 

Hard to imagine that he would be found innocent since he filmed himself kicking at and swearing at Thai people sitting on encroached public property so I won't even entertain that notion.

 

As for who decided to revoke his visa: "Deputy Phuket governor Sattha Thongkham on Tuesday chaired a meeting of all relevant units and forwarded an urgent letter to the Immigration Chief of Phuket province to consider revoking the Swiss man’s visa as he poses danger to society or likely to cause harm, endangering public peace and order." I imagine it was more of a demand than a proposal and immigration complied of course.

Edited April 5 by Ohyesuare

[Denim]

And yet , if foreigners got the message and decided to up anchor and holiday elsewhere leaving Phukat peaceful and crime free but with a collapsed tourist industry, how the locals would cry.

 

In my opinion the bad tourists and people of Phuket deserve each other.

[swerve]

Many farangs behaving badly of recent in Phuket  Will be interesting to see what the authorities do with them all.  I read two Kiwis were deported for their escapade with the traffic cop in Chalong.

Edited April 5 by swerve
'

[ABCDBKK]

Hard not to assume the majority of the trouble makers aren't Russian based on recent events. 
 

The place has turned into an overpriced tourist wasteland for illegal enterprise and with many undesirables abound.
 

Not the idyllic place it once was when I first went there over 30 years ago. Back then Patong was still mostly dirt roads and most of the adjoining tourist hotspots were still just sparse fishing villages. 
 

 

[ikke1959]

THailand what are you doing,, Suppose there are 28 million foreigners in Thailand and only 2800 are not following all the rules that is less than 0,01 %.. Why do you like magnify this and give foreigners a bad name?? Do you really think THailand will be more attractive for expats and tourists??

[frank83628]

9 hours ago, transam said:

Sounds like a zillion farangy bum burps will be putting a cloud over the place.......🤢

🤡

[thesetat]

16 hours ago, NativeBob said:

isn't it backward? Punishment BEFORE trial? 

and if his visa "revoked" how he can attend "trial later this month"?

His visa has been revoked probably because he is in trouble and making trouble and costing the government a lot of money to prosecute him. Immigration can cancel your visa with no reasons at all. however, due to his criminal and perhaps civil cases coming, they can not evict him from Thailand so he is issued a special visa that is good until his court date. 

[hotchilli]

16 hours ago, ourmanflint said:

it is amazing how many news articles Phuket and Pattaya both generate. At least it helps keeping all the scumbags together I suppose

Absolutely.... keep the two week millionaires away from normal people, and the longer stay Russians who are starting to assimilate into the Land of Smiles and bring their own culture.

[Captain Monday]

The actions of foreign crims and scofflaws reflect badly on all of us expats doing nothing wrong.

[gomangosteen]

10 hours ago, swerve said:

Many farangs behaving badly of recent in Phuket  Will be interesting to see what the authorities do with them all.  I read two Kiwis were deported for their escapade with the traffic cop in Chalong.

Understood the (NZ) Day brothers remained in custody, having pleaded not guilty, police opposed bail, and they are waiting on a court date which could be months away according to the interview held with one of their wives.

 

 

 

 

[newbee2022]

I hope they find the other thousands🙏

[Peterphuket]

19 hours ago, impulse said:

I wonder how many of those 400 crimes were technical fouls like WP and overstays and scooter helmets, and how many had an actual victim.

 

Perhaps then there are many more if you were to add the brown envelopes.

[Hakuna Matata]

[Caldera]

400 out of millions, and most of those 400 are petty crimes.

 

Go after the criminals by all means, but all that crackdown hysteria is way over the top.

[Confuscious]

4 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

The actions of foreign crims and scofflaws reflect badly on all of us expats doing nothing wrong.

In my country we have a saying: "Als men een hond wil slaan, vind men een stok."
Translated to English (literaly): "when you want to hit a dog you will find a stick".