Missing Swiss Student Tourist Alive And Well, In Thai Prison

[mcnad]

She was locked up by immigration immediately....... do you know what that REALLY means???

Ummmm, is this multiple choice?

A) She was waterboarded until she confessed to stealing the camera.

B ) She was served swiss hot chocolate and the air was turned to -4 °C to make her feel more at home.

C) She was put into solitary confinment with a copy of The Damage Done: Twelve Years of Hell in a Bangkok Prison to keep her occupied.

D) They forced her to teach English to the other inmates at a wage that is barely livable.

Edited January 23, 2013 by mcnad

[animatic]

No doubt she got pissed over the over stay fine,

she dissed the immigration officer in front of others,

and he dropped the camera charge on her has punishment for his lost face.

Pretty pathetic on his part, 3 hours in the tank as a scare at most,

and she would have been good to go with more respect shown.

But loss of face makes them really stupid and arrogant.

[MEL1]

Of course the girl was very silly and deserved to be put into jail, her own fault if this story is true as it reads.

internationally respected nation, or face diplomatic consequences at the highest level. ...........

You are obviously an expert in Thai truth, when it comes to 'authority' positions.

As for Thailand being an internationally respected nation, when it comes to law..... ahum... are you a representative lawyer in balcony jump cases, food poisoning cases, and mysterious deaths by anti-malarial spray insecticides?

Thailand is the hub or international law........ in your mind. I think a mighty 'few' might just disagree with your impetus.

-mel.

[oldsailor35]

Heck, I thought perhaps I could make a difference in the forum discourse by pointing out early on the probability that none of the "facts" are correct.

Sorry Ricklev..............if they are "facts" Then they have to be correct !

[Johpa]

No doubt she got pissed over the over stay fine,

she dissed the immigration officer in front of others,

and he dropped the camera charge on her has punishment for his lost face.

Yea, that was also my take on the most likely scenario. But then again, decades ago when I ran my backpacker guesthouse, it was always the well bred European lassies who would abscond with items.

[Skorz]

There is no point in guessing. You do not know, have absolutely no idea, of what actually happened!

I know exactly what happened because I am a cynical thai hater who lives with his teenage brass in a filthy condo in Pattaya and I have lived in Thailand longer than anyone. So there.

[mcnad]

There is no point in guessing. You do not know, have absolutely no idea, of what actually happened!

I know exactly what happened because I am a cynical thai hater who lives with his teenage brass in a filthy condo in Pattaya and I have lived in Thailand longer than anyone. So there.

That's actually funny. Hats off to you sir.

[seminomadic]

About the 4th or 5th paragraph as I'm reading I start hearing that Benny Hill song in my head.

Edited January 23, 2013 by seminomadic

[oldsailor35]

Has anyone asked the immigration official to prove his ownership or where he got the camera from yet.

[Meetoo]

Swiss arrogance? Refusing to pay the overstay sheer arrogance as well as stupidity. And now she can under Thai law be held 84 days without a peep and even that is renewable. Seems to me she is bring taught a great lesson and the 130,000 Baht is a bail jumper which she should pay and get out. The camera issue - sounds like plant to teach her a lesson. And as a Farang she hasn't got a leg to stand on. Stupid girl.

And yes people who murder, steal and whatnot, wether foreigner or Thai can get bail in a couple of days and basically get off Scot Free more or less ... but small minute and ridiculous offenders like this have to go through this non sense of almost life & death threat .... Logic here please ...??????????????????????

Edited January 23, 2013 by Meetoo

[Meetoo]

I imagine it would be rather easy to prove who owns the camera. A receipt, a credit card or bank statement showing the transaction, some kind of invoice (online or otherwise), etc. can easily be presented in this day and age.

And you carry around the purchase receipt of your camera tucked in with your drivers license, passport and all other pertinent purchase receipts to prove what you own at all times...?? And especially when you travel abroad ..???

[Meetoo]

I imagine it would be rather easy to prove who owns the camera. A receipt, a credit card or bank statement showing the transaction, some kind of invoice (online or otherwise), etc. can easily be presented in this day and age.

Of course. But why would they really need to. All they have to say is that it was in her pocket and she stole it. She didn't even need to have it really.

If she is a real pratt they just see a camera on the table and decide to say she stole it. Police against her, no chance for her.

But even if she did steal it, or try too, the real issue is locking her up and not notifying the embassy or allowing her to contact anyone. That is the terrible thing.

Police should only make the arrest, they aren't supposed to mete out summary justice. That is not their role. Well in theory anyway.

And I guess nobody can go into the camera to see the pics on the memory stick to see if UMMMM... Why would she have so many pics of Police people and surrounfdings or Thai people and their families... versus Touristy pics of Thailand >>>>????

