Canadian Condo Owner Claims False Arrest

[Richard84]

Hello,

You are welcome in thailand. Great that you guys stay in thailand i love you all. Thanks for staying in thailand. (whas gona say somting but changed my minde)

ever wunder why most thais tinks forlangs are stupid ? becoze the smart ones get out !!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAAHA

[roatandon]

I always thought you could do stuff around your own home without any problems....for example working in the garden or painting something. Am I wrong?

The other day I was shoveling some stuff around the yard and the BIB cruised by, stopped & chatted with me.....they didnt say anything but were rather amused that a farang knew how to use a shovel....they told me they thought that back in my home country that I would of had thai people digging holes for me ....they were highly amused when I told them that in farangland we actually build our own houses, paint, work in the garden, clean etc.

To make matters worse, I'm not actually living in the house yet because we are making renovations etc before moving in.

Is someone suggesting they might come back and arrest me for what I was doing ....you've got to be joking, right?

I also clean my motorcycle regularly, clean the house....as I am sure most people do?? Whats the go?

I watched farang play guitar in silom the other day, police watch him, look in hat, no money..Police went onwards..no payoff, not worth the sweat..I live in thailand, have learned nothing is fair, you have no rights..so with that in mind, best to be lazy do nothing, buy nothing...works for me

[AndersJensenThailand]

What about all the vollentier police do they have work permit.

All farang shut leave thailand for 2 years, sale all they own here, then the police and guverment had to start thinking about how to do good to people how bring in so much cash to thailand

[OZEMADE]

You can purchase a bar, however you can not go behind the bar to even stock the fridge as this may be done only by the staff employed there.

[HOOD Robin]

Foriegn footballers in the UK must have a work permit! Is football 'work'? Work permit laws are the same all over the world.

OF COURSE they work !!!! They are getting paid very well for that !!! First think before you write something like this my friend....

[munmick]

I don't think sitting on the mgmt board in an unpaid capacity can be termed work within the context of the law. He was after all over seeing his investment and ensuring that he and other condo owners were able to hire Thais to do the management. If he is accused of working, then the person that oversees his/her domestic staff is working when he does their pay and hiring. The management board serves to provide a voice to the unit owners. What the aggrieved management company has done is say F you to the owners and most likely set out charging fees that cannot be challenged. With reports like this, I can't believe people still insist on buying condo units.

When you buy a condo here in Thailand you have no say in what the Condo owner can do with management fees.A customer of our company bought a Condo for 4,000,000 Bhat. The management fee was 1,200 per mounth.That covered security,rubbish removal ,lighting,and as the say maintance. After 12 mounths they put the fee up to 2,350 bhat.The owner complained but could not do anything about the increase. There is very small print in condo contracts that the owner can change the fee at any time......So when people buy a condo they do sometimes not read the small print . I think that it is not good to Buy Condos untill they change the law to protect the buyer from overcharging maintance fees. The same applies to buying a house on an estate,The estates company can charge what they like and you cannot do anything about it except sell, As they say you pay per mounth or get out.

[Guderian]

Just out of curiosity, do the moderators on the various Thai internet forums have to have work permits? Do mods get paid, or receive benefits in kind (e.g. free beer from those forums owned by bars), or do they do the job (sorry, I shouldn't say that word) chores (is that word any better?) out of some sense of online community spirit? It's kind of hard to see how an internet forum is going to have the 2 million Baht capital required per farang WP (or whatever the amount is nowadays), so I'm guessing that the answer is no.

Even individual posters could be breaking the law, couldn't they? Would someone looking for a business without a WP (it's not possible to have the WP before you even know the business you wish to buy, I guess?), say, be breaking the law? Even people putting items up for sale in the classified sections might be deemed to be breaking the law, mightn't they?

It seems to me that the Thais may have deliberately left it very vague and loose, and potentially catch-all, so that they can interpret it as they see fit at the time.

[Kaojai]

Canadian condo owner claims false arrest

Serving as a condo owners’ representative is an unpaid position and does not constitute work, he maintains.

On the visa it states, "Employment Prohibited." It has nothing to do with whether or not you are paid.

The same could potentially be applied to charitable work. If you decide to spend the weekend painting a local school out of the kindness of your heart that is, strictly speaking, employment. In theory a Thai painter has lost the opportunity to be paid to paint the school.

One of the definitions of employment is: " An activity to which one devotes time."

