Big Trouble In Tourist Thailand

[kevkev1888]

quote 'Who is Howard outside of the tourist police?'

Answer: Obviously a nobody who didnt get to dress up as a kid. Someone who has had his fill of pattaya hookers and now gets his kicks by strutting around walking street looking important? who knows.

Since you don't give us your full name and background, I have made up my own for you.

You are a low-income earner, living back in the UK, didn't go onto pursue any higher education, has a job that requires more hands on than thinking (or 'manual labor' as it is called), you live to drink a lot of beer and spend 2 weeks of vacation in Thailand getting really pissed and trying to fondle bargirls that doesn't appreciate it. You have a general dislike of people in uniforms and police and their volunteers in specific. You have been in trouble with the law before but never served time. And you whished you could live here full time with a lot of money, but realise that you will never be able to do atleast the latter.

How does it sound?

Spot on Tawp. Ten out of ten for observation.

Cheers, Rick

[taffylee]

Did anyone notice who was assisting the Brit Derek Moore over his property development predicament at the police station? None other than John Johansen!

He probably had something up his sleeve to help relax the poor man.

Who is John Johansen?

Cheers, Rick

John Jonansen is a drug dealing former Tourist Police Volunteer currently serving a sentence in Thailand, there is much information on news site Pattayadailynews, or simply just google his name and Pattaya..

http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownews.p...NEWS=0000010247

http://www.pattayadailynews.com/forumnew/e...p?f=2&t=151

He had extensive criminal past in his home country too which seem to have slipped by the supposed rigorous vetting processes of the Wannabe police department.

Edited October 21, 2009 by taffylee

[whistleblower]

quote 'Who is Howard outside of the tourist police?'

Answer: Obviously a nobody who didnt get to dress up as a kid. Someone who has had his fill of pattaya hookers and now gets his kicks by strutting around walking street looking important? who knows.

Since you don't give us your full name and background, I have made up my own for you.

You are a low-income earner, living back in the UK, didn't go onto pursue any higher education, has a job that requires more hands on than thinking (or 'manual labor' as it is called), you live to drink a lot of beer and spend 2 weeks of vacation in Thailand getting really pissed and trying to fondle bargirls that doesn't appreciate it. You have a general dislike of people in uniforms and police and their volunteers in specific. You have been in trouble with the law before but never served time. And you whished you could live here full time with a lot of money, but realise that you will never be able to do atleast the latter.

How does it sound?

Nice try, but wrong. check my earlier posts.

My turn:

You are a friend of Howard and own a bar in Pattaya??

[whistleblower]

quote 'Who is Howard outside of the tourist police?'

Answer: Obviously a nobody who didnt get to dress up as a kid. Someone who has had his fill of pattaya hookers and now gets his kicks by strutting around walking street looking important? who knows.

Since you don't give us your full name and background, I have made up my own for you.

You are a low-income earner, living back in the UK, didn't go onto pursue any higher education, has a job that requires more hands on than thinking (or 'manual labor' as it is called), you live to drink a lot of beer and spend 2 weeks of vacation in Thailand getting really pissed and trying to fondle bargirls that doesn't appreciate it. You have a general dislike of people in uniforms and police and their volunteers in specific. You have been in trouble with the law before but never served time. And you whished you could live here full time with a lot of money, but realise that you will never be able to do atleast the latter.

How does it sound?

Spot on Tawp. Ten out of ten for observation.

Cheers, Rick

I am not the one who agreed to be put in the public eye for 8 weeks on t.v and therefore open to public speculation and or criticism and thus dont feel i need to spill all about who i am etc. Just playing devils advocate. Just curious about people who want to assist a corrupt organisation, for no monetry gain, and have no real power to assist tourists, when push comes to shove.

[bangkokrick]

Did anyone notice who was assisting the Brit Derek Moore over his property development predicament at the police station? None other than John Johansen!

He probably had something up his sleeve to help relax the poor man.

Who is John Johansen?

Cheers, Rick

John Jonansen is a drug dealing former Tourist Police Volunteer currently serving a sentence in Thailand, there is much information on news site Pattayadailynews, or simply just google his name and Pattaya..

http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownews.p...NEWS=0000010247

http://www.pattayadailynews.com/forumnew/e...p?f=2&t=151

He had extensive criminal past in his home country too which seem to have slipped by the supposed rigorous vetting processes of the Wannabe police department.

