Sri Lankan Man Arrested in Wichit for Illegally Constructing House

[webfact]

 

A Sri Lankan man was arrested in Wichit after he was found illegally building a house.

 

The Phuket Immigration told the Phuket Express that this week they arrested MR. K PIYARALALA, a Sri Lankan national, at an under-construction house near a beach in Ao Makham in Wichit.

 

He was found building a house. He was taken to the Wichit Police Station to face the charge of working without legal permission.

 

By Goongnang Suksawat

 

Full story: THE PHUKET EXPRESS 

-- 2024-10-12

 

 

[Foxx]

I guess my response to this depends upon whether he was building something for himself, or whether he was working for hire.

If the former, any foreigner who does anything to improve their home is potentially a criminal.

[stevenl]

10 minutes ago, Foxx said:

I guess my response to this depends upon whether he was building something for himself, or whether he was working for hire.

If the former, any foreigner who does anything to improve their home is potentially a criminal.

For me it seems clear.
 

 

[TroubleandGrumpy]

12 minutes ago, Foxx said:

I guess my response to this depends upon whether he was building something for himself, or whether he was working for hire.

If the former, any foreigner who does anything to improve their home is potentially a criminal.

Indeed.

I recall a guy in Chiang Mai who was doing some gardening work in his house (that the wife owned) and one of the neighbours was complaining. His wife translated and he got her to try and explain to the woman that he was not 'working' (employed) and that only doing basic gardening stuff. He also got her to ask the woman if it was OK when he drove their car or cooked a Thai meal. The woman reluctantly accepted that although some jobs were reserved for Thais only (such as a driver or a cook), he was not employed and was not being paid.

 

Unfortunately, a lot of Thais think Expats are not allowed to do those things - when the Law is very clear that they are not allowed to be employed/work in certain roles. In this case, the guy does not have the necessary licences/certifications to build a house.

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, Foxx said:

I guess my response to this depends upon whether he was building something for himself, or whether he was working for hire.

If the former, any foreigner who does anything to improve their home is potentially a criminal.

Sounds more like the latter.

[Liverpool Lou]

2 hours ago, Foxx said:

I guess my response to this depends upon whether he was building something for himself, or whether he was working for hire.

If the former, any foreigner who does anything to improve their home is potentially a criminal.

"...any foreigner who does anything to improve their home is potentially a criminal".

Nonsense.

[Liverpool Lou]

2 hours ago, Foxx said:

I guess my response to this depends upon whether he was building something for himself, or whether he was working for hire.

There was not the slightest suggestion that he was working on his own property.

[Foxx]

35 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

There was not the slightest suggestion that he was working on his own property.

 

Yes there was.  In my experience, building a house commercially is seldom a one man job.  The original post didn't mention any other workers or an employer.

 

(That said, user stevenl subsequently provided additional information suggesting that it was indeed a commercial arrangement.)

[MikeandDow]

4 hours ago, Foxx said:

I guess my response to this depends upon whether he was building something for himself, or whether he was working for hire.

If the former, any foreigner who does anything to improve their home is potentially a criminal.

Does not matter if he was working for himself or paid work if he did not have a work permit then  he is a criminal

[MikeandDow]

1 hour ago, Foxx said:

 

Yes there was.  In my experience, building a house commercially is seldom a one man job.  The original post didn't mention any other workers or an employer.

 

(That said, user stevenl subsequently provided additional information suggesting that it was indeed a commercial arrangement.)

makes no difference no work permit he is out

[MikeandDow]

2 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

"...any foreigner who does anything to improve their home is potentially a criminal".

Nonsense.

you need to read the labor laws working on anything with out a work permit is a criminal act  seen plenty of guys gone for cutting the front lawn, changing light bulb  there are plenty of posts on here about the exact same thing use the search read the definition of work in Thailand

[MikeandDow]

4 hours ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

Indeed.

I recall a guy in Chiang Mai who was doing some gardening work in his house (that the wife owned) and one of the neighbours was complaining. His wife translated and he got her to try and explain to the woman that he was not 'working' (employed) and that only doing basic gardening stuff. He also got her to ask the woman if it was OK when he drove their car or cooked a Thai meal. The woman reluctantly accepted that although some jobs were reserved for Thais only (such as a driver or a cook), he was not employed and was not being paid.

 

Unfortunately, a lot of Thais think Expats are not allowed to do those things - when the Law is very clear that they are not allowed to be employed/work in certain roles. In this case, the guy does not have the necessary licences/certifications to build a house.