I didn't notice any explanation as to why he owned 5 units. If it's for anything other than his own personal use, it sounds like he's in the business of offering units for rent. I'm not sure what the consequences would be if that were a totally passive investment with rental management undertaken by someone else, but it seems likely he is managing those units for profit.

I don't think he's got much of a defence. He was employed and he appears to have an economic interest related to that employment.

[johnefallis]

It's the law that every year owners of condos are elected to be "kamagann" or committee members who share a meeting with the chosen management company of the building. This is according to the Condo Act which is actually making things easier for condo owners. There have been several problems in Thailand with corrupt management companies. I for one have had this experience in my condo, and I used to join from time to time the committee, and use my auditing back ground to check things which they've already audited. I wasn't happy with our old management company and voted to remove them.

Personally, I would use the Condo Act to help me, which says that every owner Thai or aliens (providing that the building isn't more than 40% owned by foreigners) is entitled to be elected for the committee.

However, in order to obtain a work permit a person must be earning more than 60,000 baht a month (in Bangkok) and have registered capital of.....etc,etc. Therefore, this would be impossible for someone who is actually a tourist or retiree and therefore contradict the Condo Act (work permits are also issued for specific jobs so using a work permit for another job would still break the law).

Put it another way, if you can get a work permit for being on the commitee then that's just great. No more visa trips!!!!!! All I have to do is go to one meeting every 3months and whoppy, I can get a 1yr biz visa.

Most condos do actually pay their members a small fee, like Bt500 per meeting and should a work permit be needed for the job then that also implies that Thai committee members as well as management company members should submit their Bt500 per meeting for income tax purposes but who's going to do that? Therefore, they could also have committed a crime and worth a counter charge.

My guess is that the police will let this issue slip regarding the committee and work permit, hence the excuse that the chief is in Bangkok. I am just thinking about the consequences in Pattaya where so many committees are almost entirely made of foriegn retirees and long-term tourists.....

This sounds like to me that the management company have paid the police Bt5,000 to put this guy in a cell for a night just to scare him and stop him asking difficult questions in the meeting. What this guy needs to do is get some support from the other committee members and vote to push out this management company. Its' easy. Only two members of the Committee are needed to put the topic on the agenda and the committe can decide by themselves. They no longer need to get a 70% approval from all the residents as the case before the new Condo Act....Go for it....

***Woohoo!

[johnefallis]

However, in order to obtain a work permit a person must be earning more than 60,000 baht a month (in Bangkok) and have registered capital of.....etc,etc

This is not correct. Also a volunteer, earning 0, can get a workpermit.

What is the fee for that work permit? I doubt that it is reciprocal.

[johnefallis]

some further clarifications apparent in the updated report - he had an appointment with them - would be interesting to find out if he continued in the position after he was on notice or is he just moaning about the original 'injustice'?

now looks like the aggrieved other party is one of the other condo owners who hasn't paid / disputes the fees (may or may not be the developer etc.)

farang condo owners' positions can be protected without a farang being the JP so he's a bit ahead of himself

his comments about that the thai government should tell farangs clearly rather than arresting them is infantile - he knew (or should have known) what he was doing - its not even as if he is a bored retiree with only one unit he owns and occupies and has merely got involved a little with the committee (and even then would be his own look out) - he takes no responsibility for what has happened even though it is entirely his own fault

the 'false arrest' headline is still inaccurate even against what he claims, suggest 'Canadian blames everyone else for his own actions'

Anyhow sterling work by the PG to point out that laws differ in different countries

There are often cases in which "aliens" are arrested in Thailand for doing work which would not be considered illegal for foreigners without work permits in other countries.

Always seems to be those individuals that want to impose their 1st world countries ethics and morals in the LOS. If you really care about this country and it's people you could at least try to be a little concerned over the many injustices that go on here, whether its between expats/thais or thais/thais. Rather than blame this guy, tell it like it reads unless you know something the rest of us don't this is a pretty simple case of extortion, at best. I mean come on we have a situation here that can be pulled on any one of us expats here, for merely painting your house.

If had invested in 5 of those condos, (and if they are the blue canyon condos those are a pretty penny).. I would want some pull on that committee myself, I am also a committe member on several condos I own, dont really participate but it keeps me informed. Been living here 18 years never occurred to me to get a second and third work permit to participate on those committees, which im not even sure is possible. I have dozens of friends or at least friends of friends that are participating similarily here on committees whether they be condos, NGOs, charities, or sport organizations none i know of have workpermits for that purpose.

