Thai Exchange Student Faces Deportation In America, Host Mother Faces Felonies

[Buchholz]

Exchange student shares story of betrayal

WMMT News Channel 3

August 17, 2010 8:21 PM

WEST MICHIGAN (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – Donnapha Kuppatikasem, nick-named Tak, is determined to become a doctor, but now she's in a fight to stay in the U.S. until she can finish her medical degree.

Sadly, that dream may be crushed. Tak's former host mother, Laura Ely, is accused of draining Tak's savings account. That account was supposed to be used to pay for tuition.

Without the money, and without being in school, Tak could be deported.

Continued here: http://www.wwmt.com/articles/story-1380379-betrayal-student.html

***edited to conform to fair use standards and link included--sbk****

[robblok]

This is bad, can you imagine the betrayal she feels. You live with someone and then they steal your money. I hope the family can get some money together because it would be a shame if she looses it all.

[Lumumba]

why was she not running an account with her funds instead of letting someone else do it on her behalf?

She is a bad manager of money or family did nt trust her enough?

either way, hope she completes her education.

[Buchholz]

why was she not running an account with her funds instead of letting someone else do it on her behalf?

She is a bad manager of money or family did nt trust her enough?

Would you trust a 17 year-old (her age when this all started) with $57,000? Not many that age are "good managers" of money.

An additional story also indicates that her host mother was using her credit card information without the victim's knowledge for which the victim is fault-less as she would have been defrauded irregardless if she had been a financial guru.

[DP25]

Would you trust a 17 year-old (her age when this all started) with $57,000? Not many that age are "good managers" of money.

Would you trust it to a foriegn "host mother" instead? And you would never need to trust her with $57,000 anyway, a small amount of money could have been transferred to her every semester from her family to pay tuition and living expenses like millions of other college students do. This story doesn't make any sense.

[Ulysses G.]

Some people might note that it is not only Thais who are "thieves and cheats".

[carmine]

Some people might note that it is not only Thais who are "thieves and cheats".

So true. Thats what many of us have been trying to say. But try and tell the apologists that such a thing as a "Thai" cheat/ liar even exists in LOS and just wait for the backlash.

Edited August 18, 2010 by carmine

[SuperstarStatus]

That's all bad. Good luck to you Tak.

But sadly I don't even trust my own mom or any family with money cause of things like this.

[Ulysses G.]

try and tell the apologists that such a thing as a "Thai" cheat/ liar even exists in LOS and just wait for the backlash.

I would love to see even one quote on TV where anyone claims that there "no such thing as a Thai cheat or liar." Does such a post exist?

[robblok]

That's all bad. Good luck to you Tak.

But sadly I don't even trust my own mom or any family with money cause of things like this.

Hmmm strange i trust my parents 100%. I would not want to go through life not trusting my parents. However it is possible that your mom did something to deserve this. My ex wife used to steal money from her daughters so yes bad moms are around.

[robblok]

Some people might note that it is not only Thais who are "thieves and cheats".

Yea.. now it seems americans are thieves and cheats too

(not us good dutch folk of course )

[SuperstarStatus]

That's all bad. Good luck to you Tak.

But sadly I don't even trust my own mom or any family with money cause of things like this.

Hmmm strange i trust my parents 100%. I would not want to go through life not trusting my parents. However it is possible that your mom did something to deserve this. My ex wife used to steal money from her daughters so yes bad moms are around.

I just know that money makes the world go round, and through life lessons I've learned not to trust no one with the money.

[lannarebirth]

60 credit hours in 5 years? Doctor?

[robblok]

That's all bad. Good luck to you Tak.

But sadly I don't even trust my own mom or any family with money cause of things like this.

Hmmm strange i trust my parents 100%. I would not want to go through life not trusting my parents. However it is possible that your mom did something to deserve this. My ex wife used to steal money from her daughters so yes bad moms are around.

I just know that money makes the world go round, and through life lessons I've learned not to trust no one with the money.

Good thing i got parents that i can trust who support me if needed instead of the other way around.

[SuperstarStatus]

That's all bad. Good luck to you Tak.