You need to read the labor laws and the thai definition of work by the Thai ministry  it has been softened over the years  the jobs you describe require a work permit  people have been fined and deported for less jobs one case i remember the guy was sitting outside painting a dog kennel  he was deported

[SingAPorn]

Have heard issues of immigration barging into  foreigners private property (villa)  and accusind the foreign house owner of working without a permit as the dude was doing work but in his own house and he was legally staying with Non Imm visa.

[MikeandDow]

23 minutes ago, SingAPorn said:

Have heard issues of immigration barging into  foreigners private property (villa)  and accusind the foreign house owner of working without a permit as the dude was doing work but in his own house and he was legally staying with Non Imm visa.

 The laws have  softened over the years  but yes  no work without work permit  the labour dept is very help full  if i was going to say paint my house and i would get in touch with them and ask if it ok or what permit do i need  simple

[retarius]

5 hours ago, stevenl said:

For me it seems clear.
 

 

They should go after the employers who hire these people. In the US some maybe 20 years ago, after complaints of people hiring illegals, they passed a law targeting the employers. I don't know what has happened to that late under Biden but if you look at illegal immigration they had not too much in the first year but it has risen from 300,000 a year under Trump to 3 million a year in the last three years of Biden. I am sick of it and I don't even live there.

[MikeandDow]

16 minutes ago, retarius said:

They should go after the employers who hire these people. In the US some maybe 20 years ago, after complaints of people hiring illegals, they passed a law targeting the employers. I don't know what has happened to that late under Biden but if you look at illegal immigration they had not too much in the first year but it has risen from 300,000 a year under Trump to 3 million a year in the last three years of Biden. I am sick of it and I don't even live there.

What has happened here the employer has not paid his share to the boss simple

and if you don't live in the states why do you care

[MikeandDow]

58 minutes ago, SingAPorn said:

Have heard issues of immigration barging into  foreigners private property (villa)  and accusind the foreign house owner of working without a permit as the dude was doing work but in his own house and he was legally staying with Non Imm visa.

The term “work” in Thai law is defined very broadly, covering both physical and mental activities, whether or not for wages or other form of compensation. Even volunteer or charity work requires a work permit in Thailand.

[simon43]

1 hour ago, MikeandDow said:

You need to read the labor laws and the thai definition of work by the Thai ministry  it has been softened over the years  the jobs you describe require a work permit  people have been fined and deported for less jobs one case i remember the guy was sitting outside painting a dog kennel  he was deported

Link please to the dog kennel story - sounds interesting...

[MikeandDow]

10 minutes ago, simon43 said:

Link please to the dog kennel story - sounds interesting...

search  in here there are a lot more  there is also another i remember in phuket guy painting the hull of his boat i found them on here  a long time ago  just remembered when this topic came up

[stevenl]

2 hours ago, MikeandDow said:

search  in here there are a lot more  there is also another i remember in phuket guy painting the hull of his boat i found them on here  a long time ago  just remembered when this topic came up

You mean the guy building and selling boats?

[CanadaSam]

I agree with Foxx, if this was the house he was building, with tilting floors and the worst possible finishing on the walls, it could not have been for somebody else, probably himself!

[novacova]

14 hours ago, webfact said:

 

A Sri Lankan man was arrested in Wichit after he was found illegally building a house.

 

The Phuket Immigration told the Phuket Express that this week they arrested MR. K PIYARALALA, a Sri Lankan national, at an under-construction house near a beach in Ao Makham in Wichit.

 

He was found building a house. He was taken to the Wichit Police Station to face the charge of working without legal permission.

 

By Goongnang Suksawat

 

Full story: THE PHUKET EXPRESS 

-- 2024-10-12

 

 

This article is rather thin. Was he employed by someone? Was he working on his own house while employing Thais at the time? Was there an issue with the plot of land, was he building on someone else’s property?

[stevenl]

2 minutes ago, novacova said:

This article is rather thin. Was he employed by someone? Was he working on his own house while employing Thais at the time? Was there an issue with the plot of land, was he building on someone else’s property?

He was employed by a contractor.