Whether he is the JP or not is non the matter, if this guy was the deciding vote on this committee we would see the same injustice. My guess is this article has been written as he has decided to out this into the media because he believes he has done nothing wrong and this is the only way he can protect his investment and for that matter himself. I figure this guy isn't going down without a fight, he would have turn tailed along time ago before it got to this stage. This looks like another bullet solution, I think he is lucky to not be lying face down with lead poisoning by now.

I think this is a chance for logical expats to take a bit of a stance in this forum. Granted there is limited knowledge here, but im sure it will all come out soon. My guess is he will take it as far as it will go in the media, this is what might be keeping him alive.

Lets get some facts on this one before we start cutting this guy up, from what i have read so far it sounds like he been railroaded.

Never know one day you might actually be able to invest here without looking over your shoulder for a stray bullet or a jail sentence.

Thank you for saving me the time and effort of writing the same thing. I think based on what I've seen in the last 6 months here in Thailand I will NOT be buying a condo or building a house, not here, like I had planned. I don't need TiT crap, I've had enough already over the years.

I think I'll be better off to get another boat instead. This country is in for some enormous changes in the coming years anyway. It's anybody's guess which way things will go. Thanks TAT for the 2 free visas though, at least I'll likely stay to benefit from them.

[johnefallis]

This donkey should shut his mouth,

Claiming this rule isn't enforced elsewhere isn't helping his case. His interpretation of Thai labor law isn't helping his case.

Where I live I know for sure some owners don't pay their maintaince fee & there isn't a dam thing the condo association can do about it.

They can't lock the owner out of his unit.

Since condos are supposed to be 51% Thai owned & above why does this idiot get involved in whether or not owners are paying their maintaince fee?

The best thing this Nadian can do is to put his units with a property management company & disappear into the woodwork.

I totally agree with blaiz. This ain't your homecountry & it never will be.

Calling attention to oneself in this manner will get you blacklisted.

I think it's pretty clear you have very little idea what you are talking about. Nor does anything you said coincide with what Blaiz said. Looks to me your opinions couldn't be more different. Who's the donkey now, or "AIN'T"?

[thaibkk]

as long as us Farangs cannot own land / house, nothing will ever change... we are tolerated to spend our money here and helping the local economy, end of story... out of money, we are friendly (fines) invited to leave the country... i think all western countries should be as strict on thais in their country as farangs are threated here, but in our western home countries, this would be called RACISM !

[johnefallis]

Always seems to be those individuals that want to impose their 1st world countries ethics and morals in the LOS.

not sure what 1st world standards i am apparently applying to the reported situation???

it seems like he is the one wanting to apply different rules to the situation

If you really care about this country and it's people you could at least try to be a little concerned over the many injustices that go on here, whether its between expats/thais or thais/thais. Rather than blame this guy, tell it like it reads unless you know something the rest of us don't this is a pretty simple case of extortion, at best. I mean come on we have a situation here that can be pulled on any one of us expats here, for merely painting your house.

Caring about 'this country and its people'? you know me so well - to care i should grieve over a farang who appears to have broken the law and is moaning about it and talking down the laws of the country he is a guest in without acknowledging his own role in it all?

I am telling it like it reads (it is PG afterall) - (as reported) the guy is moaning about a situation he has got himself into. Yes he is getting rolled over because of a dispute and in an ideal world that would not occur - rather the laws would be consistently and forcefully enforced across the board (and perhaps the laws might be different?) (BUT they are not). However he knew (or should have) known the rules (both written and real world - including sparodic enforcement) - if he didn't like them he should not have played the game. Now he's got burnt he's moaning about it??

no one forced him to do anything - many farangs rely on what others do and have done without apparent problem - thats fine but if for whatever reason the knock on the door comes and the authorities scrutinise what you have done (however unofficially you might think its been 'encouraged' in the first place) you should have the grace to accept the consequences (since surely you assessed that risk at the outset - if not, more fool you)

I'm incredulous that your reply is even worse than the one Blaiz "blazed" you for in the first place. I can't say any more because it's likely to just feed "flame" to the blaze you've already brought on yourself. Did you even think before writing any of this?