Interesting thanks for the info. I will have a read.

Cheers, Rick

[whistleblower]

that coupled with the other complaint from the bar girl about a TVP bullying/hassling her is the reason i doubt the whole organisation. I asked howard as he is the most prominent one on tv.

[TAWP]

quote 'Who is Howard outside of the tourist police?'

Answer: Obviously a nobody who didnt get to dress up as a kid. Someone who has had his fill of pattaya hookers and now gets his kicks by strutting around walking street looking important? who knows.

Since you don't give us your full name and background, I have made up my own for you.

You are a low-income earner, living back in the UK, didn't go onto pursue any higher education, has a job that requires more hands on than thinking (or 'manual labor' as it is called), you live to drink a lot of beer and spend 2 weeks of vacation in Thailand getting really pissed and trying to fondle bargirls that doesn't appreciate it. You have a general dislike of people in uniforms and police and their volunteers in specific. You have been in trouble with the law before but never served time. And you whished you could live here full time with a lot of money, but realise that you will never be able to do atleast the latter.

How does it sound?

Nice try, but wrong. check my earlier posts.

My turn:

You are a friend of Howard and own a bar in Pattaya??

Not even close, hate it in Pattaya (been there 1 day in all years), never meet Howard and don't own a bar or the likes.

I am not the one who agreed to be put in the public eye for 8 weeks on t.v and therefore open to public speculation and or criticism and thus dont feel i need to spill all about who i am etc. Just playing devils advocate. Just curious about people who want to assist a corrupt organisation, for no monetry gain, and have no real power to assist tourists, when push comes to shove.

They aren't assisting a corrupt organisation, they are assisting the tourists that get into trouble.

I was a referee for many years on a high level and I see the same spite against Howards as I saw against referees in general, often by people spouting claims about 'powertrip' etc which is very far from the reason one does it.

[TAWP]

Regarding Mr. Johansen:

"At 7:30 pm today (3rd September) the editor of PDN was notified by Mr. Howard Miller, the leader of the Volunteer Tourist Police, that Johansen had been sacked from his team about 6 months ago because it was discovered he had a dark past. Johansen has now been taken to the office of Narcotics Suppression Bureau for further processing."

In the news article.

So the TPV are clearly not hiding someone and even fired him 6 months BEFORE any current event took place.

[richard_smith237]

After reading so many of comments and responses I can’t help but assume that there are some rather unintelligent folk who make judgments of other people according to their own limitations. Of course if you are one of these people it is unlikely that you are able to recognise that this post is aimed at you!

As such this post is for the benefit of those intelligent and open minded enough to recognise the fact.

The world does not exist to please narrow minded monkeys, to fit within ‘their’ box or correspond to their understanding of the way things should be.

Some people do take great satisfaction, fulfilment and enjoyment out of assisting others.

If the negative and narrow-minded Muppets have not worked out how yet that’s unfortunate, but ‘they’ are not contributing much to this forum with ‘their’ perpetual narrow minded and repetitive diatribe. By using more of ‘their’ intelligence in understanding others ‘they’ might then appreciate events with a little more clarity and have the ability to recognise the positive intentions and motives in others without the negative connotations.

It’s apparent to myself and I’m sure others in this forum that these negative people have ‘shot their mouth off’ without anything other than an opinion. When faced with fact ’they’ fail to recognise error instead choosing to let ‘their’ ego take over providing further argument without evidence and in doing so making ‘themselves’ appear rather unintelligent.

The word ‘Pillock’ springs to mind.

And for guys like Howard and anyone else who works in a voluntary organisation assisting others, you have plenty of peoples respect and recognition for your hard work.

Regardless of what the ill-informed say, the Tourist Police Volunteers are certainly doing no harm. And by all available accounts and evidence they do some excellent work in mitigating situations that for many of the tourists involved would otherwise get well out of hand.

[caf]

After reading so many of comments and responses I can't help but assume that there are some rather unintelligent folk who make judgments of other people according to their own limitations. Of course if you are one of these people it is unlikely that you are able to recognise that this post is aimed at you!

As such this post is for the benefit of those intelligent and open minded enough to recognise the fact.

The world does not exist to please narrow minded monkeys, to fit within 'their' box or correspond to their understanding of the way things should be.

Some people do take great satisfaction, fulfilment and enjoyment out of assisting others.

