4 minutes ago, wil iam not said:

I have never noticed that. On arrival the IO looks at paperwork, takes your photo, then stamps the passport and immediately passes it back to you.

They are experienced at noticing anything that is not correct.

In saying that I have the feeling he is all B/S

The other surprising thing is on release he wasn't interviewed by one of the Thai based YouTube interviewers,

the Irish lad, or that pretend farmer out in the sticks....

Deported, and straight to departures?

5 minutes ago, wil iam not said:

I have never noticed that. On arrival the IO looks at paperwork, takes your photo, then stamps the passport and immediately passes it back to you.

Maybe they don't do it any more, or not as rigorously as they used to. I got a new passport 14 months ago and none of my Thai stamps have flight numbers noted.

TiT

YMMV

Messing around with your visa and doing this sort of stuff is a fool's errand these days... best to be legit as immigration has a fur up its backside now compared to back in the day and they sure enjoy rounding up muppets like this guy to make an example of.

12 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

I don't suppose the Thai prison system cares about your likes, dislikes or what you oppose, to be honest.

I didn't write my post for the Thai prison system. I wrote it for fellow AsianNow Forum participants, like you. 😊

1 hour ago, flaming dragon said:

I've been doing it for years, but with a reputable agent,

The definition of a 'reputable agent' is in Thai Penal Code Sec.143:

Section 143. Accepting Benefit by Member of Government

Whoever, demanding, accepting or agreeing to accept a property or any other benefit for himself or the other person as a return for inducting or having induced, by dishonest or unlawful means, or by using his influence, any official, ... to exercise or not to exercise any of his functions, which is advantageous or disadvantageous to any person (penalty)

Where was Stan Laurel?

34 minutes ago, Pasak110 said:

Looking at his height and that photo, he looks a big lad, should been able to handle himself in prison. Might have lost weight with all that quality food they have or can purchase. I imagine someone, friends etc and isn't there some sort of Pattaya based group that helps out foreigners who get banged up here?

Yeah,

Soi 6 has a prisoners' support group, I should imagine.😂

Don't ever use agents! Just visit the immigration office and sort it out yourself.

Is there a gofundme ?

Should have had Stan Laurel bail him out and make a run for the border.

36 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

Yeah,

Soi 6 has a prisoners' support group, I should imagine.😂

yes.

it's called Blow & Go.

He was later convicted of remaining in Thailand after permission to stay had expired, leaving through an unauthorised route without immigration inspection, forging immigration stamps used for international travel, forging official seals and official documents, and using forged immigration stamps and documents.

Must have visited Khao San road, eh?

2 hours ago, wil iam not said:

How could he post on Farcebook if he was in the Monkey House?

Doesnt say when he was realeased does it? Fyi he got out at the end of 2025...

I knew a guy, back in the day, who allegedly used half a potato to forge an immigration stamp, and got away with it. Those days are long gone, i think.

16 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Should have had Stan Laurel bail him out and make a run for the border.

Bit late with that pun Wiggy, been done several times already.

What’s that old chestnut? If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.

I hate it when people sell books and make a ton of money off their prison experiences.

Just shows that normal lives are so boring no one wants to read about your boring life until you go to prison.

17 minutes ago, Front Row said:

What’s that old chestnut? If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.

True- but I am sure the prison was a holiday camp after living in Croydon

I know of one expat retiree who pays 20k Baht so that he doen't have to show the 800k per annum. He had previously done it the kosher way.

He's quite wealthy, and if I were in his situation I would just have carried on doing it the legal way. He probably needs around 800k pa to live on anyway. It also means that he has to make 4 trips a year to Pattaya (lives in Bangkok), previously it was one annual trip to C W and 3 X 90 day reports by mail.

6 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

I know of one expat retiree who pays 20k Baht so that he doen't have to show the 800k per annum. He had previously done it the kosher way.

He's quite wealthy, and if I were in his situation I would just have carried on doing it the legal way. He probably needs around 800k pa to live on anyway. It also means that he has to make 4 trips a year to Pattaya (lives in Bangkok), previously it was one annual trip to C W and 3 X 90 day reports by mail.

He probably likes having an excuse to visit Pattaya. Using an agent costs about the same whether you use your own money in the bank or the agents. If he invests the 800k and makes even just 5% return then he is in profit.

7 minutes ago, James105 said:

He probably likes having an excuse to visit Pattaya. Using an agent costs about the same whether you use your own money in the bank or the agents. If he invests the 800k and makes even just 5% return then he is in profit.

Please let me know which bank is paying 5% interest. Or perhaps I misunderstand the point you’re trying to make.

3 hours ago, FlorC said:

Harsh punishment for a victimless (not even a serious) "crime".

There are victims and the visa fraud is a serious crime, because it relates to a nation's national security.

In my wildest imagination I cannot imagine what it would be like to spend time in a Thai prison or any other prison for that matter. I visited a guy while living on Samui who got busted for dealing one kilo of ganja. The local cops gave him a choice of coming up with 1 million baht within 48 hours or going to prison. He was incapable of raising that money and he served an 18 month sentence. I visited him a few times and he told me that he slept in a room with 60 other men and if he slept on his back with his arms across his chest on a very thin mat that he would be able to avoid touching the guy next to him. No air conditioning and no fans and the only way to gain access to decent food was to be able to come up with some cash. He said the odors were overwhelming and it took a great amount of skill and diplomacy to negotiate his way through those days in prison.

The thought boggles my mind.

33 minutes ago, James105 said:

He probably likes having an excuse to visit Pattaya. Using an agent costs about the same whether you use your own money in the bank or the agents. If he invests the 800k and makes even just 5% return then he is in profit.

He's not a Pattaya guy, he goes there and comes back the same day. (gets a nosebleed if he leaves lower Sukhumvit)😁

4 hours ago, Jonathan Swift said:

Agents use forged documents, such as 800,000 baht bank accounts that don't exist

Nonsense. Bank accounts to show the 800k balance have to exist that is why anybody using those services has to provide a bank account or have one opened in their name.

7 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

he travelled to Thailand in January 2023 after saving for five years for what he described as the holiday of a lifetime.

If he save 5 years for a trip to LOS and has been in jail all this time Plus 3000 pound spent and a side trip to Bali...where is all this money coming from?

A tremendous amount of minimising and blaming others in his statements.

I don't see a person who sees rules and laws as anything that need to be followed.

It is not difficult to stay in Thailand if one really sets one mind to it. Yet he saw fit to pay large amounts of money to others to circumvent the system for him. Why?

4 hours ago, Jonathan Swift said:

Now he'll use it for content, all's well that ends well. He'll get rich off this. Except you people who think you can trust "agents" with your personal affairs and immigration status, remember this story and do everything yourself, the right way. Agents use forged documents, such as 800,000 baht bank accounts that don't exist. They all have stacks of brown envelopes at the ready. Spin the roulette wheel and hope you don't get caught.

Agents don't used forged documents.

58 minutes ago, Front Row said:

Please let me know which bank is paying 5% interest. Or perhaps I misunderstand the point you’re trying to make.

Plenty UK banks still offer 5% or almost...just look at Raisin