Banged up: Thai prison nightmare exposed by British tourist

[webfact]

Picture courtesy of The Daily Mail

 

by Bob Scott 

A British tourist revealed the grim conditions banged up abroad in a Thai prison and issued a chilling warning to fellow travellers about the reality of being detained abroad.

 

The 29 year old former soldier, who wished to remain anonymous, endured a 15-day ordeal in two police cells and a Bangkok deportation centre after overstaying his visa, a blunder he deeply regrets.

“The only way I can describe it is hell.”

 

Held with 130 other people in a stifling room devoid of ventilation, he added, “We could only go out for an hour a week.”

The grim picture didn’t end there. Guards would distribute food in trays washed on the filthy bathroom floor using cold water.

 

“Everywhere I stayed was infested with fire ants and cockroaches. The rubbish just piled up in a corner.”

Pictures courtesy of The Daily Mail

His Thai adventure began with hope and ambition in April of the previous year, as he planned to settle and start a business. However, his dreams crumbled in November when a spat with an ex landed him in hot water in Pattaya.

Police, alerted to his visa status, arrested him and dragged him to court, claiming he had overstayed by a few days.

 

“The police were very violent. Two officers ambushed me in a public toilet and beat me. They threw me onto the flatbed of a truck and cuffed me to the side.”

 

Dazed and disoriented, the British man suspected he suffered a concussion and was left in the dark about his fate until Russian cellmates enlightened him about the process.

 

“They lent me money to pay my court fine, otherwise, it would have been much worse.”

 

Packed into a cramped police cell measuring six-by-four feet alongside eight other inmates, he resorted to bribery to make life fractionally more bearable.

 

The prisoners jostled for space and struggled to rest, with no room to lie down properly.

 

“There was a pregnant girl from Laos who was really struggling, always crying with her head on the floor. It was horrible, especially as another cell, the same size, was packed with 13 people.”

 

After eight gruelling days in Pattaya, he was moved to Bangkok’s deportation centre, where behaviour worsened. Sharing four grim toilets with 130 detainees, they relied on a bucket of cold water for cleaning and bathing.

 

Weekends granted an hour of fresh air in a roofless, barred area, barely a respite.

 

“A guy sold pot noodles in one corner. That’s all I’d eat.”

 

 

His mother fought tooth and nail with the British embassy to secure his release, eventually getting him flown home. It cost 500 baht (£11.94) per night for his stay at the deportation centre, plus airfare.

 

Remarkably, the British tourist managed to smuggle a phone inside, hidden in baby wipes, to capture the conditions, the Daily Mail reported.

 

“Once you’re locked in, you have zero contact and no way to access money. Someone outside must fight for you. I’m fortunate I sneaked my phone inside and my mum contacted the embassy, otherwise, I’d still be stuck there.”

His experience served as a stark warning to travellers.

 

“Don’t risk overstaying your visa thinking it’s just a small fine. It’s not worth becoming a victim of this.”

 

 

Bitter from his ordeal, he declared he would never return to Thailand. He criticised the system as a “cash-making scheme” for the government, claiming that tourism, the backbone of Thailand’s economy, exploits foreigners through such detentions.

 

The former soldier’s ordeal serves as a sobering reminder of the consequences of visa lapses and the stark realities lurking behind Thailand’s tourist veneer, urging cautious adherence to immigration laws to avoid a similar nightmare.

 

 

 

Source: The Thaiger 

-- 2025-01-20

 

 

[PomPolo]

8 minutes ago, webfact said:

he planned to settle and start a business

 

9 minutes ago, webfact said:

when a spat with an ex landed him in hot water

There's yer problem!

[KhunLA]

Probably in the minority, but IMHO, that's exactly how prison should be.  Punishment, not the comfy stay like in the USA.

 

 

[KhunLA]

Just now, PomPolo said:

 

There's yer problem!

So she made him overstay ... 

 

... never their fault.   Lesson learned I hope, but I doubt it, as already making excuses.

[Stiddle Mump]

Don't overstay! A reminder to all farang. 

[OneMoreFarang]

They should show these pictures to all arrivals at the airport. Behave! Or else... 

[The Old Bull]

Sounds a little harsh for a few days overstay. Maybe the old squeeze has contacts in the BIB and contrived to do him in.

[Stiddle Mump]

2 minutes ago, The Old Bull said:

Sounds a little harsh for a few days overstay. Maybe the old squeeze has contacts in the BIB and contrived to do him in.

Bang on the money there bud.

 

I've overstayed and had to simply pay 500 baht for each day. Certainly seems an overkill.

 

Best not to upset these Thai women.

[tgw]

18 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

So she made him overstay ... 

 

... never their fault.   Lesson learned I hope, but I doubt it, as already making excuses.

 

I agree to some extent, but not for people whose only "crime" was to overstay a visa by some days.

 

The conditions of detention in Norway and some other countries are disgusting.

[Denim]

I feel cheated. Been here 40 years but nothing as exciting has ever happened to me.

[herfiehandbag]

Sorry, but I think that there is rather more to this than meets the eye!

[KhunHeineken]

From the photos, it looks like he was living better than many expats up in the village.     

[steven100]

Did he expect the prison to be different,  maybe a nice resort room over looking the ocean,  did he think he'd get the same treatment as Thaksin ....    he's in prison for a reason,  and Thailand being as poor as it is certainly won't waste to much on a comfortable prison for criminals. 

 

The story doesn't mean anything,   it is what it is and as it should be.  