If the negative and narrow-minded Muppets have not worked out how yet that's unfortunate, but 'they' are not contributing much to this forum with 'their' perpetual narrow minded and repetitive diatribe. By using more of 'their' intelligence in understanding others 'they' might then appreciate events with a little more clarity and have the ability to recognise the positive intentions and motives in others without the negative connotations.

It's apparent to myself and I'm sure others in this forum that these negative people have 'shot their mouth off' without anything other than an opinion. When faced with fact 'they' fail to recognise error instead choosing to let 'their' ego take over providing further argument without evidence and in doing so making 'themselves' appear rather unintelligent.

The word 'Pillock' springs to mind.

And for guys like Howard and anyone else who works in a voluntary organisation assisting others, you have plenty of peoples respect and recognition for your hard work.

Regardless of what the ill-informed say, the Tourist Police Volunteers are certainly doing no harm. And by all available accounts and evidence they do some excellent work in mitigating situations that for many of the tourists involved would otherwise get well out of hand.

two sides to every story, and therefore you should respect other people's opinions.

the tvp do some good work i agree with you; but they can also be fairly criticised - as some have done in this and other threads.

look more carefully at your own language. highlighted above for convenience

[whistleblower]

After reading so many of comments and responses I can't help but assume that there are some rather unintelligent folk who make judgments of other people according to their own limitations. Of course if you are one of these people it is unlikely that you are able to recognise that this post is aimed at you!

As such this post is for the benefit of those intelligent and open minded enough to recognise the fact.

The world does not exist to please narrow minded monkeys, to fit within 'their' box or correspond to their understanding of the way things should be.

Some people do take great satisfaction, fulfilment and enjoyment out of assisting others.

If the negative and narrow-minded Muppets have not worked out how yet that's unfortunate, but 'they' are not contributing much to this forum with 'their' perpetual narrow minded and repetitive diatribe. By using more of 'their' intelligence in understanding others 'they' might then appreciate events with a little more clarity and have the ability to recognise the positive intentions and motives in others without the negative connotations.

It's apparent to myself and I'm sure others in this forum that these negative people have 'shot their mouth off' without anything other than an opinion. When faced with fact 'they' fail to recognise error instead choosing to let 'their' ego take over providing further argument without evidence and in doing so making 'themselves' appear rather unintelligent.

The word 'Pillock' springs to mind.

And for guys like Howard and anyone else who works in a voluntary organisation assisting others, you have plenty of peoples respect and recognition for your hard work.

Regardless of what the ill-informed say, the Tourist Police Volunteers are certainly doing no harm. And by all available accounts and evidence they do some excellent work in mitigating situations that for many of the tourists involved would otherwise get well out of hand.

What??? i come from england. if someone asked me 'after work, can u spend u r evening dealing with pissed tourists etc, the answer would be no. So why do they do it????

excellant work???????????????????

1500 for a toilet seat???? well done my son!!!!!!!!!!!

[whistleblower]

After reading so many of comments and responses I can't help but assume that there are some rather unintelligent folk who make judgments of other people according to their own limitations. Of course if you are one of these people it is unlikely that you are able to recognise that this post is aimed at you!

As such this post is for the benefit of those intelligent and open minded enough to recognise the fact.

The world does not exist to please narrow minded monkeys, to fit within 'their' box or correspond to their understanding of the way things should be.

Some people do take great satisfaction, fulfilment and enjoyment out of assisting others.

If the negative and narrow-minded Muppets have not worked out how yet that's unfortunate, but 'they' are not contributing much to this forum with 'their' perpetual narrow minded and repetitive diatribe. By using more of 'their' intelligence in understanding others 'they' might then appreciate events with a little more clarity and have the ability to recognise the positive intentions and motives in others without the negative connotations.

It's apparent to myself and I'm sure others in this forum that these negative people have 'shot their mouth off' without anything other than an opinion. When faced with fact 'they' fail to recognise error instead choosing to let 'their' ego take over providing further argument without evidence and in doing so making 'themselves' appear rather unintelligent.

The word 'Pillock' springs to mind.

And for guys like Howard and anyone else who works in a voluntary organisation assisting others, you have plenty of peoples respect and recognition for your hard work.