But sadly I don't even trust my own mom or any family with money cause of things like this.

Hmmm strange i trust my parents 100%. I would not want to go through life not trusting my parents. However it is possible that your mom did something to deserve this. My ex wife used to steal money from her daughters so yes bad moms are around.

I just know that money makes the world go round, and through life lessons I've learned not to trust no one with the money.

Good thing i got parents that i can trust who support me if needed instead of the other way around.

Good 4 U buddy

[Groongthep]

I found this news report on the web. Donnapha Kuppatikasem

Depending on your connection it takes awhile to load.

[smedly]

why is the woman that took the money not being prosecuted under criminal law and the money she stole being recovered, am i missing something

[dumball]

60 credit hours in 5 years? Doctor?

Do you not realise that is 12 hours a year, what do you expect from a Thai student whos parents always paid the money for the 'A' pass certificate . What about 'Sanook' time ? Is she not entitled to that also, do you expect her to keep her nose to the grind-stone TWO hours a day ? What a bloody slave driver you would make .

[Jingthing]

why is the woman that took the money not being prosecuted under criminal law and the money she stole being recovered, am i missing something

Even if the perp is prosecuted doesn't mean there is any money to recover. Blood out of a stone, most likely.

Advice to Thai people in America -- never bring any money there you can't afford to lose.

A question. Foreigners in Thailand are swindled everyday by Thais. Why the special moral outrage about this one story of one Thai? It seems unbalanced.

Please don't get me wrong. Personally, I have sympathy for this crime victim, and any crime victim. However when foreigners are swindled in Thailand, the Thai-ier than Thai crowd is instantly at the ready with som na na, what did he expect by trusting someone here? So some balance please, and less double standards.

Edited August 18, 2010 by Jingthing

[dumball]

smedly' timestamp='1282119303' post='3823029']

why is the woman that took the money not being prosecuted under criminal law and the money she stole being recovered, am i missing something

It does say that the host mother has been accused of draining the students account and using her C/C information .

Being as this matter is not before the TV judges panel , it will take a while for information to be gathered before she can be formaly charged , this could then lead to prosecution , C/C fraud takes a while .

Patience is a virtue , possess it if ye may .

[DP25]

There has got to be more to this story as it makes no sense whatsoever now. 60 units in 5 years? Existing credits being lost if she doesn't continue at that university? A university student having a 'host mother' instead of living in student housing like every other foriegn student I've ever met? Giving the 'host mother' access to bank accounts allowing her to steal $60,000? A student having $60,000 to steal rather than the parents giving tuition to her every semester?

[Tod Daniels]

I too find 60 credit hours in FIVE years more than slightly outta whack, no matter how you parse it out. <deleted> did she do in the US, the rest of the time? Christ what's she on; the frickin' "20 year plan" to become a doctor .

I also wondered about the existing credit hours being 'lost' . Sorry once you pay and pass they're your credit hours . Now maybe the school is refusing to provide transcripts of said hours, until the funds in arrears are covered (NOT totally unheard of). However to say outright the credits would be lost, sounds like total rubbish and/or some creative embellishment on the news coverage.

There are certainly NO shortage of ‘host-families’, in fact they're situated near almost EVERY university in the US, so that in and of itself isn’t strange. Now allowing a host family to run your finances, well, that's a little out there.

I know of at least 6 or 7 thai nationals in Colorado who stay with US host-families. In fact, one retired married couple re-did the entire basement of their home to make separate boys and girls dorm like settings. It's got gender separated bath/shower facilities, a shared kitchen, HUGE open study area, entertainment area with a flat screen, internet, cable and DVD player, etc.

It's a slick set up and they're booked out over a year in advance. FWIW: this is just one example of how a host family (in this case retired Uni professors) made home-stay while attending uni in the US a more enjoyable experience than the dorm set up on campus.

I am sure there's no shortage of people in the US or ________ <-insert the country of your choice here, (evidently, as long as it's NOT thailand ) who would exploit foreign students and that this isn't an isolated case no matter where you are.

