Culture Shock!

[Rimmer]

CULTURE SHOCK! A Thai ‘bride’s’ fight for dignity

From ANDREW DRUMMOND, BANGKOK,

Scottish Daily Mail

December 11 2010

Scots kilt-maker Dennis Booth probably had no inkling that he was heading for stardom when he looked to the internet for romance…..now he is perhaps the most famous Briton in Thailand, excepting of course a few Premier League footballers.

Mr. Booth’s picture is all over the Thai newspapers and his ‘internet’ bride is a guest on television chat-shows.

In short, Dennis Booth, 67, has become the unwitting star in the Thai media in which he has been held to be an example of perhaps ‘who not to marry’.

And now the Thai woman he married, Kanokrat Nimsamoot Booth, has been commissioned by Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Thai universities to give advice on marriage to foreigners and she expects government funding for an organisation to counsel Thai wives in distress after marrying and living abroad.

To an extent the story has it all. A whirlwind romance begun on the internet between an elderly Scottish kilt maker and mysterious 41-yr-old Thai women with society connections. It was a romance which blossomed among tropical palms and white sandy beaches and in the beauty of the Scottish Highlands, which finally came to fruition in a marriage ceremony in the Old Gala House in Galashiels.

However the marriage turned rocky and came to an unceremonious end when his bride was locked up in a Glasgow airport police cell, and deported.

His well-educated bride Kanokrat was beside herself with indignation. She after all had committed no criminal offence. And back in Thailand she had been variously a crime reporter for one of the biggest dailies, a magazine editor, and a government purchaser. She is a woman with many connections.

She could be forgiven for thinking, as she did, that she was being treated like a common prostitute.

‘What happened?’ asked the head of Immigration at Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi airport, when Kanokrat turned up back in Thailand as a deportee. “We never thought that could happen to you.”

Kanokrat NimsamootIn Thailand Kanokrat is still seething. She is angry at the humiliation of a police cell, and a refusal to provide doctors to deal with an anxiety attack. She is angry that she has been tarred with the brush of being a prostitute and gold-digger. She cries when she talks about it.

It was not her intention to attack her husband: “He is a good man. He just does not understand Thai culture.”

And she is upset that she was given no chance to defend herself against ‘false’ claims that she had an affair with a Maltese waiter working in a, Newton Mearns, Glasgow, Italian restaurant, allegations which she strenuously denies.

Now she has spoken of her new crusade. “First I want to clear up the matter of my treatment and I have taken up the case with the European Court of Human Rights and the U.N. Commission on Human Rights.

“And the next step, which I have begun, is to warn women thinking of marrying foreigners of what can go wrong, because there are many things that can.

“The fact is that most Thai women marry foreigners to seek a financially better life because they have little. But this did not apply in my case. I had a good life, I graduated Bangkok University in Communication Arts, I became a crime reporter for the ‘Daily News’ – one of Thailand’s largest papers – I went on to become a magazine editor. I had my own home and car.

“But as a result of my marriage I have lost all my rights in Thailand. Thai law dictates that I must have my husband’s signature if I buy a house or take out a loan. Dennis will not give me a divorce and I cannot go to the British court to apply. He says he is just not going to waste his money.”

“The sub-title of my book ‘My husband comes from wrong button’ is what Dennis said to me during our relationship. He says he clicked the wrong button on the internet and unfortunately got me.

“I met Dennis after joining an internet dating service for a laugh. An actress friend had joined the site, but wanted to stop. So I agreed that she could put my photograph up instead.

“Dennis wrote to me and we began a correspondence. I had been married but divorced in 1999. I had two young boys, one autistic. Dennis was also divorced with two daughters. I thought why not. We appeared to have a few things in common. Although Dennis had been married twice before and his second wife was my age.

“When he came to Thailand we found we could love each other and I think I treated him like a king. Although I am not very rich myself, a lot of my friends are, so I had full use of a top of the range Mercedes and I could get him special prices and even free accommodation in the best resorts.

The full text from Andrew Drummond with pictures is HERE

-- 2010-12-12

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[animatic]

Jealousy and lack of understanding of the extent of the need for strong financial ties between expat Thais and their family at home are cause for more than a few break ups.

Most do not become as acrimonious as this one. Some worse though.

