British Couple's Thailand Dream Becomes Legal Nightmare

[BusyB]

56 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

All of my issues here in LOS have been minor (been lucky so far) but I have learned the best response is to "bite my lip" and maintian a neutral demenaor or a phony smile(which I have never been able to do).  I have not invested much into this country because early on in my time( I have been here full time 8 years) that this country is just not worth it. Renting has been the best course for me and most importantly I have never gotten attached to a local woman.  I maintain a "bug out" bag and can leave for good on short notice.  Not a single local person would miss me for a second.  This feeling is mutual. My time here has been a mixed bag of good and bad but probably was not meant to last a lifetime.  Others will feel differently. I just try and get along with the locals and avoid confrontations as much as I can.

 

Obviously over the years I've had the odd difficult issue - most in the early years based on my misreading of a situation or person and my insecurity as a newby. But I always managed to defend my position effectively and mutually resolve it without going ''full throttle up'' on confrontation. Thais will  u s u a l l y  want to compromise and tend to abhor confrontation.

 

Nearly every Thai, private and business, I've ever met or dealt with has been exceedingly accommodating and helpful. I've been given loads of space for mistakes as a farang as long as I remain respectful without being a douchebag. It IS their country ...

 

(Perhaps also because I never hung around on Beach Road after 9pm, or pushed bouncers around on Walking Street 555) 

 

And yes I rent, finished with a couple of Thai girls when it got too silly for me, and would never invest anything I couldn't walk away from. But I say that without the slightest bad feeling.

 

It is what it is and I love the people, the place, the way of life, the food and the way it's been so far - despite the occasional (rare) knot that's needed untying.

 

 

[CharlieH]

2 hours ago, Felton Jarvis said:

You cannot win in Thailand. If you were assaulted, it MUST be your fault because you are farang.

Or as a Thai Judge once famously said, "if you hadnt come to Thailand, it couldnt have happened, so its your fault" 

[ikke1959]

An example why tourism and long stayers are going down.. Again the greed of the Thai and the xenophobia against foreigners are being stimulated by the Thai justice and Government with Anutin at the head. It is said many times , a foreigner will never win from a Thai as that means losing face for the Thai, and foreigners are still seen as rich and coming to Thailand to destroy and change this culture.. Some weeks back it were a family that did not get their house were they had paid for. In Phuket a dispute about people sitting on steps and so on..many more other cases. Anyway the attractive land of smiles as it was is gone already for a long time and the tourists will come but the longstayers  will go to other welcoming destinations, instead of Thailand... Thailand doesn't understand the impact their actions have... but that is normal.. there is no awareness here

[Marco100]

So the fight was between 2 Old Brits and a Younger Brit and his Thai Wife ? And after Jail time the Thai Wife had her revenge ?

Or did I got it wrong ?

[Nick Carter icp]

3 hours ago, Cameroni said:

I was stopped by police two days ago. I hadn't notice the tax disc of the car I rent was expired. Rather than sing Rule Britannia and explain how I deserve special treatment I politely explained the owner of the car will of course apply for the up to date tax disc.The policeman not only let me go but did not aske me to pay a fine.  

 

 

 

   Shows that the Police were not doing their job .

You should have been arrested for for tax evasion .

Your post shows that the Police weren't very good at doing their job 

[thailand49]

5 minutes ago, Marco100 said:

So the fight was between 2 Old Brits and a Younger Brit and his Thai Wife ? And after Jail time the Thai Wife had her revenge ?

Or did I got it wrong ?

Wrong,  how you conclude the younger fighter was a Brit, if his wife or so call better half is Thai convinced stupid Brit fighter young full cum " it is always farang fault so let's sue farang have more money therefore they should pay "

[impulse]

Anyone who thinks this is a Thai only thing (and wants to truly despair of the state of western civilization) should watch a series called "Fear Thy Neighbor".  It's one of those crappy reality shows from when all the new cable networks had nothing to fill their hours so they were trying anything, the strategy apparently being to make their viewers feel better than someone (anyone) so they'd tune in.

