Swede With Heart Disease Thrown In Thai Prison: Overstay In Paradise

[samran]

Good point. I'm not even sure why I bother with people on this forum half of the time.

You have to admit, shooting fish in a barrel is rather fun from time to time.

[Richard4849]

No, it just ends up making me more and more depressed about the quality of farangs in Thailand.

[samran]

No, it just ends up making me more and more depressed about the quality of farangs in Thailand.

sad, but true.

[osiboy]

It doesn't matter if he went to the wrong place / people. He went to the police and they should have guided him correctly.

That is what we all expect and receive in all civilised parts of the globe.

Here it isn't. Civilised.

Lawless. Useless. Hopeless. It is.

And so some poor unfortunate, law abiding person is illegally detained [fact] and subjected to extortion [fact]. The culmination of this is bribery of a lawyer and some police officers in order to gain his freedom. The dead left to rot in cells. Match that if you can. At least the Nazis tried to hide the bodies.

It is an absolute disgrace. It is what can happen to you if you fall foul of the law. And it will be you as all foreigners are seen as submissive cash cows once the police have you in custody; behind bars; at their mercy. When money is involved the Thais are ruthless. There is no morality but there is an over powering greed that knows no boundaries.

Note the cautious words of the embassy who cannot deal with Thailand or expect anything to stop or improve any time soon.

The place is simply lawless. Pattaya most certainly is.

No official figure there ever responds in shock or determination to act in the right and proper manner when such incidents as this one occur.

There is no hope of change nor is there any hope of a facility existing that can ride in on a white horse and rescue the victims. The Pattaya consul, Howerd Miller, has been involved in two cases in his short tenure and woefully been incompetent in helping. To call him useless would be to flatter him. Holes and heads offers some explanation as to his inertia.

You must be mad to stay in Pattaya other than to prove you're an accident waiting to happen.

nice post,. im in total agreement

[samran]

I've been in Thailand less than six months and I already know a lawyer I could call if I ever get in trouble. An immigration lawyer with connections to the imm office/department. I would NEVER walk into the police station and try to fix this on my own! Call the lawyer, let her take care of it. You'd think people would be smart enough to do that.

Not everyone is as clued up and as shrewd as you. What pickles has she gotten you out of so far?

What makes you think he is 'clued up and shrewd'?? More like he has hired someone to clean up after his own mess.

Here is a novel concept - move to a country, and obey the laws. You know what, 10+ years in Thailand tells me that if you do that, you never have to worry about the police.

And I say this as someone who 'can' call people, the right people, if for some reason I ended up the sh!t. Never had to pick up the phone. Not once.

[luvU2much500THB]

Going to the police station with an overstay? He should`ve known better after 10 years thailand.

Doing Yaba or overstay your Visa are "no-go`s" for farang you go directly in jail and its getting expensive.

[osiboy]

What do you suppose would happen in all of your home countries if you walked into a police station and announced that you were an illegal alien?

they would be put in a cell, asked what they would like to eat , and if they wanted a lawyer, the lawyer would get him bail and then the government would give hime a house and money every week until his family could join him from pakistan ................or wherever , they would then get british passports , get arranged marraiges for the kids and bring the in-laws too,.......no visa runs needed as we take care of our asian brothers,......welcome to the UK !.........What about your country richard ?

If he is Kenyan, then gets put on welfare, given a driver's license and sent on his way to be drunk while driving.

In my home country, you would be held in a cell until being deported. You would then face a ban on returning for between three and ten years -- that's IF you were able to secure another entry visa.

Sounds like fair dinkum to me.

yeah, does sound fair if they are fed and watered and not share a cell with 10s of others and dead bodies , ..... the guy has been an idiot to say the least, but even the swedish are human !

[yogi100]

Sounds like b/s to me. Especially Bangkok Hospital will always ask patients if they need help with extending the visa. I know because I was admitted and had a group of people checking if I need help. I had a valid visa so I did not need help. So to me there are bits missing from the story.

Yeah I think so too. And why did he wait a few days after release from hospital......something missing here for sure.

Yeah, the whole story is just BS the guy made up to cover whatever illegal activities he was up to that caused him to be arrested.

The real story is how many TV posters believe the crap unconditionally, but then many get their regular News from sources like the Sun and National Enquirer (if they can read) and have never been to Thailand in the first place other than on the web.