[johnefallis]

not sure what 1st world standards i am apparently applying to the reported situation??? it seems like he is the one wanting to apply different rules to the situation

What I am referring to here is some like to believe the LOS justice is in black and white, sorry I'm sure you would be mistaken to believe law enforcement is anything but completely grey. Laws are enforced by the wealthy and powerful and until you stop joining the Thai law bandwagon this is gunna continue. Foreign investment here both monetarily and socially is the way forward for any country. I believe your first post indicates you are willing to allow this grey area to exist and continue to propagate through your comments this mentality. I for one while trying to mind my own business here and stay out of trouble have an opportunity in anonymity to put forward ideas that here may be dangerous and totally against the flow of present Thailand, and this is the beauty of internet social media. Your comments only reinforce longstanding opinions are the roots of evil in this society namely to never question authority and allow laws and regulation to create injustice. While you may truly love this country and its people, you are propagating its perpetual poverty and lack of basic rights by your interaction in this forum. Humanity is a valuable thing that should be stood up for especially in places of safety from prosecution such as Thai Visa.

Caring about 'this country and its people'? you know me so well - to care i should grieve over a farang who appears to have broken the law and is moaning about it and talking down the laws of the country he is a guest in without acknowledging his own role in it all?

no one forced him to do anything - many farangs rely on what others do and have done without apparent problem - thats fine but if for whatever reason the knock on the door comes and the authorities scrutinise what you have done (however unofficially you might think its been 'encouraged' in the first place) you should have the grace to accept the consequences (since surely you assessed that risk at the outset - if not, more fool you)

I am in no way asking for grief or condolence, he may indeed by a swindler and deserve all he gets and I may well jump on the same wagon as you at that point. But unless we are reading this differently, I am seeing a guy that has no recourse here, but to explain his situation all be it one sided and to his benefit, to the press and hope there are some people that will join him in his protest. Regarding "grace" you may have a higher ethical and moral standard than I, but I can tell you I would be fighting this tooth and nail till the bitter f##king end, even if I was wrong, forget grace. Having those 5 condos living here for 10 years he probably has other investments here as well, those condos alone would have to be worth upwards of 2 million US$, plus golf memberships and vehicles etc. This is a guy that has come here and put millions into this country, he must have some connections there must be some heavies on him here, I don't think this has anything to do with breaking the law.

Thaiwanderer, I like surely as you, break the law as grey as it is here everyday. Whether it's bagging my own groceries, driving over the speed limit, cooking my families dinner, mowing my lawn, coaching a local football team, teaching my girlfriend to play the guitar etc etc. They will have to pry my family, my home, and my guitar out of my cold dead hands before i lay down to this. I will spend every last dime in litigation for false arrest and reparations, and every media on this planet will hear about it. So as far as I can see from this article while there is no way I would be caught in this situation here, stupidity is not one of those Thai law grey areas, its legal.

My thoughts EXACTLY. Enough said, I hope. If anybody here disagrees with this, I'd REALLY like to know. Seriously, This is an even more important topic than the original post.

[johnefallis]

1. i sympathize with the man as kicking down the bamboo curtain is a most formidable endeavor.

2. this story just shows the contrast and therby the unfairness of the two cultures.

3. until such time as global society will focus on the racism that is taught and lived in "asia", these sorts of abuses of the law will continue.

we can hope that the thai justice system will focus on the charge at hand and rule in an unbaised way as though they were blind to race or nationality of the defendant.

4. ive been going to thailand since 1996 and always am aware of the deep seated racism and facism here. thus, i always stayed surface here, that is i never got serious about anything. i see them for what they are and want.

5. if you western white men, knowing and educated choose to go against the grain in siam and achieve and live long to enjoy, then i am in awe of you.

6.i believe there is a high probabilty that prolonges exposure to living in thai will be hurtfull so i choose not to. short time is ok with me!

7. PLEASE RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET THE CRIME STATISTICS FOR THAILAND. THE MURDER RATE, GUN VIOLENCE NUMBERS ETC. this way you will know what you are exposing yourself to.

8. i say go around. visit all the countries in the region. dont just stay in thailand all the time, there are other countries that have offerings not found in thai. both good and bad.

9. if this legal matter happened to an asian in the west it would be called racism and the tables would be turned. dont forget where you have come from expats and the idealisms you were taught. dont choose tyrany.

10. stop giving everything away and unify to make a change for the better. western goverments need to do alot more to assure globalism is open to all the world not just a one way take and no give!

Another excellent post. Thank you for taking the time.