 

It's all stories about characters who bludgeon, shoot, poison and run their neighbors over with cars as a result of spats that started over trivial things like gardens.  Not a single Thai story.  All English speaking countries.  And truly sad.

 

Or open a newspaper and read about the gangs of tweenies hunting down people who give them the stink eye, or just walk down "their street".  (Tweenies being kids between 10 and 14 who won't be prosecuted as adults.)

 

I may have led a sheltered time in Thailand, but I never encountered a situation like the OP, working in Bangkok for 6+ years.  Give me Thailand any day of the week.  The caveat being that I tried to blend in to the community and treat people according to the Golden Rule.

 

 

[markus]

They probably didn't bribe enough. 🤔

[PJ71]

2 hours ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

Your source ?????

 

 

 

Google is your friend.

One of the news sources, can't remember which one but the 30 year lease +30 +30 is done now.

[Sandboxer]

The nationality is the common denominator once again.

 

Basically, there's no reason to even read any article beyond the initial mention of Brits being involved.

[johnnytuc]

4 hours ago, Gaccha said:

 

The court case has yet to take place. How can this be a miscarriage? This tiresome hyperbole is unhelpful. 

 

 

If they only did what they said they did then it seems very unlikely to be a prison sentence even if they are found guilty. 

 

 

This displays such a high level of illiteracy towards the functions of political interventions.

 

Putting all that aside...

 

They need to calm down, meditate a little, prepare themselves for a strange court environment, make sure their lawyer has clearly briefed them, and ensure their lawyer has a full grasp of the case, and simply tell the truth.

Telling the truth doesn't help much in a Thai court

[Andycoops]

As a foreigner you can't own land so somebody else is responsible for the actual site.

If there is a dispute as there has been in my village it's usually sorted out by the Land office in the local Amphur who will look at deeds and give a ruling, IME.

 

And will also come and do a survey and place the stamped boundary posts around the land.

[John Drake]

Quote

“We rented at first then spent around £200,000 on a villa in a new retirement complex. We were so happy.” https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/33737639/brit-couple-retired-thailand-beaten-neighbours-prison/

 

So somehow they bought property? At any rate, yet another example of why you don't make big investments in Thai property. Only rent. I've been on short term rental in the same house for 15 years. If you rent, you don't need to worry about property disputes, noisy neighbors, loose dogs, or nearby construction. You just move.

[Surasak]

3 hours ago, Felton Jarvis said:

You cannot win in Thailand. If you were assaulted, it MUST be your fault because you are farang.

More to the point, 'Had you not been, it wouldn't have happened.' That mostly appears to be the go to answer, when caught up in any kind of dispute.

[231778_1469957276]

4 hours ago, MalcolmB said:

Brit probably got a bit lippy with the Thais.

And got a fat lip. 
It amazes me how some farangs, and especially us Brits, think they can talk down and yell at the locals without any consequences.

Surely you're just making assumptions, you haven't got a clue what was said 🙄

[Kandinski]

Who planted the plants and and on who's land where they planted?

How many confrontation has there been prior.

Are the Sun known for tainting stories in favours of the Brit?

That said; only low life brainless use violence, period.

[Cameroni]

33 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Shows that the Police were not doing their job .

You should have been arrested for for tax evasion .

Your post shows that the Police weren't very good at doing their job 

 

Shows that the police are a lot better at their job than you would be. After all I was not the owner of the vehicle and it is the owner's responsibility to keep tax discs up to date.

 

This is what I mean, Thai police and judicial system are smarter than Westerners can be sometimes, we don't need to worry.

[Aland]

2 hours ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

Try reading the Sun article. It gives a number of details about what exactly the dispute involved. 

I read it and I didnt find any further details then what is on this article here. They came home from a shopping trip and discovered some construction activity going on on their property, they hired a lawyer and put a halt to the construction.

[Gaccha]

22 minutes ago, johnnytuc said:

Telling the truth doesn't help much in a Thai court

 

Your dispositional attitude of suspicion seems similar to the couple in the story. You can tell they don't trust the process, Thai law... or something. 

 

I get it. It's foreign, odd, unfamiliar, exasperatingly different, but it creaks along. 