How do you know this is all BS and what were the illegal activities he was up to. I know a chap who was arrested on totally trumped up charges and kept in the monkey house for a week until he agreed to part with 30,000 baht, he was then released and no more was heard about the matter. If you know something the rest of us don't it should make interesting reading.

[Richard4849]

If you believe that story I have a bar beer for sale you might be interested in...

[RickBradford]

Well on the bright side, the significant loss of weight so do his heart issues no harm.

I can virtually see the sneer as you wrote that.

Actually, rapid weight loss (or gain) is potentially very damaging for the heart, Since the heart is a muscle, rapid weight loss or constantly losing and then gaining weight can place a lot of stress on the heart causing irregular heart rhythms and eventually heart failure.

[yogi100]

His mistake was to go to the police in the first place. Im not going to say anything about the police in Thailand and everyone should know about them living in Thailand. He should have gone to the consulate first and got advise on how the laws applied to illness works in an overstay situation, and then with that information go to the immagration office and speak with someone at a higher level to make himself comply under the circumstances of a serious illness having kept him in an ICU ward of a hospital and unable to leave or travel.

Good advice, Where is the British consulate if I ever need it?

[KeyserSoze01]

Amazing Thailand!

Or whatever crap they're saying now.

It's a wonderful country but some of the people in it, for some of the time, are disgusting. One step out of line if you are a Farang can lead to you being treated worse than they treat most animals here. However; before people start blaming Thai's for all the wrongs of the world I should add that most 'developing' countries act in very similar ways, that's why they are still 'developing' !

It took all of 6 posts for a Thai apologist to pipe up with his 2 satang.

There is no defense or excuse for this type of treatment and shows that the only thing on the mind of the Royal Thai Police is to squeeze as much baht out of farang as possible.

Show me any other country that treats visa overstays in the same manner.

[yogi100]

Yep, there is more to this story for sure,,,

What is it then, please enlighten us.

[RickBradford]

Amazing Thailand!

Or whatever crap they're saying now.

It's a wonderful country but some of the people in it, for some of the time, are disgusting. One step out of line if you are a Farang can lead to you being treated worse than they treat most animals here. However; before people start blaming Thai's for all the wrongs of the world I should add that most 'developing' countries act in very similar ways, that's why they are still 'developing' !

It took all of 6 posts for a Thai apologist to pipe up with his 2 satang.

There is no defense or excuse for this type of treatment and shows that the only thing on the mind of the Royal Thai Police is to squeeze as much baht out of farang as possible.

Show me any other country that treats visa overstays in the same manner.

Well, Singapore canes (some of) them before chucking them out, I guess every place has its own rules.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Just to make sure everyone is clear here: Immigration IS the Thai Police. Same Same.

Not exactly... Immigration is part of the police force, but they are their own unit...

As far as overstay is concerned, though, there are some commonalities and some differences....

If someone is on overstay and is detained by Immigration police for some reason out and around town -- or regular BIB police for that matter -- then they do face the risk and likelihood of detention.

However, is someone is on overstay and goes to the Airport to sort things out with Immigration there, there's no problem usually other than the fine...

I assume the same would be true if one went to their local Immigration Office to try to get back to legal...

However, even outside of Pattaya, I can't imagine anyone out of status, on overstay, having anything good come of making a visit to the regular police station. That seems like just asking for trouble.

In that latter respect, they're not the same, especially when someone is out of legal status.

[yogi100]

If you believe that story I have a bar beer for sale you might be interested in...

Who is the fool who bought it in the first place?

[kirk0233]

What do you suppose would happen in all of your home countries if you walked into a police station and announced that you were an illegal alien?

He overstayed his visa as a tourist. He did not sneak into the country illegally. Also, in my home country you would not be required to bribe the police if you were in jail or given only rice and water. Nor would a dead man be left in the jail for two days and you would not be deprived of heart medication. Even the Thais hate the police here. It is not a secret. Watch the police near the end of the month. They randomly stop the first 4 or 5 cars that pass and ask for bribes. Has happened to me many times. Wouldn't happen in my home country though.