Regardless of what the ill-informed say, the Tourist Police Volunteers are certainly doing no harm. And by all available accounts and evidence they do some excellent work in mitigating situations that for many of the tourists involved would otherwise get well out of hand.

mitigating being the operative word (sorry im a muppet) do you want me to explain that??? they are meant to be there to be a help to tourists. but they are there to diffuse the situation and tell tourists to pay up or get in trouble. reassuring to say the least

[whistleblower]

After reading so many of comments and responses I can't help but assume that there are some rather unintelligent folk who make judgments of other people according to their own limitations. Of course if you are one of these people it is unlikely that you are able to recognise that this post is aimed at you!

As such this post is for the benefit of those intelligent and open minded enough to recognise the fact.

The world does not exist to please narrow minded monkeys, to fit within 'their' box or correspond to their understanding of the way things should be.

Some people do take great satisfaction, fulfilment and enjoyment out of assisting others.

If the negative and narrow-minded Muppets have not worked out how yet that's unfortunate, but 'they' are not contributing much to this forum with 'their' perpetual narrow minded and repetitive diatribe. By using more of 'their' intelligence in understanding others 'they' might then appreciate events with a little more clarity and have the ability to recognise the positive intentions and motives in others without the negative connotations.

It's apparent to myself and I'm sure others in this forum that these negative people have 'shot their mouth off' without anything other than an opinion. When faced with fact 'they' fail to recognise error instead choosing to let 'their' ego take over providing further argument without evidence and in doing so making 'themselves' appear rather unintelligent.

The word 'Pillock' springs to mind.

And for guys like Howard and anyone else who works in a voluntary organisation assisting others, you have plenty of peoples respect and recognition for your hard work.

Regardless of what the ill-informed say, the Tourist Police Volunteers are certainly doing no harm. And by all available accounts and evidence they do some excellent work in mitigating situations that for many of the tourists involved would otherwise get well out of hand.

rather an opinionated view (read what a wanke_r!!!!) an opinion is just that!!! an opinion. Monkeys? pillocks??? <deleted>??? nicely worded. how long did u study the dictionary????? Are you shagging howard???? lots of posts today defending howard. dont really have a problem with him, dont know him. but after a long day at work, why would u volunteer to spend 5 hrs dealing with the dregs of human society???? if there wasnt something in it for you?????

[Mossfinn]

rather an opinionated view (read what a wanke_r!!!!) an opinion is just that!!! an opinion. Monkeys? pillocks??? <deleted>??? nicely worded. how long did u study the dictionary????? Are you shagging howard???? lots of posts today defending howard. dont really have a problem with him, dont know him. but after a long day at work, why would u volunteer to spend 5 hrs dealing with the dregs of human society???? if there wasnt something in it for you?????

If the post was designed to get under your skin, I would suggest it has served its purpose.

But after a long day at work and someone asked me to go fishing, I would suggest they would get an appropriate answer and it wouldn't be yes.

As for the dregs of humanity, crickey a little harsh I'd say, individuals being in a tight spot, far from home and in a little difficulty, I would suggest welcome a friendly and English speaking help on occasion.

Are they doing any harm?

Are they a help or hindrance to the Thai Police, or inconvenienced tourist?

It appears H Millar gets a certain amount of satisfaction and pleasure in helping people, would I do it? Probably not. Do I respect people who work in non-paying jobs that benefit individuals, if they are supporting people in need, yes I do.

Are they doing a disservice to their communities? I welcome your comments, because despite continued criticism, I think HM has responded with humour and restraint, I can only hope some of you would do likewise, whether in agreement, or not.

[Mossfinn]

mitigating being the operative word (sorry im a muppet) do you want me to explain that???

What?

Mitigating, or Muppet?

[oevna]

mitigating being the operative word (sorry im a muppet) do you want me to explain that??? they are meant to be there to be a help to tourists. but they are there to diffuse the situation and tell tourists to pay up or get in trouble. reassuring to say the least

From what I've seen of the TVP so far (which is admittedly only what has been described on this television series), they just explain to tourists who are in trouble with the law what their options are. If it is shown that the tourist is actually at fault, they are usually advised to settle by paying someone for their losses. In some cases it is not clear who is at fault, but it is likely that the police will side with the locals. I don't see this as being the fault of the TVP.

Often tourists come to Thailand with the mistaken impression that the Thai justice system will try to come to a fair ruling on disputes involving foreigners. Since this isn't always the case, I think the TVP serve a useful purpose in explaining this situation to tourists who find themselves in trouble.

In the cases presented on the series, usually the alternative is jail time. I don't know about you, but paying what amounts to small money for me is preferable to a Thai jail. Of course, you are free to make that call for yourself.