Hard to believe he dropped a dime on her with whole scale lies, most imagined from his jealous heart. Clearly this guy just didn't get it, and had old school macho expectations for his wife, and no consideration for her needs. Cheap prick too. What a t..t.

Edited December 12, 2010 by animatic

[bonobo]

There is a Thai woman living in San Diego who is now a moderately famous author,business woman, and personality.  She married poorly the first time around, and after being abused, she ran away from home.  Since then, she opened up a shelter for foreign women married to American men which has helped foreign brides from many different countries.

WHile on ThaiVisa, we tend to castigate the stereotypical gold-digging, house grabbing Thai bride, the other side of the equation where it is the bride who is abused is also just as prevalent. 

As someone who has been associated in the past with companies which promote international relationships, I have long been aware of this and personally know of one case where the so-called "bride" was in fact more of a domestic slave.  Luckily, she got her marriage annulled and was able to escape that situation.

I don't know the particulars of this specific case, but rest assured that there are foreign brides marrying into western families who do get abused.

[lonewolf99]

Jealousy and lack of understanding of the extent of the need for strong financial ties between expat Thais and their family at home are cause for more than a few break ups.

Most do not become as acrimonious as this one. Some worse though.

Hard to believe he dropped a dime on her with whole scale lies, most imagined from his jealous heart. Clearly this guy just didn't get it, and had old school macho expectations for his wife, and no consideration for her needs. Cheap prick too. What a t..t.

A lot of this story does not add up...I have read through the report and this woman is wrong about a lot of things - especially the Scottish Legal system. And as someone pointed out she had enough money in a bank account to get a Scottish Solicitor and get a divorce. She claims to be well connected in Thailand and cannot get things "fixed".

She obviously scammed the guy driving around in a "borrowed Mercedes car" making out she was a lot better off than she actually was......

maybe the bar girls in Pattaya can club together and rent a limo next time they want to make out they are more than just a "bar girl" to some unfortunate green horn ...

good "Hi So" scam eh !!!

ANY WOMAN that gets involved with a guy with a track record of failed marriages and a taste for Stodgy Scottish wedding cake should be right at the bottom of a list of suitable candidates to get married to....I'm Scottish so I know all about Scottish weddings - I have had one and that one was enough thank you....

A sad state of affairs all round.......but to quote her....she signed up on the internet dating site " for a laugh" well the jokes on her now.... I hope she and millions of others learn that you cannot screw around with other peoples emotions... the advise I offer everyone that mentions this madness " internet dating " to both Farrang and Thai is.....

do you know how bad a person smells, if you contact them via the internet ?

and some advise for the guys out there on internet land...watch out for a woman scorned, she might write a book about you..... sheeesh....

[princejohnjay]

Naaaaaaaaaaaah! she’s lying….i don’t believe her one bit!

How could she spend a holiday with a man she claims to be her friend’s boyfriend and again asked him to come get her from the airport with him going with his girlfriend?

[robsamui]

“The sub-title of my book: ‘My husband comes from wrong button’

Now ... would that be north or south of Aberdeen?

R

[SomTumTiger]

Glad that this story is being read in Scotland - maybe the old bugger will get some grief over his poor behavior.

[geriatrickid]

For a different version of events please read Mathew Holehouse's EXCLUSIVE from December 2 in the Herald Scotland. It explains alot of "facts" presented in the version on Thai Visa.

http://www.heraldsco...rport-1.1072001

Highlights of the different approach to reporting the event;

Drummond version: .....with society connections

Holehouse version: ......the daughter of an officer in the Royal Thai Army. (that puts it in more complete perspective)

Drummond version: .....marriage turned rocky and came to an unceremonious end when his bride was locked up in a Glasgow airport police cell, and deported

Holehouse version: ......Their marriage has turned sour amid allegations of infidelity, and Ms Nimsamoot is mired in an acrimonious divorce tussle and a multimillion-pound human rights lawsuit against the British Government.After two years of marriage, the breakdown in trust was such that Mr Booth could no longer contemplate being with his wife.

Drummond version: And she is upset that she was given no chance to defend herself against 'false' claims that she had an affair with a Maltese waiter working in a, Newton Mearns, Glasgow, Italian restaurant, allegations which she strenuously denies.