[Metapod]

No doubt she got pissed over the over stay fine,

she dissed the immigration officer in front of others,

and he dropped the camera charge on her has punishment for his lost face.

Pretty pathetic on his part, 3 hours in the tank as a scare at most,

and she would have been good to go with more respect shown.

But loss of face makes them really stupid and arrogant.

this is how i suspect the situation went down aswell.

[MyFriend You]

This is in one way simple. The law is clear, if any foreigner is detained by the authorities [in all their manifold guises] they are required to advise the individual's embassy as a matte of urgency. No ifs, buts, or maybes.

This is serious breach whatever the circumstances. It is even more troubling that an individual should be held apparently incommunicado and the tale is then that she is guilty of a crime [but has not been brought before a court] to excuse this failure to meet basic legal safeguards.

Even if she is guilty of any crime the requirement to notify stands.

Regards

96 hours by statue..............of course there is no way of proving they did or didn't comply - this is Thailand, phone calls to embassies don't always get answered............no way to prove or disprove, most embassies have a recording, the police only have to show the call was made.........thats all.

[Thai at Heart]

Student from Switzerlan, studying in Singapore steals police camera.

Why does anyone believe this story is remotely believable?

[Songhua]

No doubt she got pissed over the over stay fine,

she dissed the immigration officer in front of others,

and he dropped the camera charge on her has punishment for his lost face.

Pretty pathetic on his part, 3 hours in the tank as a scare at most,

and she would have been good to go with more respect shown.

But loss of face makes them really stupid and arrogant.

this is how i suspect the situation went down aswell.

We don't know the full story of course but it does seem an odd thing for an immigration officer to make up on the spot.

Who knows, maybe she threw a hissy fit and grabbed the camera in a moment of anger?

[chrisrazz]

Whatever the veracity of this story, the underlying distrust of any story regarding law enforcement officials in this country is a problem that will not go away in a hurry. The fact is that the culture of police corruption/extortion will always cloud the perception of what did or didn't happen. Life is not always rosy for the cops either, especially if they are straight, and even those of the farang community that consider themselves law abiding citizens can find themselves in situations out their control very quickly when dealing with officials whose real duty it is to protect the community rather than line their own pockets. This problem is so deeply entrenched in Thai life that a policeman, who was doing a good job, is in trouble for arresting the 'wrong' person and refusing to accept a bribe. The case involves a drug dealing relative of the mayors wife. The mayor is kicking up a fuss over a cop doing his job well. This is Thailand for sure! It's a double edged sword, one side is known to be corrupt therefore the other side expects corruption as a right.

[Puccini]

...She was locked up by immigration immediately....... do you know what that REALLY means???...

That would seem standard procedure: locked up until bail is posted.

[Jayroo]

This story just doesn't add up, and I am not accusing anyone of anything. It's just bloody bizarre.

she probably made a big scene about the over stay, and yelled obscenities at the officers, so they planted the camera on her to teach her a lesson, stupid girl, she should've just paid and moved on quitely, she was at fault.

[FritsSikkink]

Did I miss something?

Where is the evidence that this young lady stole a camera, and is now or was required to pay 130,000 baht for its replacement?

I'd like to know what kind of immigration officer can afford a 130,000 baht camera to sit in his/her office - cos a top Nikon with zoom lens and additional lenses is only 70K !!!

-mel.

Yes you did, it is 130.000 bath bail, got nothing to do with the value of the camera.

a Canon PowerShot A640 from one of the immigration officers’ desks in the investigation room,” Cpl Rungroj said.

Doesn't say the camera was from the officer, it could well be from immigration.

[Puccini]

up to the time the embassy and news media got involved she probably could have paid her bail ( ransom) and been on her way home.

From the news article I gather that she is already out on bail, but she is unlikely on her way to Switzerland as no doubt her passport is being held by the court.

[EyesWideOpen]

I can hardly wait to see who produces the receipt for the camera......

[Meetoo]

There is no point in guessing. You do not know, have absolutely no idea, of what actually happened!

I know exactly what happened because I am a cynical thai hater who lives with his teenage brass in a filthy condo in Pattaya and I have lived in Thailand longer than anyone. So there.

And u only have 78 posts ...??

[ThailandGuy]

Looks like something fishy is going on here. Nobody is that stupid.

[EyesWideOpen]

Whatever the veracity of this story, the underlying distrust of any story regarding law enforcement officials in this country is a problem that will not go away in a hurry. The fact is that the culture of police corruption/extortion will always cloud the perception of what did or didn't happen. Life is not always rosy for the cops either, especially if they are straight, and even those of the farang community that consider themselves law abiding citizens can find themselves in situations out their control very quickly when dealing with officials whose real duty it is to protect the community rather than line their own pockets. This problem is so deeply entrenched in Thai life that a policeman, who was doing a good job, is in trouble for arresting the 'wrong' person and refusing to accept a bribe. The case involves a drug dealing relative of the mayors wife. The mayor is kicking up a fuss over a cop doing his job well. This is Thailand for sure! It's a double edged sword, one side is known to be corrupt therefore the other side expects corruption as a right.