[novacova]

4 hours ago, MikeandDow said:

Does not matter if he was working for himself or paid work if he did not have a work permit then  he is a criminal

Nonsense. It’s perfectly legal to build your own house by yourself without a work permit.
Where is the line drawn? Yard work? House cleaning? Making a sandwich? Go visit the diy forum and there you’ll find many expats doing all sorts of scary stuff 

[MikeandDow]

41 minutes ago, novacova said:

Nonsense. It’s perfectly legal to build your own house by yourself without a work permit.
Where is the line drawn? Yard work? House cleaning? Making a sandwich? Go visit the diy forum and there you’ll find many expats doing all sorts of scary stuff 

 I think you will be deported like many others who work without a work permit

The term “work” in Thai law is defined very broadly, covering both physical and mental activities, whether or not for wages or other form of compensation. Even volunteer or charity work requires a work permit in Thailand. go look at the Thai labor laws

are you one of theses persons

Exemptions from Work Permits

The following are exempt from work permit requirements:

• Members of the diplomatic corps
• Members of a consular mission
• Representatives and officials of the United Nations and its specialized agencies
• Personal servants from abroad employed by any of the above
• Persons who perform duties or missions under agreement between the government of Thailand and another foreign government or international organization
• Persons who perform duties or missions for the benefit of education, culture, arts, sports, or other activities as may be sanctioned by royal decree
• Persons with special permission from the government of Thailand to enter and perform duties or missions in the Kingdom
• To be able to legally work in Thailand the foreigner must have a valid visa and a work permit issued in his name. Secondly, foreigners are only allowed to perform work that does not violate the Alien Employment Act (i.e.not engage in work prohibited for foreigners). What the foreigner is allowed to do and where under his work permit is described in the work permit. For example, foreigners working for 2 different companies doing the same work, must have 2 work permits, one for each company.

• Under Thai Law foreigners are prohibited to engage in any of the following occupations

  Manual work

  Work in agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry or fishery excluding specialized work in each particular branch or farm supervision

  Bricklaying, carpentry or other construction works

  Wood carving

  Driving mechanically propelled carried or driving non-mechanically-propelled vehicle, excluding international aircraft piloting

  Shop attendance

  Auction

  Supervising, auditing or giving service in accountancy excluding internal auditing on occasions

  Cutting or polishing jewelry

  Haircutting, hairdressing or beauty treatment

  Cloth weaving by hand

  Weaving of mate or making products from reeds, rattan, hemp, straw or bamboo pellicle

  Making of Sa paper by hand

  Lacquer ware making

  Making of Thai musical instrument

  Niello ware making

  Making of products from gold, silver or gold-copper alloy

  Bronze ware making

  Making of Thai dolls

  Making of mattress or quilt blanket

  Alms bowls casting

  Making of silk products by hand

  Casting of Buddha images

  Knife making

  Making of paper of cloth umbrella

  Shoemaking

  Hat Making

  Brokerage or agency excluding brokerage or agency in international trade business

  Engineering work in civil engineering branch concerning designing and calculation, organization, research, planning, testing, construction supervision or advising excluding specialized work

  Architectural work concerning designing, drawing of plan, estimating, construction directing or advising

  Garments making

  Pottery or ceramic ware making

  Cigarette making by hand

  Guide or conducting sightseeing tours

  Street Vending

  Type setting of Thai characters by hand

  Drawing and twisting silk-thread by hand

  Office or secretarial work

  Legal or lawsuit services

Building you own House  is Prohibit Architectural work concerning designing, drawing of plan, estimating, construction   I think you will find that the DIY guys have work permits  but building a house  is prohibit unless there is no Bricklaying, carpentry or other construction works ect but go ahead i will not be the one deported

[novacova]

1 hour ago, MikeandDow said:

Wood carving

So no whittling on sticks…

1 hour ago, MikeandDow said:

Cigarette making by hand

Don’t get caught rolling your own…

1 hour ago, MikeandDow said:

Haircutting

Don’t get caught cutting your own hair.

 

You are confusing “work” employment, whether for monetary gain or voluntary with working on personal property and domicile. I work on our own personal vehicles, I do a lot of work in and around our rented house in cm and my wife’s house in the boonies all in public display. What I don’t do is, no visibility from others when I’m helping out with her work. I have a friend who built his own house 100% by himself on his wife’s property completed a year ago, legal and verified before commencement by the IO as he wanted to hear it from the horses mouth. A grey area which we have yet to get a definitive consistent answer is working on a project with hired employees, so it’s a safe no no. Why so many folks live an uptight life in fear is beyond me.

[MikeandDow]

8 hours ago, novacova said:

So no whittling on sticks…

Don’t get caught rolling your own…

Don’t get caught cutting your own hair.