And before you accuse me of being another one of Howard's fans, I've never met the man, and I was even suspicious of the purpose of the TVP when I first read about them in other threads on ThaiVisa. I have, however, seen several cases in Thailand in real life where foreigners got into conflicts with locals and ended up in more trouble than necessary because of the way they handled themselves. In all cases it was totally avoidable, and could have resulted in much less trouble for the foreigners, had they had someone to explain the cultural differences in Thailand to them. While none of those cases involved the Thai police or legal system, I see a lot of parallels to the conflicts shown on this series.

[richard_smith237]

After reading so many of comments and responses I can't help but assume that there are some rather unintelligent folk who make judgments of other people according to their own limitations. Of course if you are one of these people it is unlikely that you are able to recognise that this post is aimed at you!

As such this post is for the benefit of those intelligent and open minded enough to recognise the fact.

The world does not exist to please narrow minded monkeys, to fit within 'their' box or correspond to their understanding of the way things should be.

Some people do take great satisfaction, fulfilment and enjoyment out of assisting others.

If the negative and narrow-minded Muppets have not worked out how yet that's unfortunate, but 'they' are not contributing much to this forum with 'their' perpetual narrow minded and repetitive diatribe. By using more of 'their' intelligence in understanding others 'they' might then appreciate events with a little more clarity and have the ability to recognise the positive intentions and motives in others without the negative connotations.

It's apparent to myself and I'm sure others in this forum that these negative people have 'shot their mouth off' without anything other than an opinion. When faced with fact 'they' fail to recognise error instead choosing to let 'their' ego take over providing further argument without evidence and in doing so making 'themselves' appear rather unintelligent.

The word 'Pillock' springs to mind.

And for guys like Howard and anyone else who works in a voluntary organisation assisting others, you have plenty of peoples respect and recognition for your hard work.

Regardless of what the ill-informed say, the Tourist Police Volunteers are certainly doing no harm. And by all available accounts and evidence they do some excellent work in mitigating situations that for many of the tourists involved would otherwise get well out of hand.

two sides to every story, and therefore you should respect other people's opinions.

the tvp do some good work i agree with you; but they can also be fairly criticised - as some have done in this and other threads.

look more carefully at your own language. highlighted above for convenience

Good point.

The post was aimed at someone in particular and their repetitive rubbish. Many differing opinions are refreshing, the same persistent diatribe from the same person is boring...

Howard: The uniform is appears too aggressive...

And, what on earth do you have in your Uniform belt ????

Edited October 21, 2009 by richard_smith237

[cyb]

quote 'Who is Howard outside of the tourist police?'

Answer: Obviously a nobody who didnt get to dress up as a kid. Someone who has had his fill of pattaya hookers and now gets his kicks by strutting around walking street looking important? who knows.

Since you don't give us your full name and background, I have made up my own for you.

You are a low-income earner, living back in the UK, didn't go onto pursue any higher education, has a job that requires more hands on than thinking (or 'manual labor' as it is called), you live to drink a lot of beer and spend 2 weeks of vacation in Thailand getting really pissed and trying to fondle bargirls that doesn't appreciate it. You have a general dislike of people in uniforms and police and their volunteers in specific. You have been in trouble with the law before but never served time. And you whished you could live here full time with a lot of money, but realise that you will never be able to do atleast the latter.

How does it sound?

Sounds good to me tawp, But you missed something his tv name whistleblower .

Sounds like a disgruntled police informer to me.

[game4shame]

I'm not too keen on the fact that BTI(T)T was filmed primarily in patters - the place is the reason thailand has a bad name.

there's already enough ignorant f*cks in the world assuming thailands just a dumping ground for desperate western pensioner perverts without this docu adding fuel to the fire.

last episode mentoned something about most western guys in thailand will be pension age ....? most guys in pattaya may be pension age but in my experience BKK, HKT, USM etc attracts a younger crowd.

I remember a clip was shown of a severely overweight guy hand-in-hand with a thai girl too.

I've no issues with older guys (or morbidly obese guys just for the record) - live your life the way you want to....just hate the categorised image of western guys in thailand that's created.

Edited October 21, 2009 by game4shame

[Ulysses G.]

...just hate the categorised image of western guys in thailand that's created.

I am amazingly obese myself, but the stereotype of Western men in Thailand is pretty much correct, wouldn't you say?

