webfact Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 A Pattaya horror story From ANDREW DRUMMOND, Naked and cuffed to the cell bars These horrific pictures show a 53-yr-old Briton wasting away naked in a Thai police station and cuffed to the bars of his cell. He is reported to have been there for three months, but certainly since November 23th, but nobody has sent him for hospital treatment. This is a police station in the resort town of Pattaya, 100 miles east of Bangkok. His luxury pillow is a plastic water bottle. This man is under the care of police. He was found sleeping under cars in in nearby Jomtien and was found to be on overstay. The man known to others purely as ‘John’ growls like an animal and has mental health issues. Sometimes he just sits and says nothing. It’s now known he has been deported from Thailand before for overstaying his visa. Thai police say he is unfit for court and do not know what to do with him. They are awaiting on a decision from the British Embassy in Bangkok. But will, or should, the British government cough up for his treatment? Unofficially Thai police say he has AIDs. That is why, they say, he is chained to the bars. It is to protect other inmates. If however he is charged with an offence he should have appeared in court where judges could have seen his condition. This man appears to be just one of the city’s casualties. Full story: http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2010/12/07/a-pattaya-horror-story/ Andrew-drummond.com -- 2010-12-08 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukrules Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Amazing Thailand ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantilley Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 He's now been rescued it seems - http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2010/12/08/saved-by-an-angel-pattaya-brit-in-hospital/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apollo13 Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Can you imagine the uproar from Thai people if this happened to a Thai national in the U.K. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayjay0 Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Well it would seem a private citizen came to his aid. Here in Chiang Mia the British consulate is next to useless also. I personally know of two cases where a British citizen needed help and was turned away. Thankfully a Christian organization helped them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beano2274 Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 I thought the Embassy or the Consul were informed of people placed in jails if they were British citizens. I also remember the British Embassy advertising for someone to check up on all British prisoners in Thai jails, the person who took that job has only just started. A few people best hang their heads in shame. Well done to Tracy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JUDAS Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 This is totally horrific! This should be in the UK press so the Brits going on holiday are aware of the assistance they may receive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KhunAussie52 Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 I never thought i would say this.....thanks to the Thai police for passing the hat around. I hope that he receives the treatment he needs You are an angel Tracy............... well done!!:jap: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldgit Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 I thought the Embassy or the Consul were informed of people placed in jails if they were British citizens. I also remember the British Embassy advertising for someone to check up on all British prisoners in Thai jails, the person who took that job has only just started. A few people best hang their heads in shame. The recently advertised job was to replace somebody from The Embassy who is retiring shortly, so might not have even taken up post yet. There is a team at the British Embassy who look after the interests of those in prison and police custody as well of those in Immigration Detention throughout the whole of Thailand and Laos, and there have been numerous reports that they actually do a very a pretty good job in very difficult circumstances. I don't know if the members of the team are even allowed into the custodial areas. It would be up to the Thai authorities to notify Consular Officials when one of their nationals is detained, it would seem to me that the Consular staff may not have been informed about this unfortunate chap. What Andrew Drummond has reported is an absolute disgrace and a shocking indictment on the lack of care provided by the Thai authorities, they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NALAK Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 as a Brit this is a disgusting story, i thought consul had been replaced by well kown Pattaya resident, note the omission of hounary, one before same catergory. only decent one was D Covey in Samui. this should cost somebody in Bangkok there job. time they all read the mission statement again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devaram Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 My worst nightmare, a start reminder of where any of us could end up after a temporary fluke of bad karma. I hope he makes it home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliss Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 This is totally horrific! This should be in the UK press so the Brits going on holiday are aware of the assistance they may receive. a fact of life in los , the average brits opinion ,including mine . i am not responsible for any other brit , especially a person who does not control his alchol or drugs intake. :jap: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAWP Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 What exactly are you guys expecting the consulate to do? You are abroad, you are not in the UK anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintofsilence Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Sad to see this happen why weren't his family advised Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dom samui Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 What exactly are you guys expecting the consulate to do? You are abroad, you are not in the UK anymore. oh...! Really sorry, ''Monsieur Le Consul''. :jap: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buchholz Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 What Andrew Drummond has reported is an absolute disgrace and a shocking indictment on the lack of care provided by the Thai authorities, they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. It's also an absolute disgrace and shocking indictment on the lack of concern by the British authorities in Thailand, they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NALAK Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 about some it up this is FCO mission statement page. [/url] Foreign & Commonwealth Office 404 Page Not Found We are sorry. The page you are looking for cannot be found. It might have been removed, had its name changed, or may be temporarily unavailable. You can return to the home page or see our travel advice, news, global issues, careers, blogs and contact us page You can look through our archived content on The National Archives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharecropper Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 What Andrew Drummond has reported is an absolute disgrace and a shocking indictment on the lack of care provided by the Thai authorities, they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. It's also an absolute disgrace and shocking indictment on the lack of concern by the British authorities in Thailand, they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. You speak as though they knew of it before the publicity. Did they? And how do you know? Many people of all nationalities fall between the cracks here, as they're so wide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luang Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 (edited) I thought the Embassy or the Consul were informed of people placed in jails if they were British citizens. I also remember the British Embassy advertising for someone to check up on all British prisoners in Thai jails, the person who took that job has only just started. A few people best hang their heads in shame. The recently advertised job was to replace somebody from The Embassy who is retiring shortly, so might not have even taken up post yet. There is a team at the British Embassy who look after the interests of those in prison and police custody as well of those in Immigration Detention throughout the whole of Thailand and Laos, and there have been numerous reports that they actually do a very a pretty good job in very difficult circumstances. I don't know if the members of the team are even allowed into the custodial areas. It would be up to the Thai authorities to notify Consular Officials when one of their nationals is detained, it would seem to me that the Consular staff may not have been informed about this unfortunate chap. What Andrew Drummond has reported is an absolute disgrace and a shocking indictment on the lack of care provided by the Thai authorities, they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. 