[KhunHeineken]

22 minutes ago, The Old Bull said:

Sounds a little harsh for a few days overstay. Maybe the old squeeze has contacts in the BIB and contrived to do him in.

Guess who's got the business, and rid of him? 

[Andre0720]

In January 1945, with the Soviet army approaching, Nazi officials ordered the camp abandoned and sent an estimated 60,000 prisoners on a forced march to other locations. When the Soviets entered Auschwitz, they found thousands of emaciated detainees and piles of corpses left behind.

 

And even today, the Germans are still ashamed of what they did to people.  Yes, they were people just like them.

And now they treat their prisoners in a humane way. Afraid that anyone would remind them of these events.

"Do not do to others what you would not want done to you” is a fundamental principle of fairness and empathy known as the Golden Rule. It means that you should treat others with the same kindness and respect that you would like to be treated with." Also the same way to define 'being civilized'.

If anyone here would agree to see his son or daughter treated the way this guy was treated, for a fault that would not even make eyebrows raise, well that would mean that this person disagrees with Confucius, and would celebrate this life lesson taught to one of his children.

Shame on you....

 

[Will B Good]

4 minutes ago, steven100 said:

Did he expect the prison to be different,  maybe a nice resort room over looking the ocean,  did he think he'd get the same treatment as Thaksin ....    he's in prison for a reason,  and Thailand being as poor as it is certainly won't waste to much on a comfortable prison for criminals. 

 

The story doesn't mean anything,   it is what it is and as it should be.  

 

 

Maybe he's been following Thaksin's traumatic ordeals and thought he might get a whole floor at the police hospital to himself.....555

 

 

 

[sungod]

If we did that with illegal immigrants in the UK, no one would want to come.

[KhunHeineken]

3 minutes ago, Andre0720 said:

In January 1945, with the Soviet army approaching, Nazi officials ordered the camp abandoned and sent an estimated 60,000 prisoners on a forced march to other locations. When the Soviets entered Auschwitz, they found thousands of emaciated detainees and piles of corpses left behind.

 

And even today, the Germans are still ashamed of what they did to people.  Yes, they were people just like them.

And now they treat their prisoners in a humane way. Afraid that anyone would remind them of these events.

"Do not do to others what you would not want done to you” is a fundamental principle of fairness and empathy known as the Golden Rule. It means that you should treat others with the same kindness and respect that you would like to be treated with." Also the same way to define 'being civilized'.

If anyone here would agree to see his son or daughter treated the way this guy was treated, for a fault that would not even make eyebrows raise, well that would mean that this person disagrees with Confucius, and would celebrate this life lesson taught to one of his children.

Shame on you....

 

Strange how the descendants of 1945 are treating the Palestinians at this very moment. 

 

A sitting Prime Minister has an international warrant for war crimes, yet, just like in 1945, governments / people sit back and do nothing.  UN stands for "Useless Numpty's." 

 

Over 45 thousand dead, mostly women and children, in an area 40kms x 20kms.  The Gaza Strip is nothing more than a kill zone.   

 

There's no hope for humanity.  We will always repeat the past. 

[KhunHeineken]

7 minutes ago, sungod said:

If we did that with illegal immigrants in the UK, no one would want to come.

You guys can't even house your own criminal citizens. 

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd1jxmrk11yo

[KhunHeineken]

20 minutes ago, steven100 said:

The story doesn't mean anything,   it is what it is and as it should be.  

I have a feeling there's more to the story.

[metisdead]

A post and a reply with derogatory remarks toward Thailand have been removed as per our Forum Rules:

14. You will not post slurs, degrading, or overly negative comments directed towards Thailand, Thai people, Thai culture,Religion, Thai institutions such as the military, judicial or law enforcement system, or specific locations within Thailand.

[tjintx]

Is one of you lot the fella in the third picture?   

[sungod]

6 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

You guys can't even house your own criminal citizens. 

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd1jxmrk11yo

Correct, I think the real issue is that there are not enough flat screen TVs  to go round

[TedG]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

Probably in the minority, but IMHO, that's exactly how prison should be.  Punishment, not the comfy stay like in the USA.

 

 

I disagree.  

[tjintx]

34 minutes ago, herfiehandbag said:

Sorry, but I think that there is rather more to this than meets the eye!

 

Yeah, look at all the snacks and drinks in those photos, Solzhenitsyn would be envious.

[Will B Good]

2 minutes ago, tjintx said:

 

Yeah, look at all the snacks and drinks in those photos, Solzhenitsyn would be envious.

 

Well if anyone was wondering where all the snacks went.........

[Upnotover]

12 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

I have a feeling there's more to the story.

I think you are right, the truth for instance.

[proton]

59 minutes ago, The Old Bull said:

Sounds a little harsh for a few days overstay. Maybe the old squeeze has contacts in the BIB and contrived to do him in.

 

Where does it say a few days over? could have been months or over a year. Thailands treatment of illegals is better than the UK's as it's far more effective, apart from the odd idiot who thinks the rules don't apply to them.

[tjintx]

3 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

 

Well if anyone was wondering where all the snacks went.........

 

Who ate all the pies, who ate all the pies, you svelte cutie.

[josephbloggs]

10 minutes ago, proton said:

 

Where does it say a few days over? could have been months or years. Thailands treatment of illegals is better than the UK's as it's far more effective, apart from the odd idiot who thinks the rules don't apply to them.

Have you tried actually reading the article? Or do you just like looking at the pictures?

"Police, alerted to his visa status, arrested him and dragged him to court, claiming he had overstayed by a few days."