Adultery Couple Given Visa By Bangkok British Embassy To Feature On 'Locked Up Abroad' Wednesday

[webfact]

Family given settlement visa by UK Bangkok Embassy to feature on Locked up Abroad

The British Embassy in Bangkok were forced to break the rules, or at least at the instructions of the Home Office, allowed Davd Scott from Swindon Wiltshire to return home with his baby daughter and Filipina wife Cynthia on compassionate grounds.

The couple had contacted the Embassy in Manila about their plight. They had been jailed for adultery in the Philippines after an irate husband heard about their relationship.

Cynthia and her Filipino husband had been separated for some time and Cynthia worked in a hotel in the Middle East. But divorce is illegal and only the rich can afford an annulment.

When David and Cynthia went to the British Embassy in Manila there they were given the bad news. Under Philippines law baby Janina was actually the daughter of her extranged husband. The case was taken up by the press and the couple were encouraged to fly to Bangkok if they could.

Having done DNA tests proving David was the father and enlisted the help of a British MP Janina got a settlement visa, Janina was given British citizenship and they were allowed to go home to Britain.

Many foreigners in the Philippines could be similarly prosecuted. Many women in the sex trade come from broken marriages.

Report and video here

andrew-drummond.com/view-story.php?sid=411

-- andrew-drummond.com 2011-06-13

[laurentbkk]

Finally a tragic story which ended well ... :jap:

[laurentbkk]

In a country like Philippines where prostitution is current practice , what a strange thing that adultery is forbidden and bring you to jail.

[granuaile]

Finally a tragic story which ended well ... :jap:

I'm happy for this ending.... I am glad the British government exercised reason here...

[Thongkorn]

Finally a tragic story which ended well ... :jap:

I'm happy for this ending.... I am glad the British government exercised reason here...

I

totally agree, but this, BUT it opens a can of worms, What about people who jump through the Hoops to get visas, Pay all the relevant fees, and then their are the people who have entered the UK illegally and because they have been here years they are given free ILR, what about us who have lived in England and the UK who have paid our taxes and are still having to jump through the hoops to get the right for our wifes to be able to stay with there Husbands who have done every thing legally. and payed the fees which now are about £1000.

[nonthaburial]

In a country like Philippines where prostitution is current practice , what a strange thing that adultery is forbidden and bring you to jail.

Point the finger at the Catholic church who practically run the Philippines

[Paul888]

Sounds to me like a dangerous precedent has been set here.

[philw]

Sounds to me like a dangerous precedent has been set here.

How so ??

I think it's quite encouraging to see Wireless Rd exercising common sense and a bit of compassion.

Qualities that they were previously lacking.

[Phuket Stan]

In a country like Philippines where prostitution is current practice , what a strange thing that adultery is forbidden and bring you to jail.

Point the finger at the Catholic church who practically run the Philippines

You can point the finger big time at the Catholic church for many things...just think of the Aids problem world wide and yet their head up the butt attitude to no condoms allowed prevails....historically they have been a nice evil lot...they exist by preaching fear

Edited June 13, 2011 by Phuket Stan

[roamer]

Sounds to me like a dangerous precedent has been set here.

No precedent. There have always been situations where the rules can be waived on compassionate grounds.

[zaxson]

well i think they got what they deserve u ask me just feel sorry for the child they put her through.

[Wallaby]

Adultery? Hardly the crime of the century.

[anterian]

Divorce is illegal in the Philippines, however there are two loopholes. For the Equivalent of a few thousand dollars an annulment is easy to obtain. Alternatively the Philippines does recognise a divorce registered overseas. However both methods are beyond the means of the average Filipino who if lucky is earning 1000 pesos per week. So adulterous relationships are common where a married couple have split and found new partners.

The fuss in this case is that the new wife's partner is a foreigner, presumed rich, so husband looks for a free meal ticket. Probably the English guy refused so it ended up in court.

Filipinos have simpler solution, widows can remarry

[wolfmanjack]

In a country like Philippines where prostitution is current practice , what a strange thing that adultery is forbidden and bring you to jail.

I do not know if you can end up in jail for adultery in thailand but there are statutes giving the spouse the right to sue. There are also laws where you can end up in jail for making a person lose face that an inventive lawyer should be able to make a case saying that the people screwing your wife make you lose face.

Edited June 13, 2011 by wolfmanjack

[ratcatcher]

Sounds to me like a dangerous precedent has been set here.

No precedent. There have always been situations where the rules can be waived on compassionate grounds.

Finally, Britannia Waives the Rules.

[softgeorge]

In a country like Philippines where prostitution is current practice , what a strange thing that adultery is forbidden and bring you to jail.

Point the finger at the Catholic church who practically run the Philippines

If you don't need to crawl after prostitutes then you have nothing to fear.

[Tropicalevo]

Sounds to me like a dangerous precedent has been set here.

How so ??

I think it's quite encouraging to see Wireless Rd exercising common sense and a bit of compassion.

Qualities that they were previously lacking.

Sadly I do not think that Wireless road exercised common sense and a bit of compassion - it seems that "The British Embassy in Bangkok were forced to break the rules"

However, a result for someone.

[atyclb]

WOW..........

The husband is actually a handsome, slim and trim guy.... see pic on drummond

[NALAK]

Finally a tragic story which ended well ... :jap:

I'm happy for this ending.... I am glad the British government exercised reason here...