Edited September 3, 2011 by kirk0233

[Hermes100]

I've been in Thailand less than six months and I already know a lawyer I could call if I ever get in trouble. An immigration lawyer with connections to the imm office/department. I would NEVER walk into the police station and try to fix this on my own! Call the lawyer, let her take care of it. You'd think people would be smart enough to do that.

And YOU just might not be as smart as you think you are. Maybe you should wait until you're in a fix before you start crowing about well prepared you are.

I hate to get into this - but , generally you are wrong- he is right.

But let me tell you this and you decide.

I visit people in jail here ( or used to, getting old now and the wait us too long) I met one very nice Englishman by chance. I was told ( by his embassy) that he would be getting something like 100 year's! He was "in for it"

When I met him I thought " are you the right man"?

He was sitting with a girl on his knee looking very with happy with himself, he was in an separate office which was" my mate, the guvnor,let me use this,,", he had a mobile( this was when they first came out,so quite rare) and the visit was not supervised.

I told him what I had been told and ,he laughed at me, this was some time ago but I see almost no change.

His lawyer "fixed" everything.He was out soon after.

Some year's later he was arrested again. Murder, drug's....a number of a lawyer- and out?

I do not mean to be smug but the reality is that money and connections will get you out of most thing's here.

That is, sadly a fact( and can be said for most of the world, only here its right in your face and done in such a low class manner.But much cheaper)

I would call that a bit of a fix would you not?

And I would also say that having an able bodied lawyers card in one's pocket ( as some embassy will advice you to carry) is about as well prepared as one can get here as it give's instant access to someone less likely to lie, plant,bully and sort of serves as polite warning " please do not take too much advantage over me" And a contact with the outside world that can rally to your aid.

Yes, I took the lawyer's detail's and, no I will not give them out.He is a very,very nice person and simply will rely upon his contact's( choosing my word's carefully)

I too was stopped at custom's once for having a "banned item",

I was told I was in " big trouble".I was even shown a photocopy of what seemed to be some law-book in English. It said" you are not allowed to bring in banned item's" . My God, they have a law for that!

I was told I was to be arrested and even that the press would be outside waiting( suggesting a story! It's just so pathetic!)

Out came the lawyer's card. A thousand baht later and my bottle and I was home.

I was stopped quite randomly once near ekkamai area.

I was very drunk and asked,rudely I might add to have a urine test. They probably thought I was on drug's, well, I suppose you could say I was!

I was body checked first and quite publicly which I did not like one bit. But the man was only doing what he was told by a senior grumpy policeman who stank of what I had been drinking and smoked constantly.His pupils were very dilated.

I refused , I know the law, and I needed another drink ( The lawyer told me of a few clauses that they do not tell you about that just stop it in its track's) .Please do not buy into those myth's, yes, someone here may send some copy of some law that may say you must do this or that.Funny how none of this ever seems to apply to so many.

So what?, reality is law's can say anything, You apparently cannot murder people also, but some do and simply get away with it.

Know the stat's of murder solving here? How about rape prosecution? It clearly show's that the authoritys are hopelessly unable to do their duty and so, we give rise to other, less that preferable, but necessary way's.

I politely said " no" giving my reason's.They did not like this one bit,saying "you must do what we tell you, we are police, this is Thailand and you must be on drug's, you are from XXX( apparently everyone in my land is!)" and so I handed over my card very politely and asked them to call it

They also asked to see 'official documentation for my heart tablets-the implication being that they to, were illegal.

The grumpy cop looked less than happy.

I remember thinking he was hoping to be able to buy another bottle for himself and just found out it was not coming from me.

The lawyer did not pick up the phone straightaway and so I was taken to tonglaw police station with the grumpy cop starring at the card like it was some unique item.

The lawyer told me something I hate hearing because I do love this place, always be polite, give my card as soon as possible and a tip.

In fact whenever I read a new law here saying for this or that, foreigner's cannot do this or whatever I simply ask the lawyer opinion when I get the chance.

A vast many people simply smile when they read these thing's because that simply does not apply to them( like the young brit) and dial a number. Problem solved. Most case's. Many do not care about this or that new law, new policy, when you have a number- and the fund's it simply does not apply.

Doing the right things here win's no point's.It should not be this way.

I wonder what would of happened if I did not have a number. I may of been featured here!