Holehouse version:

- Ms Nimsamoot was stopped at Glasgow Airport as she tried to re-enter Britain from Thailand in March, immigration officials who contacted Mr Booth were told that the marriage was over and that he no longer wanted to see his wife. Her visa was cancelled and she was deported.

- An appeal against the cancellation of her visa was turned down in October by an immigration tribunal.

- Backed by the Lawyers Council of Thailand, Ms Nimsamoot is now suing the UK Government for more than £2 million, claiming the night she spent in a Glasgow cell amounted to "unlawful detention".

- Her marriage had deteriorated after her frequent trips abroad led Mr Booth to suspect she was having an affair. She told him she was visiting her parents and sons from a previous marriage to a Thai policeman, and was on reporting assignments to Holland.

- A spokesman for the UK Border Agency said Ms Nimsamoot no longer met the requirements for which she was granted entry. "Full reasons for our decision to revoke her right to remain in the UK were given to her at the time, which is in line with the UK Border Agency's policy," he added. "The case has been carefully reviewed by an immigration judge who upheld the Agency's decision."

I'm sorry, but this woman sounds like a spoilt drama queen. I don't know if she was having an affair, but her story certainly fits the M.O. Why would she be hanging around with her ex husband, a policeman? I'm hardly the most sympathetic of foreign males when marriages breakdown, but I feel for the guy her. The man in this case seems to have just said ok, enough and walked away. If she wants a divorce she can have it. He didn't abuse her. If anything, it seems the old goat acted to keep his sanity and not be a cuckold.

UK authorities are hardly the most aggressive when it comes to deportations. She couldn't convince an immigration tribunal or a judge and that says something, doesn't it?. I would hardly consider a 1 night stay in a detention center for a deportee an abrogation of civil rights or worth the 2 million pounds she is demanding.

Edited December 12, 2010 by geriatrickid

[apollo13]

I think we need to hear this guy's side of the story, but I can imagine that an ageing Scottish kilt maker might not be that easy to live with .

[Thaddeus]

I think we need to hear this guy's side of the story, but I can imagine that an ageing Scottish kilt maker might not be that easy to live with .

An ageing Scottish kilt maker might not be that easy to understand.

[GreenSnapper]

“I met Dennis after joining an internet dating service for a laugh. An actress friend had joined the site, but wanted to stop. So I agreed that she could put my photograph up instead.

When you read cr@p like that, you know the whole story is cr@p.

[Bagwan]

She had 10K in the bank and her family asked why she sent so little money?

2 million quid for the indignity? I wonder how much the Red shirt leaders will sue for - and they have spent a few nights under lock and key . Everybody is treated equally in the UK, on paper at least, so she wasn't going to get special treatment. At least she wasn't chained to the bars and she would have been watered and fed - without charge. 

What a pity that she didn't continue to treat the old goat like a king. Seems she has run around like a headless chicken.

Maybe an itinerant Jock can help us out here. Under English law you can, under certain circumstances, get a divorce by post at minimum cost. He has agreed to not stand in her way and there are no children involved.  The hairy haggis eaters up in the frozen North are so much more sensible than us effete English so it should be a piece of cake - Dundee or Oatmeal?

Sorry lady, but my BS alarm is sounding off. BTW you seem to suffer from delusions of grandeur. 

[harrry]

Sounds as much of this must be lies. The statement she cannot own a house in her own name is.

[neverdie]

"I met Dennis after joining an internet dating service for a laugh. An actress friend had joined the site, but wanted to stop. So I agreed that she could put my photograph up instead.

When you read cr@p like that, you know the whole story is cr@p.

Yeah, thats EXACTLY right. Of course, there was no option to just not put up a picture or close membership or something like that.

What a load of rubbish......apparently exactly what the Authorities abroad thought too.

[TAWP]

She is full of it and the society she is connected to will help her perpetuate it.

Kanokrat NimsamootIn Thailand Kanokrat is still seething. She is angry at the humiliation of a police cell, and a refusal to provide doctors to deal with an anxiety attack. She is angry that she has been tarred with the brush of being a prostitute and gold-digger. She cries when she talks about it.

Want a tissue?

It was not her intention to attack her husband: “He is a good man. He just does not understand Thai culture.”

Or perhaps she doesn't understand western culture...

“But as a result of my marriage I have lost all my rights in Thailand. Thai law dictates that I must have my husband’s signature if I buy a house or take out a loan. Dennis will not give me a divorce and I cannot go to the British court to apply. He says he is just not going to waste his money.”