 

Looking at many of these cases it is this attitude which leads so many people to just give up before the argument begins. They sign some piece of paper admitting guilt or don't fight the case.

 

My uncle is a Thai judge. He has that same cosmopolitan air as British judges I've known. There is nothing alien about his idea of justice. And since there is no jury, the judge's attitude is what matters. This couple needs to relax.

[Nick Carter icp]

4 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

 

Shows that the police are a lot better at their job than you would be. After all I was not the owner of the vehicle and it is the owner's responsibility to keep tax discs up to date.

 

This is what I mean, Thai police and judicial system are smarter than Westerners can be sometimes, we don't need to worry.

 

   And this proves that the Thai police are perfect because they didn't take any action for your car not having a tax disc and so the couple in the story have nothing to be concerned about ?

[Ralf001]

4 hours ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

This is a link to the Sun article about this. It contains more details and has CCTV video of the altercation. 

 

 

Brit couple's legal nightmare

 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/33737639/brit-couple-retired-thailand-beaten-neighbours-prison

 

What medical treatment do they need that is not available in Thailand ?

 

[Cameroni]

29 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   And this proves that the Thai police are perfect because they didn't take any action for your car not having a tax disc and so the couple in the story have nothing to be concerned about ?

 

Think about it. The policeman could have fined me anyway. Instead they were fair and let me go. This would indicate Thai police are a lot better than their reputation suggests.

I don't think that couple need to worry if they really are innocent.

[rough diamond]

1 hour ago, Harrisfan said:

Never had trouble. People are people. Don't argue with them. Find out what makes them tick.

Why don't you try that approach on AN?

[Felton Jarvis]

22 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

 

You are right, for once.

 

But, it need not BE this way.

We need to restrict access to allow in only a higher quality of people.

For one, we need more people with PhDs who come here to study the culture, such as anthropologists.

Anthros do no harm, from my experience.

 

I just do not understand those who come to Thailand without first having some deep intrinsic interest in the culture, and language, and especially prior interest in Asia, and Asian languages.

Why do they come?

And, why are they allowed in?

 

They should be sent to places like Hong Kong, instead, a place which has already been ruined by the commies.

Hong Kong cannot be damaged any further.

 

Also, the CCP Police in HK are very tough, and they get to the bottom of things very fast, and then handle criminals accordingly, sometimes with a bullet behind the ear, one paid for by the family of he criminal, of course.

 

I really do not like low-class Farang.

And, obviously, this seems to be the issue in this most recent episode.

These low-lifes must be dealt with early, and banished from Thailand.

 

I would never go near them, and so I choose to never live anywhere where I might encounter them.

 

Of course, I know that you are a much better quality of Farang.

You just pretend to be of questionable character, but, in truth, are just as upstanding as somebody like me.

 

 

Your solution seems to be that Thailand should only let in those who have no need to be here. If you have enough money, you can live anywhere.

[rough diamond]

1 hour ago, Cameroni said:

See above. It is always best to read the thread before having a big mouth.

Don't you mean "It is always best to read  the puppet master's missive before having a big mouth and keyboard".

[rough diamond]

1 hour ago, Eloquent pilgrim said:

 

This is satire, right ??

 

 

He does not do satire, just ridicule.

[thrilled]

I could never live in Thailand. It seems like most police will favor Thai people no matter what the circumstances. 

[JJ-Thailand]

Thailand is no longer what it used to be.

[GroveHillWanderer]

1 hour ago, wensiensheng said:

I think it has to be pointed out that the attackers have brought a court case, which I guess is their legal right. It hasn’t gone to court yet, so there is no miscarriage of justice. Reading about the evidence, it seems quite likely that the case will be dismissed and justice done. 

It's not just that the other couple brought a court case though. It was the police that came and arrested them, confiscated their passports, fingerprinted them and charged them with multiple offences. 

 

As for it being likely the case will be dismissed, the Middlesbrough Evening Gazette reports the couple as having been warned that they will most likely be going to jail.

[Eloquent pilgrim]

31 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

Thai police are a lot better than their reputation suggests

 

Ferrari Joe ¯\_(ツ)_/¯