Since them I have seen men that I visited in jail here shopping in jatujak, attended an event and bumped into another ex-con, known about people who exit 'invisibly" because of crazy charges( one man split up with his hiso girlfriend and she had him arrested for stealing her coffee machine! What would you do? Follow the " law" when daddy has paid to see you go down?) I tell you what you would do- call a lawyer if you could. One man ,a very nice swede was distraught,he spent 6 month's in jail on a similar matter.

Do you, does anyone have any confidence in the legal, or any other institution here? If you wanted something done well, efficiently,quickly,professionally..in any area ( apart from a knock shop!) which local institution would you call?

One breeds the other I am afraid.

All I did was pass on the number.I do not like to actively promote law breaking. But many case's here it is far more a matter of what is right and wrong, rather than illegal. I have struggled with this issue and it is not one that sits well with me.

So, I would ,like many others, advise having access to a good lawyer in your pocket. Along with some cash.

What harm can it do? None.

What benefit's? Freedom,no trouble. Abilty to carry on normal life.

I thank the gentleman for saying this. Although I hope he does so just in case he need's it and does nothing to attract trouble.

It does not mean he agrees with it and one certainly should be smug about it.

[Hermes100]

If you believe that story I have a bar beer for sale you might be interested in...

well, perhaps you could prove it is false then.

That I doubt.

Some people will always say so.I am not sure why. But if you for one minute doubt it could not be true and that sort of thing does not happen here you should get some lawyer's details asap.

But please, enlighten us.

I hope this is followed up.

[grahamhc]

...... He should have gone to the consulate first and got advise on how the laws applied to illness works in an overstay situation, .......

Good advice, Where is the British consulate if I ever need it?

The Honorary British Consul is Howard Miller, and is located next to the Immigration office on Jomtien Soi 5.

While Howard Miller is well versed in these matters, as he was previously a Tourist Police Volunteer, I cannot vouch about the Immigration Rules* knowledge of other countries' consuls.

*(I use the word RULES, as reading this forum, notice that other immigration offices have different ways of working, some more strict and others easier.)

[Richard4849]

If you believe that story I have a bar beer for sale you might be interested in...

well, perhaps you could prove it is false then.

That I doubt.

Some people will always say so.I am not sure why. But if you for one minute doubt it could not be true and that sort of thing does not happen here you should get some lawyer's details asap.

But please, enlighten us.

I hope this is followed up.

It is a TABLOID story, made to elicit the exact feelings from morons that most of you are demonstrating. Shame on you for getting so worked up over a piece of tabloid trash. What next? Aliens fathering Madonna's love child?

[tombkk]

All I know if I was somehow in a situation where I was losing weight at an accelerated pace of 16 Kilos in 12-days then I would have eaten the dead guy laying on the floor for 2-days.

But what I really wonder is how after losing 16 kilos did his shorts stay up on his trip home ... especially with the added weight of feces and urine weighing them down.

[swerver]

Sounds nasty.... But for some reason, I can't help but think some pieces were left out of this story, perhaps a history of overstays, or something else...

mmmm...Possibly. His last mistake was going to the police instead of immigration. 10 years in Thailand you'd think he'd know that...

But, still a horrible ordeal, just keep him until he paid a "fair" bribe. Miracle Thailand.

Hoorah,

Finally somebody who got it right.

Visas are the domain of Immigration NOT the Police.

Having supposedly lived in Thailand for years why doesnt he know that?

Maybe the stories in Sweden have some merit. During his years in Thailand he had dealings not exactly the upright type - with the Police and this time again he figured he could deal himself out of the overstay, but unfortunately for him, he probably ran into a Police who he had double crossed in his previous dealing. As the saying goes: What goes around comes around.

It takes all kinds to make a world and as time moves on Thailand seems to attract more and more of the flotsam of the world in particular places Pattaya, Phuket, to name but two - which in turn attract Thailands own flotsam.

So Thailand wants to become a family vacation destination, it will NEVER happen because Thailand has already sunk tooo deep into the sump hole of loose sex. Exactly the same as all the talk (Hot Air) about fixing Mother Earth, it also will never be accomplished because GREED has itself tooo well established by now. Anyone wanting to live in Thailand for legitimate reasons go live in the country and stay to your own. If you cannot do that because you must all the time be part of the crowed in town and/or are one of the misguided self-appointed ones who come to Thailand to improve the race by liberally sowing his seed, you are cruising for a bruising because Thai prostitutes are as hard as concrete nails. LOL in LOS

Edited September 3, 2011 by metisdead
Use default forum font when posting

[yogi100]

If you believe that story I have a bar beer for sale you might be interested in...

well, perhaps you could prove it is false then.