A cloudy perception is certainly a polite turn of phrase for what actually happens here. While things may appear confusing at times as farangs struggle with " Thainess", there is one concept that always shows me the true path here in any situation. It is called follow the money. With this idea everything here become crystal clear. So given a choice between the two scenarios here, one being a university student stealing an old camera while in a police station, and the other being a policeman stitching her up on a phony theft charge to try and get a massive bail amount from her, I am going to have to go with choice number two...... Think of this as a variation of the cigarette butt scam the police run on the BTS in Bangkok. Your word against the police, guess who wins.

Edited January 23, 2013 by EyesWideOpen

[tingtongtourist]

No doubt she got pissed over the over stay fine,

she dissed the immigration officer in front of others,

and he dropped the camera charge on her has punishment for his lost face.

Pretty pathetic on his part, 3 hours in the tank as a scare at most,

and she would have been good to go with more respect shown.

But loss of face makes them really stupid and arrogant.

this is how i suspect the situation went down aswell.

We don't know the full story of course but it does seem an odd thing for an immigration officer to make up on the spot.

Who knows, maybe she threw a hissy fit and grabbed the camera in a moment of anger?

Yes i agree, we cannot know the true story

but even the other thai visa armchair investigators are having a bad day with this one..no imagination shown and not even any of the wild innuendo we come to love expect

SO...armchair experts..not trying to do your job, but allow me to offer some clue to help you get you started...

Maybe she lost it and put up a fight in her rage..maybe some hijinks did happen after she was subdued and something inappropriate was captured on the officers camera..or maybe they took pictures of her to further incriminate or take some picture of her in a compromising position??

Then, in a rage she grabs the camera, either wanting to delete what is on the camera or stop the possible extortion that might follow..

there...easy...now carry on...

[EyesWideOpen]

No doubt she got pissed over the over stay fine,

she dissed the immigration officer in front of others,

and he dropped the camera charge on her has punishment for his lost face.

Pretty pathetic on his part, 3 hours in the tank as a scare at most,

and she would have been good to go with more respect shown.

But loss of face makes them really stupid and arrogant.

this is how i suspect the situation went down aswell.

We don't know the full story of course but it does seem an odd thing for an immigration officer to make up on the spot.

Who knows, maybe she threw a hissy fit and grabbed the camera in a moment of anger?

Yes i agree, we cannot know the true story

but even the other thai visa armchair investigators are having a bad day with this one..no imagination shown and not even any of the wild innuendo we come to love expect

SO...armchair experts..not trying to do your job, but allow me to offer some clue to help you get you started...

Maybe she lost it and put up a fight in her rage..maybe some hijinks did happen after she was subdued and something inappropriate was captured on the officers camera..or maybe they took pictures of her to further incriminate or take some picture of her in a compromising position??

Then, in a rage she grabs the camera, either wanting to delete what is on the camera or stop the possible extortion that might follow..

there...easy...now carry on...

Follow...........the...........money............

[laowai1960]

While walking around Tesco / Big C / any store, if I put an item for sale in my pocket, could I be charged with theft BEFORE I left the store (or attempted to leave the store)?

What if I entered your home with your knowledge and consent - doing a survey or maybe calling on you to have a look at something you're selling - and while there I put your mobile phone in my pocket. You notice that your phone is missing, see a bulge in my pocket and demand to see what's in my pocket. I reveal that it's your phone. I'm still inside your home.

Could you actually lodge a complaint with Police that I stole your phone?

What is the legal definition of theft / stealing in Thailand?

I recall having read reports of theft / stealing from King's Duty Free at the airport and the culprits are always arrested after they leave the store.

[tingtongtourist]

from the article:

her mother, Mrs Elizabeth Maria Janisch, came to Ranong with Tscherina’s aunt and asked to post bail of 130,000 baht to have Tscherina released,” Cpl Rungroj explained

Since we are so use to very poor reporting here we usually assume a mistake..but if you read this literal, it does suggest the mother asked or offered the police 130,000 baht bail...

Just 1 missing word and a very different meaning, it doesnt say...Mrs Elizabeth Maria Janisch, came to Ranong with Tscherina’s aunt and WAS asked to post bail of 130,000 baht to have Tscherina released,” Cpl Rungroj explained

[Globeman]

Hmm... student from top university refuses to pay 500 Baht fine, walks off with $900+ gadget instead, and then disappears in the system without her embassy knowing about it. What?

A Canon A640 costs about 12k baht.... where did the $900 figure come from? It seems that on this forum there is always a little gang of people who each grabs a handful of bulls**t and runs away with it...