[whistleblower]

mitigating being the operative word (sorry im a muppet) do you want me to explain that??? they are meant to be there to be a help to tourists. but they are there to diffuse the situation and tell tourists to pay up or get in trouble. reassuring to say the least

From what I've seen of the TVP so far (which is admittedly only what has been described on this television series), they just explain to tourists who are in trouble with the law what their options are. If it is shown that the tourist is actually at fault, they are usually advised to settle by paying someone for their losses. In some cases it is not clear who is at fault, but it is likely that the police will side with the locals. I don't see this as being the fault of the TVP.

Often tourists come to Thailand with the mistaken impression that the Thai justice system will try to come to a fair ruling on disputes involving foreigners. Since this isn't always the case, I think the TVP serve a useful purpose in explaining this situation to tourists who find themselves in trouble.

In the cases presented on the series, usually the alternative is jail time. I don't know about you, but paying what amounts to small money for me is preferable to a Thai jail. Of course, you are free to make that call for yourself.

And before you accuse me of being another one of Howard's fans, I've never met the man, and I was even suspicious of the purpose of the TVP when I first read about them in other threads on ThaiVisa. I have, however, seen several cases in Thailand in real life where foreigners got into conflicts with locals and ended up in more trouble than necessary because of the way they handled themselves. In all cases it was totally avoidable, and could have resulted in much less trouble for the foreigners, had they had someone to explain the cultural differences in Thailand to them. While none of those cases involved the Thai police or legal system, I see a lot of parallels to the conflicts shown on this series.

well said and agree with you mostly. People are now giving me grief and accusing me of being 'a howard hater' totally wrong. if you could get your local mp in a corner, wouldnt you grill him on things that bug you?? If people look at my previous posts they would see that i said i was impressed with his politeness even when faced with drunks etc.

Maybe your right and the TVPs do a sterling job down in sin city. My point was the tv show didnt reflect that. (apart from a few 'your pissed mate go home' escapades) as you said the police (not 'likely',always!) will side with the locals, anyone who lives here knows (or should know) that, that is the case. I dont think (my opinion) that the police (or bar owners) should have a 'foreign arm' to assist them in extorting money from tourists.

In the case of the people who filmed in the bar and had their cameras confiscated, i think they were treated wrong (yes they went against the house rules) but they didnt break the law. To say 'your lucky i know people who have been battered for that' (or similar words) doesnt appear to be the right way for the situation to be handled. call the police and demand your camera back, then show (on tv) how inept and corrupt the thai police are in handling the situation.

I did notice the western owner of that bar, wasnt interviewed or wouldnt show his face on t.v. was this because he didnt want anyone in uk that knew him to know he was a pimp and came to thailand to extort and make monetry gain from poor, uneducated thai girls?? Who knows.

Howard, if your reading this, i didnt mean to personally attack you. When dealing with drunks, you handled each situation better than i could. You have more patience than me. I just dont think getting local expats to assist the police (and other establishments) in 'assisting foreigners' is right.

The situation with the Thai and Russian girl fighting made my blood boil, the russian was pissed and eventually said sorry and shook hands. The Thai girl wanted to show off and save face by making her wai. The TVPs (in my opinion) should have said 'enough love, she's said sorry now just leave it' but they didnt. And before anyone spouts off about its Thai culture/custom to wai and when in rome etc, The girl was a hooker, is that thai culture?? no. is she a respected member of thai society? no so why should she expect a foreigner to respect her culture (and her) when in her own 'culture' she is classed as a lowly person.

[mca]

I'm not too keen on the fact that BTI(T)T was filmed primarily in patters - the place is the reason thailand has a bad name.

Well I doubt "Big Trouble In Amphur Kranuan Khon Kaen" (featuring Daeng running out of petrol and having to push his motorcycle to the nearest PTT or Granny Somjai chasing a soi dog out of her garden) would attract the audience figures that Bravo would hope for.

[mca]

In the case of the people who filmed in the bar and had their cameras confiscated, i think they were treated wrong (yes they went against the house rules) but they didnt break the law. To say 'your lucky i know people who have been battered for that' (or similar words) doesnt appear to be the right way for the situation to be handled. call the police and demand your camera back, then show (on tv) how inept and corrupt the thai police are in handling the situation.

So if I walked into your house and started taking photos despite you not wanting me to I would have recourse to go to the police and demand my camera back?