'Might not have taken up post'. "Consular staff may not have been informed". 'numerous reports that they do a pretty good job" et. etc. Can you verify such reports? This particular situation would not seem to fit with your assumptions. If you don't know whether they are/are not allowed into custodial areas then probably best not to comment on things that are based on guesswork, opinion or bias! (Do you have a personal interest here by any chance?). It would seem to me the police were waiting for The British Embassy to get off their ***ess and do something for this poor guy. Not sure it is the Thai authorities who should be ashamed of themselves on this one TBF! British Embassy.................... Edited December 8, 2010 by Luang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buchholz Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 What Andrew Drummond has reported is an absolute disgrace and a shocking indictment on the lack of care provided by the Thai authorities, they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. It's also an absolute disgrace and shocking indictment on the lack of concern by the British authorities in Thailand, they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. You speak as though they knew of it before the publicity. Did they? And how do you know? They knew... and I knew because I read the article. Try it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Para Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Sorry but this is rubbish. If he was on overstay he would of spent no more than 3 nights in Soi 9 before being taken to Immigration at Soi 4. From there he would of been moved and held at the detention center in BKK until his OS and airfare were made available. How do I know? My pal was deported because of overstay 2 months ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RKASA Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 What did they know and when did they know it? At any rate if he is not charged with a crime why is he not at immigration? By the look of him he should be in a hospital. They should not be asking the embassy - they should be telling the embassy what to do with him, or just drop him in the embassy lobby with a number to call for an ambulance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayjay0 Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 What Andrew Drummond has reported is an absolute disgrace and a shocking indictment on the lack of care provided by the Thai authorities, they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. It's also an absolute disgrace and shocking indictment on the lack of concern by the British authorities in Thailand, they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. You speak as though they knew of it before the publicity. Did they? And how do you know? Many people of all nationalities fall between the cracks here, as they're so wide. Common sense tells us that if the police took up a collection to help the man the odds are pretty high that they had notified the British consulate. The conditions he was in are disgusting. They re not the fault of the policemen some bureaucratic cheap charlie pulled that off and probably made some money at it.. Not sure how some one can read the article and make excuses for the British Consulate and flame the police. I know that hear in Chiang Mai that they have refused to help two of there citizens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morejunk Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 (edited) Isn't Howard Miller the new rep for the British Embassy? Wonder why he isn't doing his job? How weird! Edited December 9, 2010 by bonobo Removed specious remark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morejunk Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Howard Miller Appointed New British Honorary Consul For Pattaya http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/382078-howard-miller-appointed-new-british-honorary-consul-for-pattaya/page__hl__miller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonsalviz Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Well it would seem a private citizen came to his aid. Here in Chiang Mia the British consulate is next to useless also. I personally know of two cases where a British citizen needed help and was turned away. Thankfully a Christian organization helped them out. If you are American I wouldn't expect any help from the American consulate. In my many years of travel, I have always been told to contact the British or Canadian consulates. Now days, it seems there is an exhorbitant fee for everything so you would probably have to arrange payment for them to even consider thinking about you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tartempion Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 What exactly are you guys expecting the consulate to do? You are abroad, you are not in the UK anymore. look at it the other way round... Saw this on satellite news re Belgium: They are re-opening ex-military barracks to accommodate asylum seekers, Red cross and government involvement, had first batch of 58 people bussed in this Tuesday 7 December, barracks being warmed-up, new bedding brought in, kitchens refurbished, warm meal prepared. 5000 freshly arriving asylum seekers to be accommodated in the next few weeks. I suggest any farang to try to get asylum status arriving Bangkok airport What did the Thai authorities do to the stranded Rohingas, who remembers that? And that's how Thai police treats a farang gone baba baw baw, congratulations Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soihok Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Is this the guy that was wandering around half naked recently, shouting aimlessly and seemed to have a serious mental health problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharecropper Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Sorry but this is rubbish. If he was on overstay he would of spent no more than 3 nights in Soi 9 before being taken to Immigration at Soi 4. From there he would of been moved and held at the detention center in BKK until his OS and airfare were made available. How do I know? My pal was deported because of overstay 2 months ago. Out of interest, how long was his overstay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buchholz Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 (edited) Not sure how some one can read the article and make excuses for the British Consulate and flame the police. I know that hear in Chiang Mai that they have refused to help two of there citizens. I can understand posters being upset with the Thai police, but being as it is Thailand, their inaction is not so unexpected. What is so unexpected is the British authorities response. For representatives of a first world country to be aware of the situation and yet apparently do nothing about it whatsoever is reprehensible. To allow it to persist for months in unfathomable. . Edited December 8, 2010 by Buchholz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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