[Dap]

I always remember the man in the labour exchange in the uk asking me " have you done any work since you last signed on ",. it made no difference if you receive wages or not, its that question, have you worked ?. im sure painting your own house will ( at least in thailand ) be considered working and hence a no no,.

I don't know about anyone else, but if I had to paint my house, I certainly wouldn't call it "play"

[Navalator]

There is something fishy about this story as reported. Sounds to me like someone is getting even with the guy about something else.

[Indra]

Thank you for saving me the time and effort of writing the same thing. I think based on what I've seen in the last 6 months here in Thailand I will NOT be buying a condo or building a house, not here, like I had planned. I don't need TiT crap, I've had enough already over the years.

I think I'll be better off to get another boat instead. This country is in for some enormous changes in the coming years anyway. It's anybody's guess which way things will go. Thanks TAT for the 2 free visas though, at least I'll likely stay to benefit from them.

Well, you may try buying properties in Singapore, but then you'll find out that the price is about the same like the one in your home country.

Or perhaps you want to go buying in Japan?

After trying several countries in Asia, eventually you'll decide to return to Thailand and buy a condo or a leased house, and find a mia noi

[johnefallis]

I will leave aside discussion of the rights or wrongs of foreign investment, laws affecting foreigners etc. (for the moment!).

The precise role he served and the reason for the arrest are not at all clear from the PG report. It is impossible for him to be a 'juristic person' of the others in the way the report suggests. He might be an officer or representative of a 'juristic person', the only 'juristic person' per se he can be is his ordinary self Mr. Nixon.

Unless he is merely a personal (in his own name) owner occupier of a single unit, he could very easily find himself in a position in which he requires a work permit (yes its due to the wide wording of the labour laws which are sparodically enforced but I will leave general discussion of the whys and wherefores of that to to the side for the moment).

The other possibilities are as follows (not all mutually exclusive):-

1. He owns the units by way of a company (thai or foreign) - any actions by him as director etc. of such a company is 'work'

2. He owns the units in his personal name - pretty much any action he takes in managing this investment would be 'work'

3. He acts as a proxy for owner/s of other units in casting their votes (he can only be a proxy for 3 other units) - 'work'

4. He is on the Condominium Corporate Board - 'work'

5. He is the Condominium Corporate Board Chairman / Vice Chairman - 'work'

6. He is the Condominium Manager - 'work'

(much of this is not normally a problem but in his case he has got into a dispute so the door knock has come)

Interestingly the maximum penalty for working without a work permit is 5 years imprisonment for the Employee and only a fine for the Employer.

Also IIRC if he is convicted of this he may be forced to dispose of the units (and depending on the circumstances barred from purchasing another condominium unit anywhere in Thailand?)- and with a forced disposal at the very least the monetary price will of course suffer.

The PG report talks of his merely wishing to act as a safety net for the common interests of the joint owners - without acknowledging his own 5 votes, the votes of the other joint owners and the protections afforded by the condominium acts.

Its all well and good standing up for your rights but before you start throwing stones.........

You just DON'T get it, do you?

[johnefallis]

Thank you for saving me the time and effort of writing the same thing. I think based on what I've seen in the last 6 months here in Thailand I will NOT be buying a condo or building a house, not here, like I had planned. I don't need TiT crap, I've had enough already over the years.

I think I'll be better off to get another boat instead. This country is in for some enormous changes in the coming years anyway. It's anybody's guess which way things will go. Thanks TAT for the 2 free visas though, at least I'll likely stay to benefit from them.

Well, you may try buying properties in Singapore, but then you'll find out that the price is about the same like the one in your home country.

Or perhaps you want to go buying in Japan?

After trying several countries in Asia, eventually you'll decide to return to Thailand and buy a condo or a leased house, and find a mia noi

Maybe, but a) Living on my boat negates the need to buy a home. I can rent c) Already own a home elsewhere d) I already have her e) All of the above.

I'll still probably buy a place here though. I don't mind having somebody do just about everything else for me anyway. I won't spend any more than I can walk away from. (P.S. my son in U.S. is of Thai descent, so I can always give it to him, hehehe).

[johnefallis]

Thaiwanderer,

apologies for any stones cast your way, they were in a dispersion pattern

Haha, ditto for me. Sort of. Don't worry, be happy, this is LOS.

I think I'll go work on my tan. Oh sh!t, did I say "work"?

[johnefallis]

I know this idea will probably be ridiculed, but as usual when something racist, unequal or biased occurs many views are expressed which follow the TIT line and nothing ever changes.