[whistleblower]

In the case of the people who filmed in the bar and had their cameras confiscated, i think they were treated wrong (yes they went against the house rules) but they didnt break the law. To say 'your lucky i know people who have been battered for that' (or similar words) doesnt appear to be the right way for the situation to be handled. call the police and demand your camera back, then show (on tv) how inept and corrupt the thai police are in handling the situation.

So if I walked into your house and started taking photos despite you not wanting me to I would have recourse to go to the police and demand my camera back?

I wouldnt take your camera, it would be against the law. I would ask you to stop taking photos. But if i did take your camera, yes you would have recourse to go to the police, by taking your camera i would have committed theft!

Think of it another way.... If you parked your car in my designated parking spot, would that entitle me to confiscate your car (and give it back at 8pm the following night?)

[mca]

But weren't they committing an offense by breaking house rules on private property?

[whistleblower]

Thats not the point. what i am saying is the bar owner took the law into his own hands. He should have called the police and let them deal with it.

What is the reason for no filming in the bar anyway?? To protect the dignity of the staff?? I think not, more like protect the identity of the owner who is commiting the act of allowing prostitution on his premises (leased premises) and to protect his own identity in case someone from his own country recognises the fact that a guy they used to have a beer with is now a pimp in thailand!

[mca]

I think not, more like protect the identity of the owner who is commiting the act of allowing prostitution on his premises (leased premises) and to protect his own identity in case someone from his own country recognises the fact that a guy they used to have a beer with is now a pimp in thailand!

Wasn't the bar owner a Thai?

[whistleblower]

No, it was a mr Lee a farang who sounded English when he spoke to howard on the show.

[kevkev1888]

mitigating being the operative word (sorry im a muppet) do you want me to explain that??? they are meant to be there to be a help to tourists. but they are there to diffuse the situation and tell tourists to pay up or get in trouble. reassuring to say the least

From what I've seen of the TVP so far (which is admittedly only what has been described on this television series), they just explain to tourists who are in trouble with the law what their options are. If it is shown that the tourist is actually at fault, they are usually advised to settle by paying someone for their losses. In some cases it is not clear who is at fault, but it is likely that the police will side with the locals. I don't see this as being the fault of the TVP.

Often tourists come to Thailand with the mistaken impression that the Thai justice system will try to come to a fair ruling on disputes involving foreigners. Since this isn't always the case, I think the TVP serve a useful purpose in explaining this situation to tourists who find themselves in trouble.

In the cases presented on the series, usually the alternative is jail time. I don't know about you, but paying what amounts to small money for me is preferable to a Thai jail. Of course, you are free to make that call for yourself.

And before you accuse me of being another one of Howard's fans, I've never met the man, and I was even suspicious of the purpose of the TVP when I first read about them in other threads on ThaiVisa. I have, however, seen several cases in Thailand in real life where foreigners got into conflicts with locals and ended up in more trouble than necessary because of the way they handled themselves. In all cases it was totally avoidable, and could have resulted in much less trouble for the foreigners, had they had someone to explain the cultural differences in Thailand to them. While none of those cases involved the Thai police or legal system, I see a lot of parallels to the conflicts shown on this series.

well said and agree with you mostly. People are now giving me grief and accusing me of being 'a howard hater' totally wrong. if you could get your local mp in a corner, wouldnt you grill him on things that bug you?? If people look at my previous posts they would see that i said i was impressed with his politeness even when faced with drunks etc.

Maybe your right and the TVPs do a sterling job down in sin city. My point was the tv show didnt reflect that. (apart from a few 'your pissed mate go home' escapades) as you said the police (not 'likely',always!) will side with the locals, anyone who lives here knows (or should know) that, that is the case. I dont think (my opinion) that the police (or bar owners) should have a 'foreign arm' to assist them in extorting money from tourists.

In the case of the people who filmed in the bar and had their cameras confiscated, i think they were treated wrong (yes they went against the house rules) but they didnt break the law. To say 'your lucky i know people who have been battered for that' (or similar words) doesnt appear to be the right way for the situation to be handled. call the police and demand your camera back, then show (on tv) how inept and corrupt the thai police are in handling the situation.

I did notice the western owner of that bar, wasnt interviewed or wouldnt show his face on t.v. was this because he didnt want anyone in uk that knew him to know he was a pimp and came to thailand to extort and make monetry gain from poor, uneducated thai girls?? Who knows.