As an aside; I see the wanna-b-thai, mindless, sheep-like foreign sock puppets, aka; "thai apologists" are already out in force on this thread, ready to quickly point the finger at anything OTHER than the problems which do exist here once the 'rose colored glasses' come off, (but, remember NEVER remove your 'tin-foil hat'!!). Great work guys, way to stay on the ball, and increase your post...

If in fact the host mother really did what she’s accused of I hope she’s prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, as what she is accused of doing, sounds reprehensible.

At first blush, something indeed seems "rotten in Denmark" (and no disrespect meant against the Danes either, it's JUST a frickin' idiom) .

[NamF0n]

I wouldnt wish to be operated on by a doctor who isn't bright enough or from a family that isn't bright enough to pay school fees directly to the university all by themselves.

[Jingthing]

I don't see any benefit in beating up on this young woman. She is having a hard time and is a stranger in a strange land. The American Midwest is indeed VERY STRANGE.

[TheLaughingMan]

&lt;deleted&gt;, falangs robbing thais that trust them abroad? What, is it opposite day?!

[Ulysses G.]

As an aside; I see the wanna-b-thai, mindless, sheep-like foreign sock puppets, aka; "thai apologists" are already out in force on this thread, ready to quickly point the finger at anything OTHER than the problems which do exist here once the 'rose colored glasses' come off, (but, remember NEVER remove your 'tin-foil hat'!!). Great work guys, way to stay on the ball, and increase your post...

Speaking of tin-foil hats. Don't leave out the "I hate Thailand and Thai people, but I'm going to stay here forever and whine about it" crowd.

Edited August 18, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[mark45y]

Fact number one. She is not in medical school. Western Michigan University does not have a medical school. She is getting a Bachelors degree prior to applying to medical school.

Fact number two. She came to the US when she was 16 in high school she is now 21.

So she is about in her second year of college. Normally 4 years of college and 4 years of medical school after that and two years of internship.

Cost of medical school tuition in the US about $50,000 per year. The way I figure it she needs to spend about $300,000 or so to be a doctor. Or 10 million baht. That is if she can get into a medical school which is highly unlikely.

Sorry she lost the money but $57,000 is really a drop in the bucket of what she needs to become a doctor in the US.

A Thai person would have to be certifiably nuts to want or attempt to go to med school in the US unless they were rolling in the bucks.

So the story is heartbreaking but silly.

[TheLaughingMan]

Fact number one. She is not in medical school. Western Michigan University does not have a medical school. She is getting a Bachelors degree prior to applying to medical school.

Fact number two. She came to the US when she was 16 in high school she is now 21.

So she is about in her second year of college. Normally 4 years of college and 4 years of medical school after that and two years of internship.

Cost of medical school tuition in the US about $50,000 per year. The way I figure it she needs to spend about $300,000 or so to be a doctor. Or 10 million baht. That is if she can get into a medical school which is highly unlikely.

Sorry she lost the money but $57,000 is really a drop in the bucket of what she needs to become a doctor in the US.

A Thai person would have to be certifiably nuts to want or attempt to go to med school in the US unless they were rolling in the bucks.

So the story is heartbreaking but silly.

Dude.... why ya gotta mess up a good outrage with facts and figures and shit? Messin everything up.

[dave111223]

There has got to be more to this story as it makes no sense whatsoever now. 60 units in 5 years? Existing credits being lost if she doesn't continue at that university? A university student having a 'host mother' instead of living in student housing like every other foriegn student I've ever met? Giving the 'host mother' access to bank accounts allowing her to steal $60,000? A student having $60,000 to steal rather than the parents giving tuition to her every semester?

Agreed. This story is absurd. Maybe i can be her "Host Daddy" and take care of her next $60K bank account.

[AndyBlueEyes]

Although I realize that television media and forums are not necessarily the best source for accurate information, I did a little internet research on this very sad story and found a very recent television news story video dated Aug 17 containing an interview with "Tak", Here is the link : Link to interview For whatever little it is worth, I also read some things posted on forums from people that say they have known host mother Laura Ely and they have always considered her to be a somewhat shady person in her dealings.