A lie: she can get divorced, she just have to follow the laws in how to do it...

“I met Dennis after joining an internet dating service for a laugh. An actress friend had joined the site, but wanted to stop. So I agreed that she could put my photograph up instead.

<deleted>? If the friend wanted to stop she could close her account or put up a picture of an ugly friend...oh, she did?

[TAWP]

Kanokrat, also the auther [sic] of ‘I am Seh Daeng’s child’ about the plight of the wife and daughter of the ’Red Shirt’ general who was shot dead during demos earlier this year, has started an organisation called the Federation of Thai & Foreign Spouse Networks and expects Thai government funding.

Oh, she is one of those...

[TAWP]

"I met Dennis after joining an internet dating service for a laugh. An actress friend had joined the site, but wanted to stop. So I agreed that she could put my photograph up instead.

When you read cr@p like that, you know the whole story is cr@p.

Yeah, thats EXACTLY right. Of course, there was no option to just not put up a picture or close membership or something like that.

What a load of rubbish......apparently exactly what the Authorities abroad thought too.

And also, why would she suddenly have access to her friends account, to answer any prospective dates?

And was the account now still listing her friends name and stats?

Or was the account always hers and she is afraid to be seen as a gold-digger, looking for foreign husband?

[gregb]

Sounds as much of this must be lies. The statement she cannot own a house in her own name is.

She can not purchase land unless her husband appears in person at the ampur to sign the form that says the funds used to purchase the land were sin suan tua of herself. Her only other option is to have her parents purchase the land and give it to her as a gift, but in that case she must pay cash. Mortgages are out.

So, no, it is not a lie. She does have a serious problem if she wants to buy a house. Namely, she can't without her husband's cooperation.

That doesn't mean there aren't other myopic perspectives peppered throughout the story, but it is correct that she is essentially prohibited from purchasing a house until the divorce is complete.

[TAWP]

Sounds as much of this must be lies. The statement she cannot own a house in her own name is.

She can not purchase land unless her husband appears in person at the ampur to sign the form that says the funds used to purchase the land were sin suan tua of herself. Her only other option is to have her parents purchase the land and give it to her as a gift, but in that case she must pay cash. Mortgages are out.

So, no, it is not a lie. She does have a serious problem if she wants to buy a house. Namely, she can't without her husband's cooperation.

That doesn't mean there aren't other myopic perspectives peppered throughout the story, but it is correct that she is essentially prohibited from purchasing a house until the divorce is complete.

To make things clear: She has NOT lost any rights, it is Thai racism and xenophobia that dictates that her FOREIGN husband have to give a statement of 'not having any claims on the land bought, by any means or money' - not anything else!

So, how about she address the government that has unfair laws towards foreigners and their spouses has to suffer for it?

Ps. And this is for land only, she can still buy a house, car etc Ds.

Edited December 12, 2010 by TAWP

[manarak]

Drummond's "news" are always missing a side of the story, it is in general poor journalism.

[TAWP]

Drummond's "news" are always missing a side of the story, it is in general poor journalism.

No offence to AD, but after re-reading the story a 2nd time and failing to find that he tried to talk to the husband, I have to agree.

With this kind of reporting he could my GF's outbursts seem logical and correct too - doesn't mean they are.

Edited December 12, 2010 by TAWP

[Orac]

Sounds as much of this must be lies. The statement she cannot own a house in her own name is.

She can not purchase land unless her husband appears in person at the ampur to sign the form that says the funds used to purchase the land were sin suan tua of herself. Her only other option is to have her parents purchase the land and give it to her as a gift, but in that case she must pay cash. Mortgages are out.

So, no, it is not a lie. She does have a serious problem if she wants to buy a house. Namely, she can't without her husband's cooperation.

That doesn't mean there aren't other myopic perspectives peppered throughout the story, but it is correct that she is essentially prohibited from purchasing a house until the divorce is complete.

Unfortunately her issue seems to with the UK authorities for her not being able to get a divorce for some reason rather than the Thai authorities who have such a ridiculous rule which discriminates against a thai women married to a foreigner.

[andrewdrummond]

Drummond's "news" are always missing a side of the story, it is in general poor journalism.