That I doubt.

Some people will always say so.I am not sure why. But if you for one minute doubt it could not be true and that sort of thing does not happen here you should get some lawyer's details asap.

But please, enlighten us.

I hope this is followed up.

It is a TABLOID story, made to elicit the exact feelings from morons that most of you are demonstrating. Shame on you for getting so worked up over a piece of tabloid trash. What next? Aliens fathering Madonna's love child?

You have no more evidence, let alone proof that the story is false than you have of the fact that you have a bar for sale. if indeed you have a bar for sale only another fool or a greenhorn would contemplate buying it.

[tombkk]

Amazing Thailand!

Or whatever crap they're saying now.

It's a wonderful country but some of the people in it, for some of the time, are disgusting. One step out of line if you are a Farang can lead to you being treated worse than they treat most animals here. However; before people start blaming Thai's for all the wrongs of the world I should add that most 'developing' countries act in very similar ways, that's why they are still 'developing' !

It took all of 6 posts for a Thai apologist to pipe up with his 2 satang.

There is no defense or excuse for this type of treatment and shows that the only thing on the mind of the Royal Thai Police is to squeeze as much baht out of farang as possible.

Show me any other country that treats visa overstays in the same manner.

You really believe that the visa overstay was the only reason for his (second) arrest?

[Hermes100]

...... He should have gone to the consulate first and got advise on how the laws applied to illness works in an overstay situation, .......

Good advice, Where is the British consulate if I ever need it?

The Honorary British Consul is Howard Miller, and is located next to the Immigration office on Jomtien Soi 5.

While Howard Miller is well versed in these matters, as he was previously a Tourist Police Volunteer, I cannot vouch about the Immigration Rules* knowledge of other countries' consuls.

*(I use the word RULES, as reading this forum, notice that other immigration offices have different ways of working, some more strict and others easier.)

Is he a knight as well? I think he does a splendid job considering.

[khaowong1]

This story need to be shown overseas, and Thailand need a serious black eye over this. I do not care what the circumstances are, this is completely unjustifiable. The only way changed happen here, is if Thailand loses face worldwide. The tourism industry is dying on the vine, and the TOT continues to spin out the false figures. An informed source told me that the island wide occupancy rate in Koh Samui in June was 20%! That is the lowest rate in the past 20 years. Something is happening, in a big way, and every Thai I talk to has their head in the sand, in regard to the issues. Where is the Anna Hazare of Thailand? Do the Thai people care, at all? Does the government care, or even acknowledge these issues, in the slightest manner? Who is going to be held accountable for this latest travesty?

No, the majority of Thai people don't much care. They have never been outside their country and have no clue how the rest of the world is run. They think this is normal, besides, it's happening to farangs not Thai's, and all farangs are rich, so, mai bhen rai.

[tombkk]

Are we getting the full story here or just the typical euro guy hard luck/sympathy story. Why was he treated so shabbly by the cops and why after many years here did he not cover his visa situation?

This story is highly suspect. Look at him ! Does he look the innocent type ?

"Look"? Do you judge a book by its cover? I hope you will never be in a postition that gives you power to judge people. By their looks.

:thumbsdown:

[tombkk]

My own experience: for somje further evaluation of buying contracts I wanted to overstay just 2 weeks longer. The maximum I could get was 5 aysafter adding a few loose papers in my application ( 5.000 THB).

Sorry, but my baby corn, bamboo shoots, mixed veg, mango slices, lychees, longans, papaya dices, pineapple, soya sauces, pad Thai, rice vermicelli, coconut milk, fruit drinks, aloe vera, and several other items come now from other sources. And rice: forbidden even to send a sample to Thailand, so, get now Jasmine rice from the right side of the dot line, called Cambodia.

Amazing Thailand. They need a micacle to fall awake from their chair.

Next time, try to comply to visa regulations and you will be fine.

For your info: Cambodia also has visa regulations...

[TAWP]

He didn't get an extension while he was in the hospital and then waits a week before he goes to the police...instead of immigration, to 'handle' it.