 

You are confusing “work” employment, whether for monetary gain or voluntary with working on personal property and domicile. I work on our own personal vehicles, I do a lot of work in and around our rented house in cm and my wife’s house in the boonies all in public display. What I don’t do is, no visibility from others when I’m helping out with her work. I have a friend who built his own house 100% by himself on his wife’s property completed a year ago, legal and verified before commencement by the IO as he wanted to hear it from the horses mouth. A grey area which we have yet to get a definitive consistent answer is working on a project with hired employees, so it’s a safe no no. Why so many folks live an uptight life in fear is beyond me.

You are the one who is confused The term “work” in Thai law is defined very broadly, covering both physical and mental activities, whether or not for wages or other form of compensation. Even volunteer or charity work requires a work permit in Thailand. go look at the Thai labor laws  i think that is quite clear

i don't care what you do  working as an expat without a work permit you are breaking the law And your friend may have built his home fine!! but he broke the Law  and i think it is you living a life of fear waiting for the police come knocking  if you want to laugh and joke go ahead but i am not the one breaking the law by working with out a work permit nor am i working on jobs reserved  for Thais  Remember it only Takes one person to  complain  and you are deported 

[TroubleandGrumpy]

17 hours ago, MikeandDow said:

You need to read the labor laws and the thai definition of work by the Thai ministry  it has been softened over the years  the jobs you describe require a work permit  people have been fined and deported for less jobs one case i remember the guy was sitting outside painting a dog kennel  he was deported

Interesting views you have - telling people to read the Labour laws etc etc. So - according to your opinion, when I drive the wife to the shopping centre, or if I give he a massage, am I in breach of those labour laws you speak of? Of course not - because I am not working or employed - there are many jobs (work) that are reserved for Thais.  

 

Links please to your claim of people being deported for painting their own dog's kennel.  IMO that is a scam/BS/fake news.

[MikeandDow]

10 minutes ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

Interesting views you have - telling people to read the Labour laws etc etc. So - according to your opinion, when I drive the wife to the shopping centre, or if I give he a massage, am I in breach of those labour laws you speak of? Of course not - because I am not working or employed - there are many jobs (work) that are reserved for Thais.  

 

Links please to your claim of people being deported for painting their own dog's kennel.  IMO that is a scam/BS/fake news.

its not my opinion it is Thai law   read the above posts  i list thai definition of work and the list of thai protected jobs  you can do your own research  there are plenty on this forum i am assuming you know how to use the search in here  read the defintion of work the thais use  end of story

[TroubleandGrumpy]

33 minutes ago, MikeandDow said:

its not my opinion it is Thai law   read the above posts  i list thai definition of work and the list of thai protected jobs  you can do your own research  there are plenty on this forum i am assuming you know how to use the search in here  read the defintion of work the thais use  end of story

You are wrong - that list is wrong and your opinions are wrong - totally wrong.

Firstly - that list is out of date - like your opinions. 

List of jobs reserved for Thais trimmed (nationthailand.com)

The 28 professions reserved for Thais include 16 that involve “Thai wisdom” and “Thai characteristics”. Meaning that they are about 'Thai' related stuff - not the activity - the outputs.   These are woodcarving; weaving cloth by hand; weaving mats and utensils from reeds, rattan, hemp, straw and bamboo pellicle; making mulberry paper and silk products by hand; making lacquerware, nielloware, Thai musical instruments, traditional Thai dolls, gold ornaments, silverware, bronzeware, alms bowls, cloth umbrellas and Buddha images; typesetting in Thai characters; and silk reeling and twisting by hand.

The other 12 reserved jobs are driving commercial vehicles on local routes (other than piloting international aircraft); staffing shops and other retail outlets; auctioneering; cutting and polishing diamonds and other precious stones; hairdressing and beauty care; local brokering; rolling cigarettes by hand; guiding tours; street vending; clerical and secretarial work; legal services work; and Thai massage.

 

Secondly they are ONLY about jobs - professionals - work - paid employment- occupations. If I want to cut my own hair it is not illegal.  If I want to give my wife a massage (Thai as she has shown me) it is not illegal. If I want to organise, file and print my and my wife's financial paperwork (clerical work) that is not illegal. Etc etc etc.

 

Stop being a scaremonger - you are wrong - very very wrong - and saying you read a story on AN years ago is BS.  Either provide a definitive link from a proven media outlet, like I have - or shut up.