No offence to AD, but after re-reading the story a 2nd time and failing to find that he tried to talk to the husband, I have to agree.

With this kind of reporting he could my GF's outbursts seem logical and correct too - doesn't mean they are.

Well there's a reason for that and I will put the husband's quotes up as they did not come to me until today. Daily Mail was closed yesterday. I was purely writing her side of the story. Another journalist was doing the husband in Scotland.

She does not get off lightly at all and many of her statements are questioned.

The Glasgow Herald stuff is tosh though, its copied from the bangkok post. . She was never suing for 100 million or whatever Thai baht and if she did she would not get it i am sure.

[TAWP]

Drummond's "news" are always missing a side of the story, it is in general poor journalism.

No offence to AD, but after re-reading the story a 2nd time and failing to find that he tried to talk to the husband, I have to agree.

With this kind of reporting he could my GF's outbursts seem logical and correct too - doesn't mean they are.

Well there's a reason for that and I will put the husband's quotes up as they did not come to me until today. Daily Mail was closed yesterday. I was purely writing her side of the story. Another journalist was doing the husband in Scotland.

She does not get off lightly at all and many of her statements are questioned.

The Glasgow Herald stuff is tosh though, its copied from the bangkok post. . She was never suing for 100 million or whatever Thai baht and if she did she would not get it i am sure.

See, this is the info I am missing from your [blog] post.

Thank you for adding it now but to avoid others to wonder, why not add it?

[neverdie]

Drummond's "news" are always missing a side of the story, it is in general poor journalism.

No offence to AD, but after re-reading the story a 2nd time and failing to find that he tried to talk to the husband, I have to agree.

With this kind of reporting he could my GF's outbursts seem logical and correct too - doesn't mean they are.

Well there's a reason for that and I will put the husband's quotes up as they did not come to me until today. Daily Mail was closed yesterday. I was purely writing her side of the story. Another journalist was doing the husband in Scotland.

She does not get off lightly at all and many of her statements are questioned.

The Glasgow Herald stuff is tosh though, its copied from the bangkok post. . She was never suing for 100 million or whatever Thai baht and if she did she would not get it i am sure.

YAWN

[whybother]

<snip>

- Her marriage had deteriorated after her frequent trips abroad led Mr Booth to suspect she was having an affair. She told him she was visiting her parents and sons from a previous marriage to a Thai policeman, and was on reporting assignments to Holland.

<snip>

Why would she be hanging around with her ex husband, a policeman?

<snip>

Where did it say that she was hanging around with her ex-husband?

[jonclark]

“Dennis wrote to me and we began a correspondence. I had been married but divorced in 1999. I had two young boys, one autistic. Dennis was also divorced with two daughters. I thought why not."

If your entire reasoning for getting married is "why not" you're pretty much doomed from the start. Maybe if you'd thought why YOU should get married, you wouldn't have lost so much face. Twice married now. No Thai bloke is gonna touch you. :jap:

[andrewdrummond]

Drummond's "news" are always missing a side of the story, it is in general poor journalism.

No offence to AD, but after re-reading the story a 2nd time and failing to find that he tried to talk to the husband, I have to agree.

With this kind of reporting he could my GF's outbursts seem logical and correct too - doesn't mean they are.

Well there's a reason for that and I will put the husband's quotes up as they did not come to me until today. Daily Mail was closed yesterday. I was purely writing her side of the story. Another journalist was doing the husband in Scotland.

She does not get off lightly at all and many of her statements are questioned.

The Glasgow Herald stuff is tosh though, its copied from the bangkok post. . She was never suing for 100 million or whatever Thai baht and if she did she would not get it i am sure.

See, this is the info I am missing from your [blog] post.

Thank you for adding it now but to avoid others to wonder, why not add it?

My apologies its up now. It should have gone up yest. I did not get sent the text so i have had to read the paper and re-type it in :-)

[dominique355]

You can think about that woman whatever you like, but the fact of the matter is that most if not all Embassies and Immigrations Offices throughout the world treat foreigners very badly. They deny basic human rights to foreigner, visa applicants and immigrants.

It is a disgrace how - I would say - all countries treat foreigners and I include Thailand and my own home country.

I therefore tend to sympathize with that Thai woman, I know how degrading foreign government agencies can treat people.

[jonclark]

Maybe TV members should follow suit and put together a book about which Thai women not to marry??