I

totally agree, but this, BUT it opens a can of worms, What about people who jump through the Hoops to get visas, Pay all the relevant fees, and then their are the people who have entered the UK illegally and because they have been here years they are given free ILR, what about us who have lived in England and the UK who have paid our taxes and are still having to jump through the hoops to get the right for our wifes to be able to stay with there Husbands who have done every thing legally. and payed the fees which now are about £1000.

agreed i had to go through all the crap of going upto BKK getting visa's and finally the ILR, i had no sob story she knew she was breaking the law, makes your bed lie in it. compassion for a a convicted criminal, yep UK will have them. do it the right way and its up hill slog

[SantiSuk]

In a country like Philippines where prostitution is current practice , what a strange thing that adultery is forbidden and bring you to jail.

Point the finger at the Catholic church who practically run the Philippines

If you don't need to crawl after prostitutes then you have nothing to fear.

There --is such a thing as adultery without prostitution softlad. And in this case the lady is reportedly a working girl, not a 'working girl'.

[hellodolly]

Sounds to me like a dangerous precedent has been set here.

How so ??

I think it's quite encouraging to see Wireless Rd exercising common sense and a bit of compassion.

Qualities that they were previously lacking.

I agree with you.

It makes no sense for a government to allow a man and his baby to come in to the country and deny access to the mother who is a honest working lady. Now if she had been the working lady like in some of the bars on Loi Khro that would be a different situation and possibly handled differently.

Remember both the father and the baby were citizens. And the mother would have had to go back to the Philippines and jail. Hardly comparable to most cases of people taking there Thai wife's back home.

Before you start I do admit that there is probably some but not many similar cases.

[sunholidaysun1]

Let them all in to the UK , its the pits anyway .

[Nisa]

<br />

<br />

<br />Finally a tragic story which ended well ...  <img src='http://static.thaivisa.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/jap.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':jap:' /><br />

<br /><br />I'm happy for this ending.... I am glad the British government exercised reason here...<br />

<br /><br />I<br /> totally agree, but this, BUT it opens a can of worms, What about people who jump through the Hoops to get visas, Pay all the relevant fees, and then their are the people who have entered the UK illegally and because they have been here years they are given free  ILR, what about us who have lived in England and the UK who have paid our taxes and are still having to jump through the hoops to get the right for our wifes  to be able to stay with there Husbands who have done every thing legally. and payed the fees which now are about £1000.<br />

<br /><br /><br />

When there is a child of a UK Citizen involved, things are almost always much easier. I've known a number of Thai women who have been able to immigrate to the UK with their husbands that would almost surely not have been eligible had they not had a child together. I agree the process sucks (for the US too) for those without kids but if you are going to make it easier for some to get approved, I would think having a child involved would warrant making this.

[Theo007]

I am constantly amazed by the total lack of compassion often shown in some of the posts here. Has Thailand become a haven for grumpy old foreign men?

[ianf]

Finally a tragic story which ended well ... :jap:

I'm happy for this ending.... I am glad the British government exercised reason here...

I

totally agree, but this, BUT it opens a can of worms, What about people who jump through the Hoops to get visas, Pay all the relevant fees, and then their are the people who have entered the UK illegally and because they have been here years they are given free ILR, what about us who have lived in England and the UK who have paid our taxes and are still having to jump through the hoops to get the right for our wifes to be able to stay with there Husbands who have done every thing legally. and payed the fees which now are about £1000.

I totally agree with this, but it opens a can of worms. What about people who jump through the hoops to get visas and pay all the relevant fees? Then there are the people who have entered the UK illegally and because they have been here for years they are given free ILR. What about us folk who have lived in England and the UK, have paid our taxes and are still having to jump through the hoops to get the right for our wives to be able to stay with here? What about their husbands who have done everything legally, and have payed the fees amounting to some £1000?

Edited June 14, 2011 by ianf

[virtualtraveller]

The Philippines has someretty archaic laws that are used to good effect against foreigners. A common one is that an estranged wife can have her foreign spouse deported from the country, with a bit of bribery this occurs fairly regularly I hear, making it difficult for him to get any control over their assets or find a lawyer.

[Kilgore Trout]

Has Thailand become a haven for grumpy old foreign men?

You didn't know that; live and learn.

As Seinfield would say; "have you seen this, have you heard about this?"

Thailand is filled with men like Frank Castanza

[Suradit]

I am constantly amazed by the total lack of compassion often shown in some of the posts here. Has Thailand become a haven for grumpy old foreign men?

I would ask if you're new to Thailand and TV, but obviously you're not. Grumpy old men is a polite description.

the daughter of her extranged husband

And a refuge for dubious muck-raking "journalists" as well.

The Philippines has someretty archaic laws that are used to good effect against foreigners. A common one is that an estranged wife can have her foreign spouse deported from the country, with a bit of bribery this occurs fairly regularly I hear, making it difficult for him to get any control over their assets or find a lawyer.

Interesting because in the typical Thai-bashing threads people seem to promote the Philippines as a heaven on earth compared to Thailand.

Edited June 14, 2011 by Suradit

[electau]

Sounds to me like a dangerous precedent has been set here.

No precedent. There have always been situations where the rules can be waived on compassionate grounds.

They would have applied for a visa as a defacto marriage, but it would have been refused as the applicant was already married.

The Minister would have used his power as a Minister to use a waiver and grant settlement in the UK on compassionate grounds due to compelling circumstances and to the fact that she could not obtain a divorce in The Phillipines. The Minister does not overrule the legal requirements.

But she will now be able to obtain a divorce in the UK. and she will now comply with UK requirements.