Have foreigners ( and i hate using that term as it is intrinsically divisive) ever tried petitioning the government with a list of points for consideration? I am fairly sure that as tax paying members of this society a unified voice and cause goes a lotf arther than comments on a forum thread. We are a lot better financed than most, and most people would consider themselves to have better than average education and throw in a couple of foreign news networks to cover the story and things may change. hel_l we could even get ourseleves a special coloured t-shirt!

We know what the inequalities are - why not seek change?

assume sarcastic post

the powers that be are already well aware of what foreigners want - money has flowed in quite well without enfranchising farangs

having more money than the majority of thais is of little importance - you may have noticed they aren't the ones making the decisions

feel superior by all means, whilst your pocket is emptied

(and before morality police rises up - i am not saying this is a good thing)

What's sarcastic about it? Appears rather sound and informed to me.

What are they well aware that foreigners want?

You often seem to be in a world of your own.

[Indra]

Maybe, but a) Living on my boat negates the need to buy a home. I can rent c) Already own a home elsewhere d) I already have her e) All of the above.

I'll still probably buy a place here though. I don't mind having somebody do just about everything else for me anyway. I won't spend any more than I can walk away from. (P.S. my son in U.S. is of Thai descent, so I can always give it to him, hehehe).

Now you make the confession

The closest relationship, which I have in Thailand, is a just a Thais friend, who was my former customer; My wife has a Thais friend too, who was her friend in college.

We only spent 1 year+ in Thailand, but we think that Thailand is nice and the people are kind.

My wife and I are Asian, so we can judge based on Asian standard manner.

Perhaps in your home country, people are nicer? OK good boy, don't be shy to make another confession.

[BlueSmurf]

I think you'll find that the laws are specifically written so that they can be selectively enforced. I don't think it is an accident that the law is vague.

If you refuse to keep a low profile and offend the wrong person you ARE going to be guilty of something.

Exactly ! If its vague there are no loop holes.They will get you if they want..Maybe a lesson to all who want to or have bought a House under the guise of a company! Your days are numbered !! As for buying condos to make money as a investment that is working and you have to pay your TAX. If they want they can say its working without a permit! Its up to them the law is vague....

If you can't afford to loose it don't spend it...From someone who can't afford to loose it.....

As I lost it before i came here...Things are getting tighter here and if you are seen to have money someone else is going to want it! You have been WARNED!

TIT if you don't then there are no excuses

[thaiwanderer]

You just DON'T get it, do you?

what exactly do you think i do not get?

[johnefallis]

it is work but if he maintains it isn't then thats okay then

its an unpaid position.

i help my girlfriends mum go to the market and buy ice and then cut it so she can sell it in her shop. is that work too??!!

Under both the specifics and grey areas of Thai labor law; Yes, it is. Nice, huh?

[eddiemonster]

I know this idea will probably be ridiculed, but as usual when something racist, unequal or biased occurs many views are expressed which follow the TIT line and nothing ever changes.

Have foreigners ( and i hate using that term as it is intrinsically divisive) ever tried petitioning the government with a list of points for consideration? I am fairly sure that as tax paying members of this society a unified voice and cause goes a lotf arther than comments on a forum thread. We are a lot better financed than most, and most people would consider themselves to have better than average education and throw in a couple of foreign news networks to cover the story and things may change. hel_l we could even get ourseleves a special coloured t-shirt!

We know what the inequalities are - why not seek change?

Better get a Work Permit before the coloured t-shirt

[johnefallis]

Hello,

You are welcome in thailand. Great that you guys stay in thailand i love you all. Thanks for staying in thailand. (whas gona say somting but changed my minde)

ever wunder why most thais tinks forlangs are stupid ? becoze the smart ones get out !!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAAHA

Counter-point:

Most Thais aren't "qualified" to know the difference between a smart or stupid falang. Even the dumb ones are hired to teach at the Universities here.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAhahaha,..ha..ha...oooohhh...

But most are nice. Unlike you. We like that. It's pretty clear you have little idea what the rest of the world is like. Or how most view Thailand. I don't think there's any of us that don't get more than our money's worth.

;-)

[alstaxi]

can we change the title of the thread?

'Canadian arrested - blames police, condo owner, government, vague legislation, selective enforcement etc.'

You sound like a real nice guy, your insightful comments really contribute to the discussion.