Howard, if your reading this, i didnt mean to personally attack you. When dealing with drunks, you handled each situation better than i could. You have more patience than me. I just dont think getting local expats to assist the police (and other establishments) in 'assisting foreigners' is right.

The situation with the Thai and Russian girl fighting made my blood boil, the russian was pissed and eventually said sorry and shook hands. The Thai girl wanted to show off and save face by making her wai. The TVPs (in my opinion) should have said 'enough love, she's said sorry now just leave it' but they didnt. And before anyone spouts off about its Thai culture/custom to wai and when in rome etc, The girl was a hooker, is that thai culture?? no. is she a respected member of thai society? no so why should she expect a foreigner to respect her culture (and her) when in her own 'culture' she is classed as a lowly person.

F#ck me you don't half spout some drivel

[whistleblower]

mitigating being the operative word (sorry im a muppet) do you want me to explain that??? they are meant to be there to be a help to tourists. but they are there to diffuse the situation and tell tourists to pay up or get in trouble. reassuring to say the least

From what I've seen of the TVP so far (which is admittedly only what has been described on this television series), they just explain to tourists who are in trouble with the law what their options are. If it is shown that the tourist is actually at fault, they are usually advised to settle by paying someone for their losses. In some cases it is not clear who is at fault, but it is likely that the police will side with the locals. I don't see this as being the fault of the TVP.

Often tourists come to Thailand with the mistaken impression that the Thai justice system will try to come to a fair ruling on disputes involving foreigners. Since this isn't always the case, I think the TVP serve a useful purpose in explaining this situation to tourists who find themselves in trouble.

In the cases presented on the series, usually the alternative is jail time. I don't know about you, but paying what amounts to small money for me is preferable to a Thai jail. Of course, you are free to make that call for yourself.

And before you accuse me of being another one of Howard's fans, I've never met the man, and I was even suspicious of the purpose of the TVP when I first read about them in other threads on ThaiVisa. I have, however, seen several cases in Thailand in real life where foreigners got into conflicts with locals and ended up in more trouble than necessary because of the way they handled themselves. In all cases it was totally avoidable, and could have resulted in much less trouble for the foreigners, had they had someone to explain the cultural differences in Thailand to them. While none of those cases involved the Thai police or legal system, I see a lot of parallels to the conflicts shown on this series.

well said and agree with you mostly. People are now giving me grief and accusing me of being 'a howard hater' totally wrong. if you could get your local mp in a corner, wouldnt you grill him on things that bug you?? If people look at my previous posts they would see that i said i was impressed with his politeness even when faced with drunks etc.

Maybe your right and the TVPs do a sterling job down in sin city. My point was the tv show didnt reflect that. (apart from a few 'your pissed mate go home' escapades) as you said the police (not 'likely',always!) will side with the locals, anyone who lives here knows (or should know) that, that is the case. I dont think (my opinion) that the police (or bar owners) should have a 'foreign arm' to assist them in extorting money from tourists.

In the case of the people who filmed in the bar and had their cameras confiscated, i think they were treated wrong (yes they went against the house rules) but they didnt break the law. To say 'your lucky i know people who have been battered for that' (or similar words) doesnt appear to be the right way for the situation to be handled. call the police and demand your camera back, then show (on tv) how inept and corrupt the thai police are in handling the situation.

I did notice the western owner of that bar, wasnt interviewed or wouldnt show his face on t.v. was this because he didnt want anyone in uk that knew him to know he was a pimp and came to thailand to extort and make monetry gain from poor, uneducated thai girls?? Who knows.

Howard, if your reading this, i didnt mean to personally attack you. When dealing with drunks, you handled each situation better than i could. You have more patience than me. I just dont think getting local expats to assist the police (and other establishments) in 'assisting foreigners' is right.

The situation with the Thai and Russian girl fighting made my blood boil, the russian was pissed and eventually said sorry and shook hands. The Thai girl wanted to show off and save face by making her wai. The TVPs (in my opinion) should have said 'enough love, she's said sorry now just leave it' but they didnt. And before anyone spouts off about its Thai culture/custom to wai and when in rome etc, The girl was a hooker, is that thai culture?? no. is she a respected member of thai society? no so why should she expect a foreigner to respect her culture (and her) when in her own 'culture' she is classed as a lowly person.

F#ck me you don't half spout some drivel

If you think someones opinion is drivel, maybe public forums arent for you.